On Wednesday evening, the New York Yankees faced off against the Toronto Blue Jays, dropping their first game in 11 contests. Toronto held the Bombers to just one run, courtesy of Yusei Kikuchi, who allowed three hits and one run over 6.0 innings.
The Yankees only curated four hits of offensive production, and their lone run was courtesy of a Joey Gallo solo shot in the third inning, which traveled 417 feet.
It was only a matter of time before the Yankees’ offense failed to produce, but they are still in great shape, having won 11 of their last 12 games and currently sitting No. 1 in the AL East and at the top of the food chain in Major League Baseball.
Good news and bad news for the Yankees:
The good news from the loss is hard to come by, aside from Gallo making a return from injury. Gallo suffered a left groin issue several days ago, missing a few games. However, he produced the only run for the Yankees in the loss, also tallying a walk in the process. The only other players to record hits were DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, and Kyle Higashioka.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be an off game for the Yankees, but the home-plate umpire could’ve been a bit more consistent, calling several extremely low pitches strikes on Aaron Judge. Manager Aaron Boone threw a fit over the poor strike calls. Unfortunately, Judge struck out three times.
“We’re playing for a lot,” Boone said. “I just felt like there were a couple there in situations that didn’t go our way.”
As for the pitching, Nestor Cortes lasted 4.0 innings, giving up four hits and two runs. He also allowed four walks, striking out three batters. This was arguably Cortes’s worst performance of the year, but he is granted a pass considering how dominant he’s been. Cortes still features the best ERA on the team at 1.82.
Relief pitcher Michael King looked phenomenal, striking out three batters and not allowing a single hit over three innings. For the most part, the pitching was more than adequate in the loss, the offense just couldn’t get going. In the 9th inning, the Yankees had the bases-loaded with Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the plate, but he grounded out to 3rd base.
The Yankees will enjoy a day off on Thursday before taking on the Texas Rangers in a three-game series.