NEW YORK—The Yankees might have started playing a lot better in August, but they apparently still don’t have a clue how to handle the Blue Jays.Â
The Jays’ dominance of the Bronx Bombers continued with a 7-1 victory in Friday night’s series opener. É«É«À² improved to 8-3 against the Yankees this season and increased their lead in the American League East to four games over New York.
Right-hander Kevin Gausman set the tone by allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five across eight quality innings. The star tandem of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette combined for seven hits, while outfielder Nathan Lukes also had two RBIs.
“Big series. Any time you’re playing in New York on a weekend, first game of a series on a weekend, it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be electric,” Gausman said after the game. “I’ve always enjoyed pitching here. Yankee Stadium is kind of the mecca of baseball, so to be able to do it tonight, I’m proud of my team being able to win the game and set the tone for the series.”
Here’s everything you need to know about what took place on Friday night:
September is upon us and the tension of the pennant race has ratcheted up
Schlittler’s Creek
The Jays wasted no time in making a statement that they are the team to beat in the AL East. After George Springer and Addison Barger struck out to open the game, the next five Jays reached base. Bichette drove in the first run with a double to the corner in left field, and Lukes added a two-run single. In the second inning, the Jays loaded the bases for Bichette, who added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0. That was the end of the line for Yankees rookie starter Cam Schlittler, who was charged with all four runs on five hits and a pair of walks while retiring just five batters. It was the first time in 10 career starts that Schlittler allowed more than three runs.
“It’s totally different,” Guerrero said when asked about being the team that gets chased in the standings, instead of the other way around. “When you’re in first place, you just concentrate and focus on winning the game. When you’re chasing somebody you still have to win the game, but at the same time you’re always looking to see how the other teams did.”
Judge disarmed
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge played right field for the first time in more than a month, and on Friday night it was easy to see why he had such a long layoff. He had been limited to starting at designated hitter because of a right elbow flexor strain that apparently is still not back to full strength. With the Jays up 1-0 in the first, Lukes hit a single to Judge. One runner scored easily, but Judge fielded the ground ball before Daulton Varsho had even reached third base. Jays third base coach Carlos Febles aggressively waved Varsho home, and instead of trying to make a play at the plate, Judge tentatively lobbed the ball in to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Jays and other contenders undoubtedly will take note and challenge Judge whenever possible for the rest of the year. That will cause problems for the Yankees, who can’t DH him and the defensively deficient Giancarlo Stanton at the same time.
“I know it’s his first game back in the outfield and there was a little bit of an unknown in how he would respond,” Jays manager John Schneider said. “He has a great arm. At that point, it’s Varsh at second, so you don’t really know because he can run, but we wanted to test it.
“I think Carlos did a great job of sending him there. I didn’t really have an opinion. He is a very talented player, so if he’s in the outfield, you assume he’s going to be the normal version of himself, but I like (our) aggressiveness.”
Vladdy’s their daddy
Guerrero loves playing in New York and has the numbers to prove it. The 26-year-old first baseman entered Friday batting .285 with 15 home runs and 28 RBIs in the Bronx. He added to those totals in the top of the fifth with a solo homer to right-centre field off reliever Ryan Yarbrough. Guerrero also singled in the first, second and ninth innings, finishing 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs. Guerrero’s .957 on-base plus slugging percentage entering this series at Yankee Stadium was his third-highest of any road ballpark in which he has played at least 20 games. The only places he has hit better: Camden Yards in Baltimore (1.090) and Fenway Park in Boston (1.018).
“He has a little pep in his step, even in (batting practice),” Schneider said about Guerrero. “I think he likes playing here, he’s comfortable ... I don’t think it’s a coincidence anymore. I think he likes playing in this environment and enjoys standing in the box here.”
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