The New York Yankees have completed their ten games with the Toronto Blue Jays this season, and they are happy to leave Buffalo in the rearview mirror. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 3-0 at Yankee Stadium, but were 2-5 when playing the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. Last night they lost their second consecutive game at Buffalo. It wasn’t a slaughter like on Wednesday night, but the 4-1 loss was disappointing for the Yankees trying to improve their seeding in the playoffs. Instead, the Blue Jays celebrated, nailing down their place in the postseason.
Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery may not have had his best stuff, but he didn’t pitch poorly either; in fact, all of his pitches seemed to be working except for a few curve balls. A few bad pitches cost Montgomery as he gave up three runs over 5.1 innings, while striking out eight Blue Jays. Unfortunately, for “Monty,” he got no run support; the Yankees didn’t score until the eighth inning, preventing the shutout. Like in some of the games the Yankees have lost this season, the hitting just wasn’t there. They also went 1-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving a total of 11 Yankees on base.
The New York Yankees cleaned up their act from Wednesday night when they had four errors in the loss. Last night the Yankees were errorless with Gio Urshela showing off at third base with a few fantastic plays. Even Gleyber Torres made a Jeter-like spinning jump for an out at first base. One of the reasons for the Blue Jays’ success, particularly at Sahlen Field, ,was a guy named Vlad Guerrero Jr. He was a thorn for the Yankees as he frequently scored off Yankee pitching. In last night’s game, he was 3-4 with a homer in the bottom of the second inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Gio Urshela drove in the only Yankee run of the game. In the inning, the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs for catcher Kyle Higashioka, but manager Aaron Boone, pinch hit Higgy with Gary Sanchez, who has a batting average .143. Although he almost hit a grand slam, the bottom line is he was out again, leaving the bases loaded with Yankees. It is a puzzle to this writer why Boone would continue to have faith in Sanchez, when he disappoints repeatedly. Why, in a key moment in the game, down three, do you put in a pinch hitter with only 21 hits on the season. Higashioka had a legitimate chance of getting a hit and driving in some runs. Sanchez has come up to bat numerous times with men on and usually leaves them hanging.
Jordan Montgomery took the loss and Ryu got the win with Dolis recording the save. Today, the Yankees will start anew, back at the Stadium in the Bronx, as they tackle their last series of the regular season. Tonight they face Derek Jeter’s Miami Marlins and finish up the season with two matinees over the weekend, having already gotten their berth in the playoffs.