Photo credit: Charles Wenzelberg, New York Post
Well, that sure was some excitement. After not being in New York for almost a month, the Toronto Blue Jays were back at Yankee Stadium for a two-game set on Tuesday and Wednesday. After losing the series to the New York Yankees at home last week, the Jays looked to bounce back and not let the division get away from them early. Two wins would give the Yankees an early but comfortable six-game lead on the Jays.
Not pitching for eight days certainly caught up to Luis Severino, who toed the slab in the first game of this two-game set. Blue Jays leadoff hitter George Springer put together a great at-bat to open the game and worked a full count, later sending a home run into the left-field seats to give Toronto an early 1-0 lead. Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi was dominant early on, and the only baserunners the Yankees got came from walks. At one point, Kikuchi retired twelve straight Yankees. Severino figured it out, but not before Santiago Espinal drove a double to left field to make it 3-0 Toronto. It was initially called a home run, but after review, it was determined that the ball hit the top of the wall, only giving Espinal two bases. Still, this was not at all how Severino envisioned his first couple of innings going, especially after a solid performance against the Jays in mid-April, a game in which he went five innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits and recording six strikeouts. Even with a skyrocketing early pitch count, Severino bounced back in a huge way and put together a good start. Outside of allowing the three runs and issuing two walks, Severino went 4 2/3 innings and punched out eight Jays. His final line was 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K’s. Miguel Castro relieved Severino and did a great job – picking up four strikeouts and not allowing a single hit. Kikuchi no-hit the Yankees through five innings, but DJ LeMahieu broke his bid for the no-no in the sixth, leading off with a sharp double to the left-field wall.
Aaron Judge, who would later become the hero, hit a rocket to Toronto’s third baseman Matt Chapman, who fielded the ball cleanly but lost it on the transfer. It was ruled a base-hit for Judge, and with nobody out and two men on, Anthony Rizzo came to the plate. He sent a fly ball to Springer, driving in LeMahieu. With Judge still on first, Giancarlo Stanton tied the game with a home run into the first row of the right-field seats. Two pitches after Stanton’s homer, Jays righty Yimi Garcia beaned Josh Donaldson in the elbow. This led to many players in the Yankees dugout going nuts and the umpires ejecting Garcia. From there, it seemed as if chaos was about to break loose.
Later on, Jonathan Loaisiga threw a pitch that went up and in on Bo Bichette, who fell to the ground dramatically with his helmet flying off. There was zero intent on Loaisiga’s part and most likely none on Garcia’s either. However, one team’s bench could keep its composure, and the other couldn’t. Along with Garcia, Jays pitching coach Pete Walker was ejected. After the Loaisiga pitch to Bichette, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo joined Walker in the clubhouse, as he too was ejected. In the eighth, the Jays put two runs on the board thanks to a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. double and an Alejandro Kirk sacrifice fly to center. Tim Mayza and Trevor Richards held the Yankees off the board, turning it over to Jays closer Jordan Romano for the ninth with the Jays leading 5-3. Romano, who has made a habit of making things interesting lately, did just that once again. After striking out the first batter he faced in Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Romano lost a battle to Jose Trevino and walked him. Romano then walked LeMahieu, putting the winning run at the plate. That winning run just so happened to be Judge, who quickly fell to 0-2 in the count. On a 1-2 pitch, Romano threw Judge his second consecutive slider. Judge hit the ball an absolute mile, putting it into the second deck in left field. Yankee Stadium was shaking, and the Yankees had improved to 21-8 on the year.
The passion and character in this Yankee clubhouse is something to take note of. They are playing for one another and never seem to be out of a baseball game. When big players like Stanton and Judge do big things, and everyone is on board, the Yankees are one of the best teams, if not the best team in baseball. There is a different feeling around this Yankee team, and that cannot be ignored.
Severino’s early struggles are not any major concern. As he shook some of the rust off, his stuff looked good. He struck out the side in an inning, and when he finds his groove, he is one of the very best pitchers in baseball. With not many innings pitched in the last couple of years and only a handful of starts, Severino looks very good. He is getting there. As for Rizzo and LeMahieu, who both have struggled a bit lately, there have been some very encouraging signs from both. Obviously, after the scorching start Rizzo got off to, expectations for the 32-year-old are through the roof. A healthy LeMahieu has made all the difference for New York, who have a nice early lead in the AL East.
Overall, Tuesday night was very intriguing for any Yankee fan. Though they have many weapons out of the bullpen, Chad Green has been a major concern. We know that Green has had issues giving up the long ball in the past. But his inability to pitch in high leverage situations thus far is an issue. Last year Green posted a mediocre ERA but an excellent WHIP and opponent average. Green will be given more chances but needs to turn it around soon to continue to earn Boone’s trust.
The Yankees didn’t have much time to celebrate Judge’s heroics, though, as another game against the hungry and seemingly angry Blue Jays was to take place less than fifteen hours after Yankee Stadium rumbled in the bottom of the ninth. Yankees’ Jameson Taillon was to take on the struggling Jose Berrios, who has had a mostly ineffective fastball in the young 2022 campaign, yet an elite curveball. Like Severino, Taillon struggled out of the gate. Before he knew it, Toronto had loaded the bases up with no outs in the first. He got out of it, only allowing one run. It only took until the fourth inning for the Yankees’ offense to get going when Gleyber Torres shot a three-run home run into the right-field seats. Taillon mainly was very solid after his hiccup in the first. He went 5 ⅓ innings allowing two runs on 6 hits. He picked up four strikeouts and only walked a single batter. Boone called to the dominant Michael King, who picked up three outs despite allowing two hits. Clay Holmes once again got ground balls when he needed to. Holmes went 1 ⅔, allowing no hits, no walks, and picking up a strikeout.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Torres put the Yankees offense on his back again and drove in two runs on a base knock to center field. With a 5-2 lead, Aroldis Chapman made things interesting in the ninth. Santiago Espinal led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Chapman issued a walk to Vinny Capra and struck out Bo Bichette after allowing what would have been a game-tying home run that went foul. After the Espinal double, Chapman’s fastball climbed the ladder in terms of velocity. His fastball hit 100 MPH multiple times as he retired Springer and then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to pick up the save. Springer drove in Espinal via a sacrifice fly, but that would not matter as the Yankees improved their record to 22-8.
Gleyber Torres’ play in the last handful of games has been very encouraging for Brian Cashman and the Yankees. Gleyber’s move back to second has only given him more confidence on the offensive and defensive side of things. After a slow start, Torres is playing elite defense in his natural position and hitting in clutch situations. Despite a lower batting average, Torres has been a very valuable piece for the Yankees. His 18 RBI sit only behind Judge, Stanton, and Rizzo for most on the Bombers. He is returning to Gleyber form, which will help the Yankees big time as the season progresses.
This is only the ninth time in franchise history that the Yankees have started 22-8 or better in their first thirty games. Each of the times but one, they have gone on to win the World Series. With their next fourteen games being played against teams who have struggled out of the gate in the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles, the Bombers will look to continue this impressive start.
The Yankees will undoubtedly have one happy flight to Chicago, where they will take on the White Sox in a four-game set. The first game is set for Thursday at 8:10 PM Eastern Time. Yankees pitching prospect Luis Gil, who showed flashes of dynamite pitching in 2021, will take the mound to face Chicago’s Dylan Cease.
