New York Yankees 4-3 Toronto Blue Jays
The New York Yankees secured a crucial 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in a rain-delayed, 10-inning contest on Sunday. Veteran DJ LeMahieu delivered the walk-off single that lifted the Yankees, who are battling to keep pace in a tight division race.
How it happened
Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole faced rookie Yariel Rodriguez, setting the stage for a high-stakes game. Cole, although not at his sharpest, limited damage and kept the Yankees within reach despite giving up two early runs. He exited in the sixth inning after 91 pitches.
The Yankees‘ offense struggled initially, leaving multiple runners stranded. Giancarlo Stanton, in particular, had a tough day at the plate, missing key opportunities to drive in runs. However, the Yankees showcased resilience.
In the sixth inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe sparked a comeback with back-to-back singles. A double steal put them in scoring position, and RBIs from Trent Grisham and LeMahieu tied the game at 2-2. Juan Soto then gave the Yankees a brief 3-2 lead with a solo home run in the seventh.
Defensive miscommunication in the eighth allowed the Blue Jays to tie the game again. Despite the setback and a rain delay of nearly two hours, the Yankees remained focused. Reliever Clay Holmes managed to escape a bases-loaded situation, maintaining the tie.
The Yankees’ determination paid off in the 10th inning. After a sacrifice bunt by Grisham moved the automatic runner to third, LeMahieu stepped up. Facing Toronto’s five-man infield, he singled up the middle, clinching the victory and earning a Gatorade bath from his teammates.
Roster
Up next
This win was crucial for the Yankees, keeping them neck-and-neck with the Orioles atop the AL East. The Yankees have a day off before hosting the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. Rookie Luis Gil is set to pitch against Davis Daniel, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
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“”DJ LEMAHIEU””👏👏👏👏👏 !!!. 🍻
“”DJ LEMAHIEU”” 👏👏👏👏👏 !!!. 🍻
“”DJ LEMAHIEU”” 👏👏👏👏👏 !!!. 🍻
HE CAME THRU. AGAIN !!!.
JUST REMEMBER “HARDCORE YANKEE FANS…
THEY HAVE DJ SITTING ON THE BENCH FOR MOST OF THE PAST 3 GAMES WHILE “GAYBOY TORRES” PLAYS EVERY GAME !!!.
MAKING ERRORS ,
SWINGING AT FIRST PITCHES ALL THE TIME
STRIKING OUT
AND NOT HUSTLING AROUND THE BASES…BECAUSE HE’S TOO GOOD FOR THAT !!!. 😂.
AND THE BEST ONE IS …THEY HAD HIM HITTING FIRST IN THE LINE – UP TODAY. 😂 😂 😂.
VOLPE OR CHISHOLM SHOULD BE BATTING FIRST IN THE LINE-UP !!!.
ENOUGH SAID !!!.
Whether or not DJ has turned a corner on returning to his prior hitting form, every Yankee fan has to be Happy for a Classy Man once again contributing to his team, not just once, but twice in a few days’ time. Congratulations DJ!
Another player who deserves A Lot More Praise than he has received is AUSTIN WELLS.
When the Yankees drafted Wells, Virtually Every Scout & supposed “expert” insisted that he’d NEVER be a capable MLB Catcher, so they Insisted that he’d have to switch to being a 1st baseman.
Well, Wells has made FOOLS of ALL those “expert” analyst & scouts, as he’s rapidly turning himself in one of the Better Offensive AND Defensive Catchers in MLB.
Wells Deserves a HUGE amount of praise for his tremendous improvements as a Catcher.
There’s another important message in the Wells’ story that Boone & Cashman have ignored time & again about Younger Players . . . .
That message is that Younger Players need to Play Consistently (Regularly!) to Successfully Establish themselves as MLB Players.
The Yankees DIDN’T CHOOSE to give Wells this opportunity, they were FORCED to go full time after the injury to Jose Trevino.
So, Boone & Cashman deserve ZERO credit for recognizing Wells’ real potential. They, in fact, chose to split the catching duties 50-50, when most Yankee fans already recognized that Wells Offered Far More Potential, Offensively & Defensively, then an aging Trevino.
That’s not meant as a knock-on Trevino, who’s a great competitor, but simply as a recognition of the Reality that Wells is the Better All-Around Player at this point; and if Trevino returns this year, Wells Must Be the Starter in 5 out of 7 games. No More 50-50 BS! Wells Clearly gives us a Better Chance of Winning as our Primary Catcher.
Why am I going at length about this? Because Boone & Cashman have an Infuriating Habit of preferring to FAIL with aging veterans (Caleb Ferguson, Josh Donaldson, etc.), rather than relying on a rising star who’s showing he can be one of the Better Catchers in MLB.
Remember, the Yankees DIDN’T CHOOSE to give Volpe the starting SS job a couple of years ago; the plan was to go with Peraza (who had some MLB experience), but injuries made that a non-option, so they were FORCED to stick with Volpe & FORCED to deal with him doing some on-the-job learning, and now we’re reaping the benefits of that “forced labor,” just as we’re now reaping the benefits of Wells as an Everyday Catcher.
And the Yankees DIDN’T CHOOSE to make Luis Gil a starting pitcher this soon after his recovery from TJ surgery, but injuries to Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and ineffectiveness & injuries to Will Warren FORCED the Yankees to go with Gil, and now we’re reaping the benefits of that, too.
IF YOU WANT A GOOD LAUGH, here are Sports Illustrated March 2024 Projections for GIL:
7-6, 4.30 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 0.9 WAR.
And here are Gil’s stats as of 7/5/24: 11-5, 3.20 ERA, 10.5 K/9, 2.9 WAR! So, the “Experts” were Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, and Wrong, yet again.
So, NEVER put too much faith in the supposed “experts.” They were Wrong about about Wells & they were Wrong (as SI showed) about Gil.
And more often than not, Cashman & Boone are just as bad at judging young talent, as their reluctance to make Wells the Primary Catcher shows, until they were FORCED to do what was already obvious to so many of us non-experts.