The New York Yankees, after scoring 20 runs off the Toronto Blue Jays, just a day ago, last night scored another 13 runs off the Blue Jays. It was Gerrit Cole’s 100th win in Cole’s career and the seventh straight win for the Yankees. The Blue Jays just haven’t been able to hold down the Yankees soaring power behind the plate. The Yankees scored their 13th run of Jays pitching in just two games. The Yankees will try for the sweep of the Jays tonight.
In just the past week, the New York Yankees fortunes have made a dramatic shift from losing multiple games in a row to winning multiple games. Just two weeks ago, the Yankees looked as if they might miss the postseason entirely. Now the Yankees progressing to the postseason seems almost inevitable. It started with Luke Voit, firing up home runs, and it became infectious as more and more Yankees started hitting the long ball with men on base. Last night catcher Kyle Higashioka hit three homers in the game. Higashioka became only the fourth Yankee catcher to accomplish that feat; the others are Tony Lazzeri, Mike Stanley, and Gary Sanchez.
Gerrit Cole started the night in the first inning by striking out two jays and shutting them down with just ten pitches. Cole would go on to pitch seven innings for his second game in a row. He allowed three hits, with one earned run, two walks while striking out 8 Jays. Jonathan Loaisiga, in his return from the IL, pitched a clean eighth, and Nick Nelson pitched the ninth allow the Jays one more run. The winning pitcher was Gerrit Cole, and the loser was Tanner Roark, who the Yankees hammered for six runs.
The Yankee offense, as in recent games, got started early in the game. In the Yankees first inning, DJ LeMahieu stepped to the plate and hit the first ball he saw from Roark into the right-field stands. Next up was the returning Aaron Judge; Judge remained hitless in the game as did Giancarlo Stanton the night before, while they find their timing. Next up was Kyle Higashioka, who hit his first homer of the night, a two-bagger, and it was 3-0 Yankees. At the bottom of the fourth, Clint Frazier’s quick bat registered his home run far into the left-field bleachers. 4-0 New York Yankees.
DJ followed up in the Yankee’s fourth with his second long ball of the game, a two-run shot. Yankees 6-0. At the bottom of the fifth, Clint Frazier got his second RBI, driving in Aaron HIcks with a single. At the bottom of the sixth, “Higgy” hit his second homer of the night, a solo shot to left. Luke Voit followed in the sixth with a three-run long ball, making it 11-1 Yankees. Higashioka, in his fourth at-bat of the night, hit a two-run shot, his third homer of the night, making it 13-1 Yankees. Higashioka when rounding the bases couldn’t help but have a broad smile on his face. The Jays got their second run of the night in the last at-bat of the game. Joe Panik homered for the Jays.
After seven straight wins, the Yankees will again face the Jays in the series, finally at Yankee Stadium. Tonight Masahiro Tanaka will face Jay’s right-hander Chase Anderson. The Yankees will then travel to Fenway Park for a weekend series with the Boston Red Sox.