Blue Jays' big bats booming at right time
Red-hot team continues playoff drive with Bronx-bombing series opener
Marcus Semien homered twice, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 40th homer and the Toronto Blue Jays opened a four-game series against the New York Yankees with an 8-0 victory on Monday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Toronto (74-62) won its fifth straight and eighth in nine games, thanks to the power display.
The Blue Jays struck for two runs in the first.
Semien extended his career-high by hitting his 36th homer and fourth in five games when he lifted a 1-0 slider from Jameson Taillon (8-6) into the left-field seats. Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with his 40th homer when he lined a fullcount curveball into the right-field seats.
Semien added Toronto's sixth grand slam of the season in a fiverun ninth.
“He's so talented and he knows his swing,” Semien said of Guerrero. “It's scary. It seems like Vladdy has been steady the whole time. He takes his singles, but he'll take you deep, too.”
Said Jays manager Charlie Montoyo: “I have front-row seats to watch this whole season. It's been fun to watch somebody that young be that good at the plate.”
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added an RBI single as Toronto beat the Yankees for the fifth time in seven meetings in New York this season. Teoscar Hernandez added a solo shot in the ninth to become Toronto's third hitter with 25 homers.
Toronto left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu (13-8) allowed three singles in six effective innings after losing his previous two starts.
He struck out six and walked none.
Trevor Richards and Tim Mayza pitched a scoreless inning apiece before Adam Cimber finished off Toronto's latest win.
The Yankees (78-59) began the day with a half-game lead over Boston for the AL'S first wild card and followed up a pair of one-run losses to the Mlb-worst Baltimore Orioles with their third straight loss.
New York is 2-7 in its past nine games since winning 13 straight from Aug. 14-27.
“We've got to get it rolling offensively,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of his laggardly bats. “We've got to do better than that.
“These are big-time games right now. We've got to dig ourselves out of this little funk”
Taillon allowed three runs and three hits in seven innings. He struck out five, walked two and dropped his second start after going 7-0 during a 15-start unbeaten streak.
Even better, when Tampa Bay came back from a seven-run deficit for an 11-10 win over Boston, the Jays moved just three games behind the Red Sox for the second AL wild card spot and 3.5 behind the Yankees.
“Having that killer instinct, realizing what's at stake,” Semien said of the Jays' current mindset.
“The sweep (of the A's) at home, winning 8-0 at Yankee Stadium. I think that will give us some confidence.”
With 26 games remaining to get three more homers, Semien could join Guerrero at the 40 mark, the widely accepted slugger's plateau and would mark just the fourth time in club history that it's happened.
More significantly than the homers, of course, was that the Jays continue to heat up at the most opportune time of the season.
There's little doubt the Jays are flexing for a playoff push now, winning five in a row and eight of their past nine, and seem poised to make a memorable September run.
Taking the first of four against a reeling Yankees outfit was the latest step, but the team has now recorded back-to-back shutouts as well.
Getting a huge four-game series against the Yankees started off with style will only add to the confidence of the surging Jays, and Guerrero is right in the middle of it.
There's plenty of season left to add to those numbers for Guerrero.
It was another four-homer day for the Jays, who have scored 37 runs in their past four games.
The game began with the Jays' bats booming the same way they had in sweeping the Oakland Athletics in a three-game weekend series at the Rogers Centre.
With Guerrero and Semien each hitting solo homers in the first inning, it marked a streak of 29 runs scored in 19 innings.
The offence got stingy for a while with Yankees starter Jameson Taillon holding the Jays hitless through the next five innings and allowing just three on the afternoon.
Trouble was, the struggling Yankees weren't able to get to Toronto starter Ryu, who was back to his efficient self, throwing six shutout innings while allowing just three hits.
GAME ON
Ryu's exit was something of a head scratcher, given that he had thrown just 80 pitches, but following the game, the South Korean lefty said he was feeling some mild tightness in his elbow and suggested to Montoyo that he end his afternoon early … Ryu said that the discomfort won't require medical attention and he'll resume work Tuesday to be on turn for his next start … Montoyo wouldn't rule out giving George Springer a day or two of rest as the DH continues to be bothered by his left knee injury. Springer fouled a ball off an unprotected part of the knee in the eighth inning.