Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees Battle In Game 1 Showdown

The Blue Jays hosted the Yankees in the first game of a four-game series. The Yankees had a pitching advantage, but the Blue Jays have been red hot. The Yankees lost this game 5-4. The Yankees need to beat the Blue Jays because, with a three-game lead for the Yankees over the Blue Jays in the division, any win for the Yankees in this rare four-game series makes it impossible for the Blue Jays to leapfrog the Yankees in the standings.

Lineups As Blue Jays Host Yankees

The Blue Jays had Ernie Clement as the shortstop, batting leadoff. George Springer was the center fielder, batting second. He was hurt in the sixth inning and replaced by Andrés Giménez, who stayed in to play second base. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the first baseman, batting third. Alejandro Kirk was the catcher, batting fourth. Addison Barger was the third baseman and batted fifth.

Davis Schneider was the second baseman and batted sixth. He moved to left field in the seventh inning. Myles Straw was the center fielder and batted seventh. Jonatan Clase was the left fielder and batted eighth. Will Wagner was the designated hitter and batted ninth. Nathan Lukes pinch-hit for him in the sixth inning. He stayed in to play right field.

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham batted first and was the center fielder. Jasson Dominguez replaced him by playing left field in the fifth inning. Cody Bellinger was the left fielder and batted second, though he moved to center field when Grishan left the game in the fifth inning. Aaron Judge was the right fielder who batted third. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the third baseman and batted fourth. Giancarlo Stanton was the designated hitter, batting fifth.

Ben Rice was the first baseman and batted sixth. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted seventh. JC Escarra was the catcher and batted eighth. DJ LeMehieu was the second baseman and batted ninth.

Game Reaction

Max Scherzer pitched very well. It was like he turned back the clock, and it was good to see. Scherzer retired the first nine hitters before Grisham singled in the fourth inning. Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning. Since he came off the injured list, he has been on fire. That was his seventh home run.

Carlos Rodon threw 96 pitches in only five innings. He was frustrated and felt he had been squeezed by the umpires. His outing was very un-ace-like. Scherzer also only pitched five innings.

News and Notes 

The Yankees had Rodon starting this game for them. That gave them the pitching advantage in this game, and they needed to take advantage. Rodon has pitched like an ace in recent games. The Yankees hoped the two home runs hit by Judge last night portend an end to the slump for the slugger. It seems the team hits like he does, so his performance is important.

Both Fernando Cruz and Austin Wells are hurt for the Yankees. Cruz suffered an oblique strain while working out and landed on the injured list for the second time this season. Wells has a circulation issue with his finger. He is not on the Injured list yet but could end up there.

They have renamed the SkyDome the Rogers Centre. They also changed the outfield fence to a bit of a zig-zag. The home of the Blue Jays will always be the SkyDome for baseball fans.

Scoring Summary

In the fourth inning. ChisHolm Jr. hit a two-run home run, and Grisham scored. That made it 2-0 Yankees. An interesting note, in the at-bat before Scherzer and Judge had a titanic battle. Judge fouled a 3-2 pitch foul into the fifth deck down the third base line. Maybe Schezer expended so much energy in that at-bat that he was tired.

In the fifth inning, Guerrero Jr. grounded out, and Clement scored. That cut the Yankees’ lead over the Blue Jays to 2-1. In the sixth inning, Stanton singled and Dominguez scored. That made the score 3-1 Yankees.

In the sixth inning, Lukes singled and Schneider scored. That cut the Yankees’ lead to 3-2. Later in that inning, Clement singled to the shortstop, and the game was tied 3-3. Then the horrors continued. Guerrero Jr. singled and Lukes and Clement scored. Toronto took a 5-3 lead. In the eighth inning, Bellinger hit a solo home run. That drew the Yankees to within one. It was 5-4. That is the way the game ended.

Final Thoughts

It may not have seemed like it, but this was an important game. All the games in this series are important. As a four-game series, if the Yankees won any of these games, it would guarantee them staying ahead of the Blue Jays in the AL East standings. It will be easy for the Yankees to look past this game with a big three-game series against the Mets next. The Mets are struggling.