After an absolutely demoralizing 9-1 loss to the Marlins Tuesday, the Yankees rebounded with a much-needed 4-3 victory Thursday night in the opener of a 4-game set with the Blue Jays.
- New York Yankees: 4 (9-8)
- Toronto Blue Jays: 3 (12-6)
- American League, FINAL
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
There was really no way to sugarcoat the Yankees dreadful loss Tuesday night, it was just flat out ugly. With that said, it was safe to say a bounce-back win was in their hopes Thursday.
The Yankee bats would get started in the bottom of the 2nd with a bloop single off the bat of Gary Sanchez, followed by a long double off the right-field wall from a struggling Neil Walker. Entering the night, Walker came into the game hitting just .173/.246/.192 with three RBI and no home runs.
Tyler Wade would drive in Gary Sanchez with a slow ground ball to 2nd, just before Ronald Torreyes would follow with an RBI single over the head of a leaping Aledmys Diaz into left field.
With a 2-0 lead intact, CC Sabathia, making his first start off the 10-Day DL, allowed back-to-back singles to Luke Maile and Devon Travis to start the 3rd. Two timely groundouts later, a 90 mph fastball would trickle away off the glove of Gary Sanchez for a passed ball, scoring Maile, trimming the Yankee lead to 2-1.
The 4th inning passed ball off Sanchez would be one of two for the night, totaling three on the young season.
An inning later Luke Maile would once again single, this time driving in the game-tying run in Yangervis Solarte, knotting the game at two apiece.
Sabathia would exit in the 5th leaving a runner on and one out, turning it over to Chad Green who would get the final two outs via a flyout and a strikeout.
Sabathia’s final line would be 4.1 innings, 4 hits, 0 ER, BB, and a strikeout.
After surrendering their 2-0 lead in the 4th, the Yankees would take it right back in the 5th courtesy of an RBI single off the bat of Didi Gregorius, putting the Bombers back on top 3-2.
With shutdown relief from Chad Green and a promising hitless inning from Dellin Betances, the score would remain the same until a 7th inning solo shot from Aaron Judge (5) would extend the Yankee lead to two.
Aaron Judge’s 5th homer of the season. #Yankees #AaronJudge pic.twitter.com/VJxAeXnIzD
— Dan Rourke (@DanAlanRourke) April 20, 2018
Enter the 8th and David Robertson would quickly load the bases before striking out Kevin Pillar on four pitches, but then allow an RBI single to former Yankee Curtis Granderson, cutting the Blue Jay deficit to one. However, Houdini would once again prevail, striking out the next two batters to escape further trouble.
Aroldis Chapman would take over in the 9th, securing the Yankees 4-3 victory for his 3rd save of the 2018 campaign.
What’s Next
The Yankees take on the Blue Jays for the second game of their 4-game set Friday.
Sonny Gray gets the nod for the Yankees looking to bounce back following a dreadful start in Fenway last week. Marco Estrada gets the ball for the Jays.
First pitch is set for 7:05 ET on the YES Network and can be heard on WFAN 660/101.9FM.