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Series Recap: Jays leave Yankees in a daze

Well, it happened. Not only did the New York Yankees manage to drop two of three at Minnesota, they also did likewise at Yankee Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays. The only real solace was Oakland dropping two at Tampa. This team needs Aaron Judge with a bat in his hand and probably about two more pitchers. In any event, as “The Boss” would say, “the manager” and this team needs to stop treating it like it’s still June. Shape up or ship out.

GAME 1

Home cooking and the return of Aaron Judge helped the Bronx Bombers rout the Blue Jays 11-0. A hit from every regular in the lineup and a playoff ace outing from Masahiro Tanaka, also helpful. It was nice to be loose and have some fun for a change.

OFFENSE CHIPS AWAY AT ESTRADA

From the jump, the Yankees were all over Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada. In the first frame, Andrew McCutchen got the ball rolling with a double to left. Ensuing batter Giancarlo Stanton coaxed a walk. Aaron Hicks followed with an RBI-single to left. With one down, Didi Gregorius plated Stanton with a groundout. Gleyber Torres beat the shift with an RBI-single to right. Gary Sanchez followed with a single to center. Luke Voit capped off the five-run frame with an RBI-double to left.

During the third inning, Gregorius led off with a hit by pitch. With two down Voit earned a free pass. An RBI-single to center by Brett Gardner would spell the end for Estrada.

Reliever Taylor Guerrieri didn’t have much better luck. After walking McCutchen, Guerrieri surrendered a two-run single to right to Stanton.

TANAKA TWIRLS

Tanaka was sharp once again and the high run support helped him cruise through the Blue Jays lineup. On his ledger, Tanaka tossed six scoreless frames, whiffing eight, while yielding four hits and two walks. In running his scoreless innings streak to 20 consecutive frames, Tanaka appears primed to open the postseason.

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NINE TIMES!

McCutchen had himself a night, going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, single double and in the fifth frame, a home run. McCutchen took a 0-1 offering from Justin Shafer and deposited the solo shot into the right-field bleachers. The drive was McCutchen’s first in pinstripes at Yankee Stadium and increased the New York advantage to 9-0.

HERE COMES THE JUDGE

I joked early how Judge being activated helped the Yankees score five runs in the first inning through osmosis. While his teammates might’ve gotten a boost, the fans in Yankee Stadium definitely did. Judge trotted out to his post in right-field for the eighth and ninth innings but didn’t see any balls hit his way.

DIDI GOES DEEP DEEP

During the bottom of the eighth Gregorius got on the board and gave every Yankees’ regular a hit on the evening. Facing David Paulino, Sir Didi cranked a solo blast to right for home run No. 24 on the campaign.

GAME 2

Oh, the Yankees battled back valiantly but some dubious moves along the way made for a frustrating 8-7 loss to the Blue Jays.

CC HITS A WALL

At first glance, CC Sabathia looked like he’d be able to navigate with ease against a young and impatient Toronto lineup, only needing six pitches to get out of the first inning. Yet, as much as it pains me to say, the rest of the way Sabathia channeled David Cone circa 2000 and got whacked. Granted his lineup didn’t provide him much support early (we’ll get to that) but Sabathia was getting knocked around the Stadium.

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Toronto touched up the veteran southpaw for five runs on seven hits in 2.1 frames of work, including a pair of home runs to Randal Grichuk and one to Kevin Pillar. In a way, it mirrored Sabathia’s outing at Seattle, with lots of soft hits but a flat cutter didn’t help him from also preventing the long ball.

Perhaps a breather would help him but with two-ish starters heading toward the playoffs with Tanaka, J.A. Happ and Luis Severino, time is running out.

BASES LOADED, ZERO OUTS

What could possibly go wrong? You know? Other than everything?! When Blue Jays’ shortstop Lourdes Gurriel Jr. knocked down Torres’ single, Yankees fans went from OK, we have the bases loaded and zero outs to, oh crap we have the bases loaded and zero outs.

In Daisuke Matsuzaka fashion, Sean Reid-Foley walked/worked around the heart of the order and took advantage of the bottom of the order. Reid-Foley would whiff Neil Walker (starting in place of Miguel Andujar for some reason), Voit and literally on his last leg Gardner, squashing the threat.

During the sixth inning, McCutchen would strike out with the bases loaded as well.

New York was an abysmal 2-for-10 with RISP on the afternoon.

PERPLEXING PEN DECISIONS

On the one hand, I have to give credit to manager Aaron Boone for going to Chad Green and Jonathan Holder early to keep the Yankees in it, anticipating the offense would strike back. However, after 3.2 scoreless frames from the two mentioned above, Boone went to Tommy Kahnle instead of David Robertson (again back peddling and citing his unwritten arbitrary “run rule” for when to use certain relievers) and the most proved disastrous.

Perhaps Kahnle should shoot a text to his former pitching coach Don Cooper with the Chicago White Sox. In 0.2 frames, Kahnle surrendered three runs on three hits and one walk.

After getting one out from Stephen Tarpley, Boone would go back to Delling Betances and Zach Britton, go figure.

DIDI BREAKS HIS RECORD

Gregorius reminds me so much of Bernie Williams, the rest of the lineup could be in tatters but he comes up with a big hit to key a rally. In the sixth inning, Gregorius tied his own single-season franchise record for home runs by a shortstop, slugging No. 25 to right, a solo shot off Jake Petricka.

Sir Didi would break his 2017 mark with home run No. 26, taking Danny Barnes deep to right-center for a solo shot in the seventh inning. With Gregorius, it’s getting to be like regardless of the ebbs and flows of a season, he’s right where you expect him to be and continually rising above expectations.

SEVENTH INNING LIGHTNING

The Yankees bullpen decisions are magnified when one realizes the Toronto bullpen is dreadful. New York was able to bat around against the Blue Jays, plating six runs in the process.

Stanton smacked a laser off Ryan Tepera. The solo shot to left was No. 34 on the year for Stanton.

As mentioned, Gregorius would go yard with a one-out solo bomb.

With two down, Torres doubled to left, Walker walked and Tyler Clippard was summoned for Barnes. Voit would continue the rally against Clippard with a walk of his own.

Again the bases were loaded (but hey, with two outs) and Andujar, who in fairness to Boone (insert snarky tone here), benefitted from five innings of rest, popped a clutch grand slam to left, cutting the Toronto advantage to 8-7. It was home run No. 24 on Andujar’s splendid rookie campaign.

However, Clippard wouldn’t pitch the ninth inning and Ken Giles didn’t punch himself in the face again, which added up to a Yankee loss.

GAME 3

Making the jaunt from Albany, NY, I’m burnt and tired from sitting out in left-field and I’m still trying to grasp what happened Sunday afternoon. It looked like the Yankees were going to carry over their late offense from the previous game but they found themselves somehow falling into a 3-2 loss against the mostly Triple-A Toronto pitching staff.

FIRST AND DONE

In the first inning, the Bronx Bombers jumped out in front, as McCutchen drilled a solo leadoff homer to straightaway center against Thomas Pannone. After a Stanton walk and a Hicks single, Gregorius doubled the lead with a sacrifice fly to center.

Other than Teoscar Hernandez playing misplaying a Stanton hit, which allowed him to wind up on third base in the eighth inning, the offense basically pulled a Vonte Davis. It also didn’t help that Boone decided to pull Andujar for defense (Adieiny Hechavarria) in the eighth and then hit Walker for Hechavarria. Honestly, I could’ve lived with Hechavarria, Greg Bird or even Austin Romine over Walker at that point.

WELL, THE PITCHERS CAN’T HIT NOW CAN THEY?

Lance Lynn provided a representative outing with five frames of one-run ball, fanning seven, yielding three hits and one walk. Lynn probably could’ve gone into the sixth but at 80 pitches and an off day on Monday, one can understand going to the bullpen.

Robertson was masterful in his two scoreless frames. Britton pitched a flawless ninth. Yet, Betances seemed to shy away from his heater and a Rowdy Tellez RBI-single to right tied it at two and an RBI-double to right by Grichuk proved to be the difference maker in the eighth.

ON DECK

At 91-58, the Yankees play host to the Boston Red Sox for a three-game series starting Tuesday afternoon.

Pitching probables, Nathan Eovaldi vs. J.A. Happ, David Price vs. Luis Severino, Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Masahiro Tanaka.