Yankees Struggle Against Blue Jays

Well, things took a turn for the worse for the Yankees on Friday.

They kicked off an important series in the Bronx, going head-to-head with the Blue Jays in a bid for the American League East title, but it started with a thud.

Rookie Cam Schlittler, who had been a much-needed boost for the Yankees’ rotation after his early July call-up, experienced the worst start of his major league career during the game, suffering a 7-1 loss against Toronto.

In just one inning, Schlittler allowed four runs, overwhelmed during a lengthy first that lasted 40 pitches. Consequently, the Yankees fell four games behind the Blue Jays, who are currently leading the AL East.

This marked the Yankees’ seventh loss in their last eight encounters with Toronto.

Schlittler had a rough outing right from the start. He hit two batters before managing to retire the next ones. However, things went downhill quickly when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled, marking the beginning of four hits the Blue Jays would register that night. He scored shortly after when Bo Bichette doubled into the left-field corner.

After Daulton Varsho’s single and a walk to Alejandro Kirk, the bases were loaded, prompting the Yankees to bring in Ryan Yarbro to replace Schlittler, who had already seen his 40-pitch inning turn disastrous.

Things got worse when Nathan Lukes delivered a two-run single, pushing the tally to 3-0.

For Schlittler, this was a disappointing milestone—it was the first time in ten starts that he’d allowed more than one run. In fact, he had managed to give up just two runs in his previous four outings.

The two innings he pitched were quite shaky overall. He loaded the bases for Bichette, who had already thrown in 62 pitches that night. A sacrifice fly from Reiner ended Schlittler’s night, with him surrendering those four runs.

After Schlittler’s departure, Yarbro came in and managed to limit the damage, allowing just one run—Guerrero’s solo homer—over five innings in his first outing since June 18th.

Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton provided some brief hope for the Yankees by scoring a run with a solo homer that landed in the bullpen. It was a powerful shot, registering at 418 feet and 112 mph, making the score briefly 4-1.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. eventually faced a tough 3-2 pitch, which he swung at, resulting in the second out. Until Ryan McMahon walked in the sixth, Stanton had been the only Yankees player making any noise offensively against Gaussman.

Yet, while Yarbro kept the Yankees in the game, the lineup struggled to find any momentum. A couple of singles from Judge and Stanton in the seventh gave them a glimmer of opportunity, but with Chisholm left to bat, Paul Goldschmidt’s fly out solidified a frustrating night for the Yankees, restricting them to just a single run.