There was plenty of buzz and excitement regarding this Friday afternoon contest between the Blue Jays and Yankees, as it would be the home opener here in the Bronx. With Marcus Stroman, a New York native, on the mound for the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees would go up against veteran left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who has had some success here at Yankee Stadium in his MLB career. With the Yankees entering today at 6-1 and the Blue Jays looking to get back to .500, these two ballclubs would be in a familiar situation with an early-season division clash.
It would be Toronto who came out on top, as the Yankees would get shut down by the Blue Jays’ pitching staff and drop this one in an uninspiring X-X loss.
Marcus Stroman Dazzles, But Yankees Can’t Get Offense Going
Today wasn’t the best day for this Yankees’ offense, who have seemed to hit a lull in their recent games as this is the second time they’ve been shut out in the last three days. Marcus Stroman was brilliant, doing everything he could to give the Yankees a fighting chance, as he allowed just three hits and one walk across his six innings of scoreless baseball. In his two starts with the Bronx Bombers thus far, he’s yet to allow an earned run.
Pitching has not been an issue for the Yankees, but eerily similar to last year, the offense completely laid an egg, as they struggled to do much of anything when they made contact. It’s hard to call a team with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton incapable of doing damage on contact, but they’ve somehow had the power seeped out of them. It’s an odd sentence to write, but somehow the Bronx Bombers are…not hitting for enough power?
The Toronto Blue Jays needed just one swing to give them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as Ernie Clement drove a ball into the left-field seats for a solo blast on the first pitch from Caleb Ferguson. They’d exchange more zeroes until the ninth inning, where the Blue Jays would add two insurance runs after Nick Burdi lost control of the strike zone and sailed two balls past Jose Trevino to allow to runners to cross home plate.
As an offense, they had six hits and three walks, but they were unable to get anyone into scoring position until the ninth and didn’t have a single extra base hit.
Now, the Yankees fall to 6-2 on the season, losing their first series opener of the year, but they’ll have a chance to bounce back tomorrow. The Yankees are throwing Clarke Schmidt as he goes up against Kevin Gausman for a Saturday night contest in the Bronx.