The Blue Jays had to win a pitcher’s duel to beat Gerrit Cole, and that’s exactly what they did.
Toronto came away with a 3-1 win over the Yankees after getting just enough offense and a strong night from Shane Bieber, who wasn’t piling up swings and misses but kept New York under control for most of the game. The Jays also got a little help from the Yankees, including a strange mistake by George Lombard jr., who somehow rounded second after advancing on a line single straight to Nathan Lukes and got caught in a rundown at third.
Bieber settled in early and worked efficiently behind solid defense. New York’s first real threat came in the fourth, when Spencer Jones doubled to centre field and moved up on a fly out to put a runner on third with one out.
Bieber answered with a pop out and a fly out to escape. He kept rolling through the fifth, adding his third and fourth strikeouts, before finally giving up a run in the sixth.
Trent Grisham got a fastball out over the plate and chipped it just over the fence into the Yankees’ bullpen in right. Bieber retired the next three hitters and finished the inning with an excellent start that left Toronto in position to take him off the hook.
Cole, meanwhile, was sharp and stubborn. The Blue Jays managed only one real opening against him in the second, when Alejandro Kirk drew a walk and Andres Gimenez lined a double into the right field corner.
Kirk had to stop at third, though, and Cole shut it down by striking out Kazuma Okamoto and getting a ground out from Jesus Sanchez. After that, he retired the next seven Jays in order before a one-out Okamoto single in the fifth, and that runner was stranded too.
Toronto’s offense finally cracked through in the sixth, and the inning turned on a bizarre sequence. Brett Bateman opened with a ground ball single, Nathan Lukes followed by grounding into a fielder’s choice, and then Vladimir Guerrero jr. singled on the ground to move Lukes to second and give the Jays their first runner in scoring position since the second.
George Springer then grounded to third, where Ryan McMahon stepped on the bag and threw to first for what should have been a double play. Instead, the throw was a little off, popped the glove off Luis Garcia jr.‘s hand, and set off chaos.
Guerrero went for third, Garcia threw back across the diamond, and McMahon, hustling back to the bag, jumped to avoid Guerrero sliding in and kicked him in the side of the head. Guerrero got up and scored, but looked shaken in the dugout afterward and later went into the tunnel for concussion tests. Toronto tied the game 1-1 on the play, then took the lead immediately after when Alejandro Kirk lined a ball to the left field wall for a double that brought Springer home.
Guerrero was replaced by Charles McAdoo after going into the tunnel for a concussion evaluation. Tyler Rogers came on for Bieber in the seventh and allowed only a ground ball single. Paul Blackburn took over for New York and retired the first two batters before Ernie Clement and Bateman strung together back-to-back singles, though a pop out kept the runners from scoring.
Rogers handled the first out in the eighth before giving way to Mason Fluharty, who got two soft fly outs. In the bottom half, Bradley Hanner made his MLB debut and started by striking out McAdoo and Springer, but Alejandro Kirk greeted him with a home run to right to push Toronto’s lead to 3-1.
Louis Varland closed it out in the ninth. After the workload he’s carried over the last week, he didn’t waste any time, setting the Yankees down in order on four pitches.
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For the Blue Jays, that matters because the Yankees are still right in the thick of the race, sitting second in the AL East and holding the first American League wild-card spot. A potential Judge return in the final stretch could quickly change the shape of that chase, but for now the bigger question is whether Toronto is dealing with a contender that has already stabilized or one that is about to get a major jolt back in the middle of its order. [Read more 🡒]