TORONTO — For eight innings, this looked like a game the Yankees might let slip away in a building that has tormented them. Two aces traded zeros, runs were scarce, and a one-run deficit hung in the air. Then, in the ninth, a 38-year-old who was supposed to be a part-time bat reminded everyone why he keeps hitting in the middle of the order. Paul Goldschmidt did it again.
His tiebreaking blast turned a tense pitchers’ duel into a 3-1 Yankees victory, snapping a long stretch of futility north of the border and rewarding a brilliant start from Cam Schlittler.
A duel of aces
The story for most of the afternoon was pitching, and the Yankees got a gem. Schlittler matched up against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman, and neither budged for most of the day at Rogers Centre.
Schlittler struck out seven over seven gritty innings, lowering his American League-best ERA to 1.82. The only blemish was a third-inning home run by Kazuma Okamoto. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and leaned on his defense to escape trouble. Boone praised the way his young ace fought through it.
“He grinded his way through seven,” Boone said. “It still felt like he was throwing a lot of strikes. He’s so good that, as long as he continues to make pitches, he’s got the ability to get himself out because of his stuff.”
Cam Schlittler, who has been refining his four-seam fastball command, felt the work pay off.
“I’ve been trying to feel it out the last two weeks,” Schlittler said. “I think I did in the right spots today.”
A defensive gem and a chip on the shoulder
The Yankees needed help in the field to keep pace, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivered the play of the game. In the fourth inning, he snared a Charles McAdoo liner that saved two runs and kept the Blue Jays from breaking the game open.
Schlittler, who was also backed by two double plays, raved about the glovework behind him.
“It was a great play,” Schlittler said. “Jazz is great, he’s a top defenseman in the league. It’s what you expect out of him.”
The right-hander also made clear there is an edge whenever these teams meet, rooted in last year’s playoff loss to Toronto. He believes the Yankees should carry that motivation into every meeting.
“The way it turned out last year, I think it gets a little chippy,” Schlittler said. “I think there’s a lot of mutual respect between both sides. The fans clash more than the players do.”
Goldschmidt delivers the knockout
Here is the swing that decided it. Tied 1-1 in the ninth, the Yankees sent Goldschmidt up against Blue Jays reliever Louis Varland, who had been nearly untouchable all season with a 0.49 ERA.
With Cody Bellinger aboard, Goldschmidt crushed a two-run homer, his ninth of the year and the first long ball Varland had surrendered all season. The veteran said he stepped in simply looking to react, not guess, and even had a hunch about the matchup.
“I’m definitely not up there guessing, I was just trying to be ready to hit,” Goldschmidt said. “I joked in my head before that at-bat, ‘He hasn’t given up a run in forever. Maybe today will be the day.’ Fortunately, I was able to get him.”
The home run lifted Goldschmidt to a .285 average with an .889 OPS. It was a remarkable production for a player who signed a modest $4 million deal in January expecting a smaller role. Boone has watched him repeatedly rise to the moment for the Yankees.
“He’s been coming up huge,” Boone said. “Just when you think some righties hold him down a little bit, he comes up with a big at-bat. We’ve needed every bit of it.”
The Martian’s wild day pays off
The Yankees got their other run from an unlikely source on a chaotic day. Jasson Dominguez, just activated from his rehab assignment when Trent Grisham landed on the injured list, homered off Gausman for New York’s only other hit against the Blue Jays starter.
It capped a frantic travel day for Dominguez, whose bats were sent to the wrong baggage belt at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. He did not reach the ballpark until around 2 p.m., yet two hours later he cleared the right-field wall. The young switch-hitter shrugged off the ordeal.
“Every time you can come and help the team to win, it’s awesome,” Dominguez said. “It was a long day, but all that was in my mind was, be ready.”
A win that ends a Toronto drought
The victory carried extra weight given the Yankees’ recent history in Canada. It was just their second win in 11 tries at Rogers Centre dating to the start of 2025, a stretch that included last year’s Division Series loss.
With Aaron Judge and Grisham both sidelined, the Yankees are leaning on contributors like Dominguez and Goldschmidt to fill the void, and Saturday showed the depth can carry them.
The win improved the Yankees to 42-27. They will go for the series win Sunday afternoon in the Toronto finale before returning home to open a homestand against the White Sox.
For a team grinding through injuries, a low-scoring road win powered by a 38-year-old’s ninth-inning heroics was exactly the kind of result the Yankees needed.
Yankees righty Will Warren takes his 7-1 record and 3.28 ERA into Sunday’s matchup against Blue Jays left-hander Patrick Corbin, who stands at 2-3 with a 4.55 ERA.
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