New York beaten up again
For 2nd straight, N.Y. gets blown out, this time by Jays
Having already secured a playoff spot, the last thing the Yankees want to do is wobble through the regular season’s final week.
They’ve already come through one major confidence crisis, restoring their status as World Series contenders with a 10-game winning streak that ended Sunday.
On Monday night, they made it back-to-back blowout losses, this time 11-5 against the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field.
Combined, the Yankees (31-23) have been outscored 21-7 in the past two days by the Red Sox and Jays; Mike Tauchman added three-run double in Monday’s ninth.
Making a spot start, rookie Michael King couldn’t provide much length and was knocked out during Toronto’s fiverun third inning.
The Blue Jays (28-26) batted around again in a four-run fourth inning against reliever Jonathan Loaisiga, charged with three runs on five hits and two walks in just one inning.
An early miscommunication between outfielders Aaron Hicks and Aaron
Judge didn’t lead to a run, but it foretold a long night ahead.
Hicks failed to take charge of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s innocent fly ball as Judge approached, resulting in a gift triple.
But King picked up his teammates with his fourth strikeout of the night, ending the second inning.
As sharp as King looked early, he didn’t miss many bats in his abbreviated third inning, though there wasn’t a lot of loud contact; Toronto collected four singles and a walk.
Loaisiga yielded two inherited runs on a sharp double by Guerrero (3-for-3, 3 RBIS) and catcher Alejandro Kirk concluded a fourhit night with a solo homer off Chad Green in the seventh.
Odd celebration
The New York Yankees found an unusual place to celebrate clinching a playoff berth in an atypical season.
After losing at Boston on Sunday, the Yankees headed to Buffalo for the start of the series against Toronto, and New York’s berth in the expanded 16-team playoffs was clinched when Seattle lost at San Diego later in the day.
When the Yankees arrived at The Westin Buffalo, they gathered with masks on for a toast.
“We had a glass of champagne together at the hotel lobby, and acknowledged we still have things to accomplish,” New York ace Gerrit Cole said Monday before the four-game series against the Blue Jays.
New York won 10 straight games before Sunday’s loss.