On Monday, the New York Yankees faced off against the Toronto Blue Jays, coming off three consecutive series wins and a nine-game win streak. Toronto is a far more difficult team to beat, hosting a 15–9 record. The Yankees still sit atop the MLB at 17–6, 1.5 games above the New York Mets.
The Bombers featured Jordan Montgomery on the mound in the first game of a three games series against Toronto, and he pitched extremely well, limiting the Blue Jays to just two runs.
Good news and bad news for the Yankees after tough win over Toronto:
Montgomery pieced together another quality performance, lasting 5.0 innings and giving up two earned runs, striking five batters. He only lasted 65 pitches before the Yankees called upon Jonathan Loaisiga to take over, but Monty hosts a 2.88 ERA this season.
“We’re playing really good baseball,” Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery said. “We’re doing what it takes to win, just playing good defense, situational hitting. It’s nice to win close games.”
The bullpen was fantastic the rest of the way, limiting Toronto to three hits and four strikeouts. Clay Holmes ended up securing the win for the Yankees, who still hosts a 0.75 ERA as one of the team’s best bullpen arms with his lethal sinker.
However, it wasn’t until the 9th inning when the Yankees called upon Gleyber Torres to get the job done. Torres smacked his third home run of the season in the 4th inning, driving in Josh Donaldson, but with two outs at the top of the 9th, Torres smacked a single to right field, driving in Tim Locastro.
“In that spot right there, that’s when Gleyber is at his best,” Boone said. “Runner out there, Garcia is a tough guy, especially against right-handed hitters. Just a great approach the other way there, and game-winner.”
Torres has elevated his average to .239 with a .722 OPS. He’s been far more effective this past week, picking up five hits, two homers, and six RBIs over his last four games.
In addition to Torres, the Yankees limited their strikeouts to six, a healthy number that indicated a good presence in the batter’s box.
The primary negatives revolve around Aaron Hicks and Joey Gallo once again sitting out due to a left-groin injury. He struck out three times in the game over four at-bats, lowering his average to. 263 after hovering around .300 over the weekend. Hicks has struggled considerably to perform with runners in scoring position. He has proven to be a liability at times with his inconsistency, but he still draws a lot of pitches and forces pitchers to work.
Gallo, on the other hand, believes the injury isn’t too serious and continues to sit out as a precaution. The Yankees keep winning games, so they can take a more cautious approach with his return.