The matchup between Cam Schritter and Trey Yesavage certainly lived up to the hype, with both young right-handed pitchers showcasing strong performances until the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, despite a crucial shutout inning by the Yankees and the removal of Yesavage, the batting order failed to make any significant progress, leading to a 2-1 loss against Toronto at Yankee Stadium.
While Schritter and Yesavage were fairly well matched for much of the game, Schritter stumbled in the seventh inning. You might recall the Yankees previously struggled to hit against Yesavage last October, and history seemed to repeat itself as Schritter, at just 22 years old, was once again outperformed by him.
The two runs surrendered by Schritter in that inning proved to be pivotal.
Starting the seventh, Schritter allowed an infield hit to Ernie Clement, followed by a walk to Jesus Sanchez. Then, Brandon Valenzuela laid down a successful bunt, filling the bases without any outs.
Andres Jimenez, a former Met, worked a walk after a long at-bat, forcing in the first run of the game and effectively ending Schritter’s night.
Jake Byrd managed to get George Springer to hit a grounder to third, where Ryan McMahon made a great play to snag the ball and throw out two runners. However, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s sacrifice fly brought in Valenzuela, extending the Jays’ lead to 2-0.
Despite Yesavage tossing 95 pitches over six scoreless innings, the Yankees struggled to capitalize against the Toronto bullpen.
In the ninth inning, after Cody Bellinger hit a double off Lewis Burland, Jazz Chisholm Jr. advanced as Burland mishandled a backup swing.
With runners on the corners, Paul Goldschmidt made contact with another hit, allowing Bellinger to score and closing the gap to just one run while Chisholm moved to second base.
Amed Rosario then ended the inning with a strikeout.
Interestingly, both pitchers entered the game following a rain delay that lasted over two hours. Schritter had an impressive MLB-best 1.35 ERA, while Yesavage, after recovering from a shoulder impingement, had pitched well in his previous starts, allowing just three earned runs over 19 1/3 innings.
Yesavage had thrown 5 1/3 hitless innings in last October’s ALDS Game 2, recording 11 strikeouts and only conceding a walk. His previous performance was intimidating, but on this day, he didn’t replicate that intensity.
And just when Yesavage departed, the Yankees found themselves with an opportunity. Facing left-handed pitcher Mason Fluharty, Chisholm and Goldschmidt got on base with a bloop hit in the seventh inning.
When the Yankees brought in Rosario to replace an injured Spencer Jones, the Blue Jays countered with Jeff Hoffman, who ultimately snuffed out the threat by forcing McMahon to ground out.
Schritter did manage to earn an extra-base hit from Johendrik Piñango early on, thanks to a spectacular catch by Bellinger in deep left field.
Even with both starting pitchers allowing some runners on base, they seemed to be a bit unlucky. The game’s opening hits included George Springer’s infield single off Schritter in the first inning, followed by Grisham’s double off Yesavage in the second inning.
Toronto finally put themselves in a threatening position when Sanchez and Jimenez were able to reach base, filling the corners with two outs. Schlitter faced a full count against Springer, who flied to left just before the score would finally change.
