Toronto – The rice is good.
The Yankees are in a bit of a tight spot, slipping further behind the Blue Jays in the AL East, but Ben Rice stepped up with a pivotal moment. His impressive home run secured a 5-4 victory for the Yankees over the Blue Jays at the packed Rogers Centre on Tuesday night.
Rice had faced Hoffman just the day before, going hitless against him, but he turned things around dramatically. With this win, the Yankees not only got their first victory of the season in Canada but also snapped the Blue Jays’ impressive 11-game home winning streak. This brings the Yankees (56-45) closer in the division race, down by just three games now.
In the ninth inning, Devin Williams allowed a single but managed to retire the next three batters, achieving his 15th save. The Yankees had a solid lead of 4-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
However, a low throw from Volpe resulted in his 13th error of the season, tying him for the most errors among players in the majors. This allowed Miles Straw to reach base and ultimately score, cutting the Yankees’ lead to 4-3 with a double from Davis Schneider.
The Blue Jays managed to tie the game 4-4 with a strong run from Aaron Judge, who tested the arm of Schneider. This was not the sharp performance manager Boone hoped for from Roashiga since his return from elbow surgery, as he allowed a leadoff double.
Despite that, Luke Weaver quickly came in to limit the damage by retiring the next three batters. Cam Schlittler, who was making his second big league start, remained steady, allowing just two runs in five innings, despite facing ten base runners.
Cody Bellinger had a standout evening, contributing both defensively and offensively. Volpe’s crucial error late in the game did put the Yankees in a tough spot, but their strong defense at the start of the game, including Bellinger’s impressive slide catch, was commendable.
While the Blue Jays added a run in the sixth inning, 4-2 was still a workable score for the Yankees.
They got off to a quick start, taking advantage of Max Scherzer early on. Trent Grisham opened with a single, and shortly after, Bellinger hit a double, paving the way for a home run that gave them a 3-0 lead.
The Blue Jays managed to get one run back in the bottom of the first, but Bellinger’s 18th home run of the season later in the game amplified the Yankees’ advantage back to three runs.
