Blue Jays spoil fans’ return to Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK — Julian Merryweather had to get used to fans in the stands, having debuted last summer in an empty ballpark. He was surprised the 10th inning started with a runner on second.
No matter. The Toronto Blue Jays turned Yankee Stadium as silent as it was during a 2020 season played without fans.
Randal Grichuk led off the 10th with an RBI double, Merryweather struck out the side on 11 pitches in the bottom half, and the Blue Jays took advantage of the second year of COVIDera rule starting starting extra innings with a runner on to beat New York 3-2 Thursday in the major league opener.
Merryweather felt energy from the fans. But he didn’t realize the runner on second in extras rule returned until bullpen coach Matt Buschmann told him.
“I forgot,” Merryweather recalled. “Oh God, there’s going to be a runner on second.”
He fanned Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton on three pitches each, started Gleyber Torres with two strikes, then threw a ball and got a foul before getting him to swing past a 99 mph offering.
Teoscar Hernandez tied the score in the sixth inning with a 437-foot homer on a hanging slider from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, whose parents were in the crowd to watch him in person in at Yankee Stadium for the first time with New York.
“I just want that slider back,” said Cole, who slapped his glove against the bench four times after he came out.
Fans had not been at Yankee Stadium for 532 days since the loss to Houston in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Oct. 18, 2019. They had to show proof of complete vaccination at least two weeks earlier or a recent negative COVID-19 test. Masks were required, and
groups were separated by empty seats into pods.
“Obviously it didn’t end the way you want to where you’re shaking hands, but it definitely was special having a crowd back,’ ” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Even though we’re 20% capacity, you could feel their energy and feel them waiting to erupt.”
Attendance was announced as 10,850. Before its first homestand at its spring training ballpark in Dunedin, Florida — the Canadian government won’t allow the Blue Jays to play at home due to coronavirus restrictions — Toronto plays Monday in the
home opener of Texas, the only big league ballpark allowed 100% capacity at the season’s start.
“That’s going to be exciting because we all are going to feel normal playing the game that we love,” Hernandez said. “Getting fans back on the field as it was three, four years ago, it makes us really good because the game is going back to normal.“
Cole, starting the second season of his $324 million, nine-year deal, allowed two runs and five hits in 51⁄3 innings with eight strikeouts and two starts. He fell behind on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s RBI single in the second.
Toronto’s Hyun Jin Ryu gave up four hits in 51⁄3 innings, including Gary
Sanchez’s two-run homer in the second.
David Phelps escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by getting Aaron Judge to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Jordan Romano (1-0) escaped trouble in the ninth with the help of third baseman Cavan Biggio. After pinch-runner Michael Tauchman stole two bases, he was thrown out at the plate by Biggio trying to score on a grounder by AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu. Romano struck out Judge to strand two runners.
Nick Nelson (0-1) relieved to begin the 10th and with pinch-runner Jonathan Davis on second, allowed Grichuk’s double.