The excitement for the Yankees’ home opener on Friday afternoon was evident even before the first pitch.
But as the ninth inning ended, the air slowly leaked out of the Yankee Stadium balloon.
Marcus Stroman held the Blue Jays scoreless for six innings, but the Yankees gave up a bunch of zeros in return and lost 3-0 in front of a cold, packed Bronx crowd of 47,812. Ta.
Ernie Clement hit a pinch-hit home run off left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson in the seventh inning to take a 1-0 lead, and the Blue Jays added two runs in the ninth from Dennis Santana and a wild Nick Vardy.
On the other hand, the Yankees entered the ninth inning with just four hits (all singles) from left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and the Blue Jays’ bullpen, and then Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe hit back-to-back two-out singles, hinting at a turnaround. .
However, Alex Verdugo flew into the warning truck in the right field seats and stopped the game.
Stroman had an outstanding performance in his first start for the Yankees in the Bronx, pitching six shutout innings on 98 pitches.
He struck out six and allowed only five base runners (three hits, one walk, one error) and had a scoreless start in his debut against the Astros, giving up three runs in six innings.
The Long Island native also soaked up the atmosphere.
When he entered the bullpen 40 minutes before the first pitch, he threw his arm toward the crowd and caused a roar.
Afterwards, as he walked off the mound after pitching his last pitch, the crowd applauded his glove and applauded his accomplishment.
Juan Soto’s home debut wasn’t all that spectacular.
The right fielder, who received a huge ovation during his pregame introduction and then took off his hat and bowed to Bleacher Creatures during roll call, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
After whiffing for the second time to end the eighth inning, he spiked his bat, still seemingly frustrated by a 2-0 pitch that was outside the zone but called a strike.
The Yankees had at least one runner on base in five of the first seven innings, but had nothing to show for it.
Giancarlo Stanton struck out two and put three runners on base, and in another inning, Volpe was caught stealing second base and Jose Trevino grounded out into a double play.
