It’s hard to win playoff games when you leave six runners on base and go 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
It’s hard to win playoff games when your starting pitcher goes 2.2 innings, even if they are the No. 4 starter in the rotation.
It’s hard to win playoff games when your bullpen combines to allow eight runs.
Do all of those things in one game, and, yeah, you’re gonna lose.
Basically nothing went right for the Yankees in the Division Series opener against the Blue Jays at Rogers CEntre. On
the mound, Luis Gil wasn’t awful, but didn’t have much command at all in a short outing. In relief, the bullpen was OK for a little bit, but two of the Yankees’ most important relievers failed to keep it a tight ballgame. That being said, even if they had kept it somewhat close, the Yankees’ offense didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, managing just one run—with even that one coming as part of a big missed opportunity.
A bunch of stuff that could go wrong did as the Yankees fell 10-1 to the Blue Jays to start the ALDS. As the previous round against the Red Sox demonstrated, a loss in the opener doesn’t spell doom, but it also removes most margin for error. With this dud, the Yankees will be stuck on their back foot for at least the majority of the series.
As they would all game long, the Blue Jays got the better of things early. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk hit solo homers to give Toronto an early 2-0 lead by the end of the second. In between them, Guerrero made an impressive diving catch to rob Ryan McMahon of a hit down the line. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was also at first, and got doubled up on the play, preventing the Yankees from setting themselves up with a couple runners in scoring position. Kevin Gausman steamrolled through the lineup, needing just 50 pitches to get through five scoreless on two hits.
Having allowed the solo homers, Gil gave up a couple more hits in the third, which led to Aaron Boone giving him a very early hook. In 2.2 innings, he allowed two runs on four hits. He actually didn’t walk anyone, which is often his biggest hinderance, but he was hardly mowing Jays’ batters down, and with their playing style, it’s understandable to not want to push Gil too far against them. For their part, Tim Hill and Camilo Doval did yeoman’s work to keep the Jays at bay, combining 3.1 innings of nearly pristine ball.
Thanks to Hill and Doval’s efforts, it was still 2-0 when the Yankees finally got something going against Gausman in the sixth. Regrettably, it turned out to be a missed opportunity for a huge inning. Following hits from Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells, Gausman walked Trent Grisham to load the bases with nobody out. Aaron Judge was next up, but he made an ugly decision on a swinging third strike. However, Gausman then aided the Yankees with a bases-loaded walk to Cody Bellinger to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
Ben Rice was next up and could’ve tied the game with a deep fly or perhaps even given New York the lead with a hit. Instead, he popped out, and Toronto then went to their bullpen to bring in Louis Varland. Giancarlo Stanton was at the plate with all three baserunners still out there, but Varland managed to get him swinging to get out of that inning. That pretty much deflated
The bullpen had fared well in relief of Gil until Luke Weaver came in for the seventh, looking to erase the bad memories of his no-out loss in the Wild Card Series opener against Boston. Instead, he essentially matched it. Toronto started the inning with three consecutive singles, the last of which — from Andrés Giménez — scored a run. That chased Weaver from the game with 2025 postseason ERA still sitting at infinity.
Fernando Cruz came in for himWeaver and made a nice play to get the lead runner at third on a bunt attempt. Unfortunately, the pitching part didn’t go as well. Following a walk to George Springer to load the bases, Nathan Lukes brought home two runners with a double, getting the bases-loaded knock that eluded the Yanks in the sixth.
After Cruz allowed another run on a sacrifice fly, Paul Blackburn came in and finally ended the inning.
The combination of leaving the bases loaded and bullpen allowing a four-spot ended up being the killer for the Yankees. Not that they needed it, but the Blue Jays picked up a couple more runs for the road, as Blackburn was made to wear it in the eighth inning. That’s how the final score got silly, but he at least ensured that everyone else in the ‘pen got a day off. The final score was 10-1, Blue Jays, as they snapped their seven-game postseason losing streak that dated back to the 2016 ALCS. This generation of Jays finally has its first playoff win.
The good news is that the Yankees do have experience in these very playoffs winning a series after falling behind 1-0 after starting the series with a stinker. But it would’ve been nice to not have to try and do that twice.
Despite the ugly loss, the Yankees could still steal home-field advantage with a win in Game 2. They will send ace Max Fried to the hill for that game, while rookie righty Trey Yesavage will go for the Blue Jays. First pitch for that game is set to be at 4:08pm ET.
