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Series Recap
·7 min read

Series Recap: Yankees broom away Blue Jays

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Paying homage to the 1998 World Series champion New York Yankees, the current edition put on a clinic worthy of that club, bludgeoning the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium. In doing so the Yankees moved to a season-high 32-games above .500, their best mark since the 2011 campaign. This series saw Greg Bird and Luis Severino hopefully getting back on track. On the downside, Didi Gregorius may be missing some time with a heel bruise.

GAME 1

Showing resolve, the Yankees erased a 4-0 deficit and earned a solid 7-5 comeback victory in a rain-shortened affair which goes into the books as seven innings.

LANCE LANGUISHES

I’m not going to make excuses for him but Lance Lynn wasn’t brought in here start, let alone carry the rotation. While it was clearly his worst outing in pinstripes, Lynn would battle back after a rough first frame. In that first inning, a leadoff walk by Curtis Granderson would set the table. After Devon Travis grounded into a force out, a wild pitch would move him to second base. Following a free pass to Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales would plate a run with a single to left.

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The Jays would continue after a Russell Martin strikeout, Kevin Pillar singled into the Bermuda triangle in right, scoring another run. Ensuing batter Randal Grichuk would coax a walk. Aldemys Diaz would cap off Toronto’s scoring for the inning with a two-run single to center.

Lynn would also yield an RBI-single to Travis in the fifth.

On his final ledger, Lynn allowed five runs on six hits and three walks in four frames, fanning five.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT FOR LONG

Luckily it didn’t take the Yankees’ bats to wake up and respond against a Blue Jays starting pitching which has vastly underachieved all season. Facing Marcus Stroman, Aaron Hicks set the scene with a two-out walk. Didi Gregorius plated the first New York run by slicing a triple past Pillar in left-center.

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Miguel Andujar followed with (say it with me) an RBI-double to right, cutting the Toronto advantage in half.

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SKYWALKER

Before the rains came, the Bronx Bombers would storm back to take the lead in the fourth. With one down, Gleyber Torres opened the attack by lining a double to left. After Greg Bird collected a free pass, Neil Walker unleashed a three-run bomb to right, providing the Bronx Bombers with a 5-4 lead.

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BRINGER OF RAIN

Google “bringer of rain” and a picture of Josh Donaldson will pop up. Yet, since he’s on the disabled list, it would be up to Giancarlo Stanton to carry that mantle. Oh yeah and hit one out like Mantle!

During the seventh inning, Stanton crushed a solo bomb above the Yankee bullpen, where Dellin Betances would toss warm-up pitches in a game in which he would never have to enter. Stanton’s 31st came on a 1-2 fastball and he absolutely tattooed the ball.

Following a strikeout of Hicks, the tarp was rolled on and the Yankees would roll off a victory.

GAME 2

With most of the 1998 Yankees World Series-winning team in attendance, the 2018 edition played inspired baseball in their 11-6 victory.

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DIDI DINGER

While Derek Jeter appeared on a video board message, the Yankees current shortstop got them on the scoreboard against Sean Reid-Foley. After Brett Gardner walked and stole second base with two down, Gregorius launched a two-run tater to right-center for home run No. 22 in the first frame.

MIGGY POP

If Scott Brosius could’ve been in the house, he would’ve been proud of the current occupant at his position. During the third inning, Andujar smoked a two-run double to left, increasing the New York advantage to 5-0.

In the fifth inning, the rookie third baseman slugged home run No. 20 to left, a solo shot. In doing so, Andujar joined Joe DiMaggio as Yankees rookies with 20 home runs and 36 doubles in a season. Andujar also joined DiMaggio, Don Mattingly and Mickey Mantle as Yankees age 23 or younger with 20+ home runs and 35+ doubles in a campaign.

STANTON’S BIG STRAW

In 1998 it felt like Darryl Strawberry could roll out of bed and wallop a pinch-hit grand slam. Stanton is making it look nearly as easy of late. In the fourth inning, the Yankees DH destroyed a 2-0 offering to left-center for home run No. 32 on the season.

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SEVY STEADY

One can’t help but wonder which former ’98 Yanks pitcher(s) pulled Luis Severino aside and tweaked his arm angle and mechanics. It wasn’t a long outing but Severino looked as sharp as he has since the All-Star break. Severino went five-plus, whiffed eight, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks.

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SLOPPY SIXTH

Although they were playing with an 8-0 lead, there probably wasn’t any reason to march Severino and his high pitch count out for the sixth inning. That and there was a defensive unraveling.

Granderson started off the inning with a double to left, bobbled by Gardner, which enabled Granderson to wind up on third base. Smoak lined an RBI-single to right, effectively ending Severino’s afternoon.

My regular readers know I’m a big Tommy Kahnle defender but he probably pitched his way back to Triple-A with this outing. After getting Pillar to line out to center, Teoscar Hernandez singled to left. Danny Jansen followed with an RBI-single to left. Kahnle rebounded with a strikeout of Diaz but after issuing a walk to Richard Urena, his outing was over.

With Jonathan Holder in the game, Walker played a Billy McKinney drive into a bases-clearing triple. Luckily McKinney would overslide the bag to end the threat but the damage was done.

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ONE-TWO PUNCH

Calming things down out of the bullpen were Zach Britton and Dellin Betances. Britton kept the ball on the ground with three groundball outs and a telling third out throw by Andujar to Torres on a force out to end the frame. Betances would also hurl a scoreless frame, fanning a pair with great movement on his breaking ball.

BIRD LIVES

An inning after being unable to scoop a jump pass throw from Gregorius, Bird’s bat woke up against Luis Santos. Leading off the eighth, Bird swatted home run No. 10 to right. It opened up what would be a three-run frame.

GAME 3

Given the opportunity to go for the sweep, the Bronx Bombers went for the jugular and crushed the Blue Jays 10-2.

BIRD BATH

Right off the rip, New York’s offense put up a touchdown in the first frame against rookie Ryan Borucki. Trailing 1-0, consecutive walks by Hicks and Stanton, along with a double-steal, set the table for Andujar. Andujar would notch an RBI-single to left. Gregorius, the ensuing batter would double the Yankees advantage on a ground ball single to second, which would also prove costly for Gregorius, who would later leave the game with a heel bruise. Torres followed with a single by beating out a dribbler to load the bases.

Bird delivered the big blow with his second grand slam of the season, smoking a 2-1 sinker to right and posting the Yankees to a 6-1 lead. A day after homering late, Bird was allowed to start the next day and one wonders if this doesn’t get him into a groove going forward.

HAPPY CAMPER

J.A. Happ didn’t need to be perfect and he more than pitched to the scoreboard in this outing. Tossing 5.1 frames, Happ’s only blips were a first-inning home run to Grichuk and one in the sixth to Morales. Happ yielded two runs on seven hits and one walk, fanning eight. Happ joined David Cone in the club of Yankees who won their first four starts with the club.

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INSURANCE RUNS

New York would tack on four more runs during the sixth. A Stanton RBI-single to right made it 7-2. Andujar grounded into a force out, plating the eighth run. After the Yankees benefitted from a bang-bang play at first involving Bird and the Blue Jays had run out of challenges, Kyle Higashioka plated two with a single to center.

ON DECK

At 78-46, the Yankees travel to Miami, where they’ll face the Miami Marlins for a two-game set starting Tuesday night.

Pitching probables, Masahiro Tanaka vs. Pablo Lopez, Lance Lynn vs. Trevor Richards.