New York Yankees Recap: Corey Kluber good, Loaisiga brilliant, Sanchez homers again in win

New York Yankees, Jonathan Loaisiga
Sep 30, 2018; Boston, MA, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga (38) walks off of the field after the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Today for the New York Yankees, Corey Kluber made his Yankee debut at Yankee Stadium, and he had 11 million reasons to pitch well. He will be a free agent at the end of the season; he would like to up his value to when he was a Cy Young Award winner. Today he faced the Toronto Blue Jays Ross Stripling a swingman forced into the starting rotation due to Blue Jays’ pitching injuries. Last year between the Dodgers and the Jays, he had a 3-3 record and an ERA hovering at 6.00. It was a beautiful day for baseball in the Bronx. The bright sun lighted the field throughout the game with a game temperature of 50.

Shortly after 1:05 pm, Corey Kluber took the Yankee’s mound; he faced Marcus Semien of the Jays. Semien singled sharply, Baggio at the plate Semien stole second. Baggio singled when Frazier lost the ball in the sun. Bichetter hit into a double play that Urshela was able to get rid of the ball quickly. Hernandez struck out to end the half and gave Kluber his first scoreless inning in pinstripes. LeMahieu led off for the Yankees against Stripling he popped out in the infield. Aaron Judge had a sharply hit single to left. Aaron Hicks struck out. Giancarlo Stanton walked, moving Judge to second. Gleyber Torres flew out to center, leaving two Yankees on base. No score.

At the top of the second, Vlad Guerrero Jr. was hit by a pitch. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit into a double play. Rowdy Tellez struck out to end the half. Jay Bruce at the bottom struck out. Gary Sanchez ground out. Gio Urshela singled to center. Clint Frazier hit a booming double to the left-field wall moving Urshela to third base. LeMahieu singled, and Urshela scored for the Yankee lead. Judge came to bat with men on the corners; he ground out. New York Yankees 1 Jay 0.

Grichuk against Kluber struck out.  Jensen walked, Semien walked, Biggio at the plate, Sanchez had a passed ball with Jensen reaching third. Matt Black, who worked with Kluber with the Indians, came out to the mound to talk things over. Semien stole second, and Jensen scored when Sanchez threw an off-center throw to second. Tie score with two outs. Bo Bichette struck out looking. Hicks led off the bottom, striking out. Stanton had a huge fly out to the left. Torres hit a single to right-center. Bruce went down looking. Yankees 1 Jays 1.

Hernandez started the fourth grounding out. Guerrero Jr. singled up the center. Gurriel Jr. line drove to left. Tellez flew out to Judge, and Judge fired in keeping Guerrero at third with men on the corners. Grichuk walked, loading the bases with Blue Jays. Danny Jansen ground out to end the half. Gary Sanchez at the bottom hit a line drive bomb into the left-field stands to give the Yankees the lead. Urshela struck out. Clint Frazier walked. LeMahieu singled, moving Frazier to second. The Jays relieved Stripling in favor of Chatwood. Aaron Judge loaded the bases for Hicks. Hicks singled, driving in Frazier as the Yankees tacked on a run. Stanton, with the bases, still loaded flew out behind the plate for the second out. Torres struck out, leaving the bases loaded. New York Yankees 3 Jays 1.

Marcus Semien homered off Kluber, and that was his day being replaced by Jonathan Loaisiga in the fifth. Baggio struck out, Bichette struck out, and Hernandez flew out to center, and Loaisiga goes 1-2-3. At the bottom, Bruce ground out to short. Sanchez flew out. Urshela singled and made it to second on a throwing error. Frazier ground out to end the inning. Yankees 3 Jays 1.

Loaisiga out for a second inning he grounded out Guerrero Jr. Gurriel Jr. ground out. Tellez struck out. For Loaisiga, that was 6 up and 6 down. At the bottom, LeMahieu walked. Judge flew out to left. Hicks struck out for his 6th time in two games. Stanton walked for two on and two outs. Gleyber Torres walked to load the bases again for the Yankees. Bruce hit his first hit as a Yankee and drove in two runs to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead. Sanchez ground out.

At the seventh, Lucas Luetge made his major league debut on the mound for the Yankees. Grichuk singled on a hit that dropped in front of Judge. Crichuk advanced on a ball that bounced off Sanchez’s chest protector. Then another got away from Sanchez, letting him go to third. Jansen struck out. Semien ground out, but Crichuk scored. Baggio ground out. Urshela at the bottom struck out, Frazier went down looking. The Jays made a pitching change, and LeMahieu made a lot out to right. Yankees 5 Jays 3.

At the top of the eight with O’Day on the mound, Bichette hit a blooped hit over DJ’s head. Hernandez had a base hit moving Bichetter to second. Guerrero Jr. flew out. Gurriel Jr. flew out to Gardner. Chad Green replaced O’Day. Tellez struck out.  Judge led off at the bottom of the eighth with a strikeout. Hicks walked. Stanton flew out to shallow center. Torres ground out to short. Yankees 5 Jays 3.

With last licks on the line for the Blue Jays, Chad Green returned to the mound to face Grichuk, who struck out. Joe Panik flew out to short. Semien popped out to Urshela, and that was the game. Final score Yankees 5 Jays 3. Kluber was good, but Loaisiga in relief went six up and six down. The New York Yankees had 11 hits and 6 walks with much traffic on the basepaths. Yet they were only able to score 5 runs, but it was enough.  The winning pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga, loser Stripling, and the save went to Chad Green.