After being a disappointment so far, Jacoby Ellsbury’s season seemed to get even worse in the early stages of Tuesday’s game.
In the bottom of the third inning, Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista hit a deep fly ball to center field just out of the reach of Ellsbury, who was positioned in left-center expecting the pull. The ball bounced to the wall and two runs scored, giving Toronto a 2-1 lead.
But in a surprising turn of events, Ellsbury redeemed himself.
With the score tied 2-2, he made up for his mistake and drove in the winning run, an RBI single that scored Chase Headley. Ellsbury, who had been struggling at the plate and in the field, finished the game 2-for-5 to raise his batting average to .250.
The Yankees held the lead and won the game 3-2 thanks to Ellsbury’s hit, and yet another big hit from catcher Brian McCann.
THE PLAY: MCCANN’S SOLO SHOT IN THE SIXTH INNING (+.168 WPA)
Aaron Sanchez had been mowing down the Yankees until McCann’s home run, a no-doubter over the bullpen in right field. The homer was McCann’s second of the season, both of which have come off righties. His first was last week against Mike Fiers in an 8-5 win over Houston.
McCann continued his hot start to the season, raising his slash line to .500/.591/.889 in 18 at-bats on the young season.
TOP PERFORMERS
Yankees — Brian McCann (2-for-3, 2R, 1 RBI)
Blue Jays — Jose Bautista (1-for-3, 2 RBIs)
NOTES
— Masahiro Tanaka started the game and pitched well, striking out 6 and walking 4 in 5 innings and 92 pitches. Andrew Miller, broken hand and all, shut the door in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning for his second save of the year.
— McCann left Tuesday’s game early after fouling a ball off his foot, but tests after the game showed no fractures and he was diagnosed with a bruise. He will be listed day-to-day and Austin Romine should start in Wednesday’s game.
— Tanaka started off in a jam, needing 52 pitches to navigate the game’s first two innings. After Bautista’s double he ultimately settled down and pitched five solid innings and left trailing 2-1. He finished the game with 92 total pitches, 54 of which were strikes.
— Johnny Barbato impressed again in the sixth inning tonight, hitting 95 on the radar gun and not allowing a hit and getting the win in relief. It was the first win of his major league career and he has now thrown 3 scoreless innings to start the season.
— Further, the bullpen has been as advertised so far this season. In 21.1 innings, the Yankee ‘pen has a 0.84 ERA, .190 batting average against, and 32 strikeouts.
— Starlin Castro made his first error this season, an errant throw on a potential double play that bounced into the stands. While Castro has always been renowned for his hitting abilities and has gotten off to a hot start this season, he had a reputation with the Cubs as a poor and lazy defender. His move from shortstop abated some of this chatter last season though.
THE QUOTE
“Following Dellin makes it easy, he went through the heart of that lineup, which was unbelievable. Those guys are really, really good.” — Andrew Miller, on the Yankees bullpen
THE HIGHLIGHT: BETANCES FREEZES BAUTISTA WITH A RUNNER ON 2ND
NEXT UP
The Yankees continue their series with Toronto tomorrow night at 7:07 p.m. Michael Pineda (1-0, 10.80 ERA) is slated to face J.A. Happ (0-0, 3.00 ERA) on the mound.
Lead photo: Nick Turchiaro / USA Today Sports