With tonight’s 4-2 loss, the Yankees are now 7-15 against the unstoppable juggernaut that is the Toronto Blue Jays offense since the beginning of the 2015 season. With 16 games remaining between the two clubs, the Bombers will need to find a way to turn the tide if they have any hope of taking the division title. Yankees’ starter Nathan Eovaldi was dominant in the early going, but when his command started to slip in the middle innings, Toronto’s sluggers made him pay.
New York struck first in the top of the fourth. After Marcus Stroman hit Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann both singled to load the bases. Carlos Beltran, of all people, just beat out being doubled up on a grounder to Ryan Goins at second, allowing A-Rod to score. Chase Headley walked to re-load the bases. The next pitch from Stroman was bounced in the dirt and skipped away from catcher Russell Martin, bringing in Tex for the Yankees’ second run.
Josh Donaldson erased the Blue Jays’ deficit with one swing in the bottom of the fifth, launching his fifth home run of the year into the second deck in center field, a three run shot that scored Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar. Troy Tulowitzki followed that up with a solo shot to left the next inning to pad the Toronto lead. Eovaldi has never been homer prone, limiting batters to 0.65 HR/9 for his career, but he’s been killed by the long ball in the early going of 2016, with four home runs allowed in his first 11 ⅔ innings.
The Play: Josh Donaldson’s three run homer in the fifth (-.374 WPA)
Donaldson’s three run jack was all the offense the Blue Jays needed. It completely changed the mood of the game in an instant. I really hate that guy.
Top Performers
Yankees- Nathan Eovaldi (6 ⅔ IP, 8 Ks)
Blue Jays- Josh Donaldson (2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBIs)
Notes
– Brian McCann returned to the lineup after coming out of Wednesday night’s game with a bruised toe. McCann took a foul ball off of his left foot and was noticeably limping afterwards. He’s reportedly wearing some extra padding to protect it, but is otherwise not expected to be impeded. He didn’t seem much slower than normal anyway.
– According to George A. King of the New York Post, Dellin Betances was yet another young star to protest Major League Baseball’s compensation of players with less than three years of service time this winter. Betances and his agent rejected a $540,000 offer from the team, knowing that the club could offer him essentially any price they wanted and he’d have to accept it or sit out the season. The Yankees predictably chose to renew his contract at $507,500, or exactly what he made last season. Hopefully this isn’t the start of any bad blood between the team and Betances. Jacob deGrom, Brad Boxberger, and Gerrit Cole are among those players who made their displeasure with the system known this offseason.
– Despite the fact that the Yankees have played only 8 games, the media scrutiny over Alex Rodriguez’s slow start has begun to intensify, to the point where Joe Girardi seemed annoyed about the topic when fielding questions before the game. When asked about the causes of A-Rod’s second half slump, Girardi told reporters, “The last time I checked, I’m not God, so I can’t tell you what happened. But that’s the question you’re always asked when you’re 39 or 40 years old. So time will tell.” Alex is 3-for-29 in the early going with one home run. Girardi didn’t seem concerned with the slump, noting, “When these things happen in the middle of the season, it’s not such a big deal. When it happens early on, people are going to ask.”
The Highlight
Watching Brett Gardner today, it’s pretty clear why he usually accumulates a few nagging injuries by the second half. Here he makes a nifty play by diving backwards into the stands to grab a fly ball. Impressive, but you still have to hold your breath when you see that.
Up Next
The Yankees return home Friday to begin a three game series against Robbie Cano and the Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Luis Severino will take the hill for his second start of the season. Although the box score will tell you he was knocked around in his 2016 debut against the Tigers he allowed 10 hits in just five innings, he looked much better than those numbers indicate. Severino’s fastball was really popping, sitting in the upper 90s. He struck out five, didn’t allow a walk, and only gave up one extra base hit. The miserable Michigan cold didn’t seem to help his command of his breaking ball, leading to the barrage of bloop singles. The forecast for Friday is 63 degrees and sunny in the Bronx, so hopefully everything will be working for Severino.
He’ll face off against 28 year old righty Nate Karns, who was acquired from the Rays in a six player trade last November. Karns throws three average to plus pitches, a mid 90’s fastball, a curve and a change. The problem has always been his control. His 3.43 BB/9 was tenth highest in the league last year. He was a useful back-end starter for Tampa Bay in 2015, although PECOTA expects some regression.
Lead photo: John E. Sokolowski / USA Today Sports