The range of results in the Yankees’ series against the Blue Jays this week could have seen them completely erase their deficit in the AL East, or end it as many as six games back. Needless to say, this series is important. So, the one thing you really wouldn’t want to do is shoot yourselves in the foot needlessly in a game you would really like to win. However, that’s exactly what the Yankees did in the series opener.
On the mound, Carlos Rodón struggled putting away batters, and ended up issuing
five walks in his five innings, giving the Blue Jays traffic on the base paths. Then, to compound things, the defense behind him let him down at the end of his outing, with a pair of bad errors in the fifth inning dooming the Yankees’ further. Meanwhile, the offense didn’t do a ton themselves, as the Yankees fell four back of Toronto after a 4-1 loss.
After both teams traded missed scoring chances, the Yankees struck first. On the very first pitch of the top of the fourth, Giancarlo Stanton took Gausman deep to left field and over the wall for a solo homer:
Nuthin' but a "G" Thang. pic.twitter.com/Mw27bsusqv
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 21, 2025
Having already safely made it across the tight rope a couple times, Rodón eventually fell off in the fifth. Rodón issued his fifth walk of the night to George Springer to start the fifth, never a great sign. After Vladmir Guerrero Jr. added a single, Bo Bichette made the Yankees pay, ripping a double to left that scored both runners. Rodón then got a couple outs, including winning a 14-pitch at-bat against Davis Schneider to get on the verge of keeping the damage there.
A Myles Straw grounder then was seemingly set to end the inning, but Oswald Peraza rushed the throw, which went wide for an error that scored Bichette. In the next at-bat, Leo Jiménez similarly hit a grounder, but this time Anthony Volpe yanked the throw a bit, and Paul Goldschmidt couldn’t scoop it cleanly, allowing Straw to score. Rodón then finally got out of it after a five-out, 40-pitch inning, but the damage had been done, and his night was over.
In his five innings, Rodón allowed four runs — only two of which were earned — on six hits and five walks. He was far from good, but those errors from his defense in the fifth made things so much worse than they needed to be.
Meanwhile, the Yankees’ offense didn’t manage to do much of anything else against Kevin Gausman. The Blue Jays’ starter ended up getting through seven innings, allowing just the one run on four hits and two walks, striking out eight.
The Yankees did get something going once Toronto went to the bullpen. They had two on with one out in the eighth thanks to a Trent Grisham walk and a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single. However, neither Stanton nor Jasson Domínguez could cash in, stranding two on. Things weren’t as dramatic in the ninth as Jeff Hoffman struck out the side to give the Blue Jays the win.
Thanks to the loss, the Yankees definitely cannot end this series tied with the Jays in the standings, but they can still cut into the margin if they get something going. The crucial series in Toronto will continue tomorrow night at 7:07 pm ET. The Yankees’ Cam Schlittler will make his second career start opposite Max Scherzer, who’s made many more than two starts.
More from pinstripealley.com:
- Yankees 12, Braves 9: Grisham's go-ahead slam caps thrilling comeback
- Yankees 2025 draft tracker: Top pick Kilby, 17 others sign thus far
- Sequence of the Week: Carlos Rodón (All-Star Game)
- Yankees Trade Deadline Coverage
- The hitting genius of Aaron Judge
- Pinstripe Alley’s Top 100 Yankees
- 2000 Yankees Diary: The 25th Anniversary of MLB’s Last Three-peat
