Game 141 / 77-64 / 2nd / -4.5GB : New York’s lost weekend continued in ugly fashion, with Ivan Nova putting the team in 6-0 hole by the second inning, as dreams of a division title are fading fast. The Blue Jays lit up the scoreboard again, exposing the overall fragility of Yankees pitching. They pounded the starters, the middle relief, and the bullpen. It was the club’s 5th straight loss, also putting their once-comfortable cushion in the Wild Card standings in jeopardy. Brett Gardner was lone hero for the losing side, clubbing 2 three-run homers.
“But I can’t ever remember seeing the place so empty, especially for a crucial pennant-race game. In fact, by the sixth inning of the nightcap, or about 9 p.m., the Stadium was all but deserted… It made for a weird vibe, all the more so because many still in attendance were Toronto fans, chanting either for the Blue Jays or for Josh Donaldson as MVP —and shouting down the occasional protests by the small pockets of Yankee fans.” ‐ Bill Madden (h/t: New York Daily News)
Here’s the box score, full recap, and video highlights.
Blue Jays 10, Yankees 7
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- Home. Schome. On this 10-game stretch, the home-field advantage was said to be in New York’s favor, but it didn’t come close to working out that way. The Yankees could not sweep Boston, dropped a maddening series to the O’s (who came into the joint stinking), then the wheels fully came off in the showdown series of the season against the Jays. Man, I still miss the Old Stadium, but that’s another story.
- If. Schmiff. Don’t miss a great read by Chad Jennings over at LoHud, breaking down how the series would be so different if just a few key plays had went the other way.
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“Well, we’re swinging the bats OK. I mean, we’re scoring runs. We’ve got to pitch better. We can’t give extra outs. When we give extra outs, it turns into big innings for this club, so we’ve got to pitch better tomorrow.” ‐ Joe Girardi
MEMORY LANE : Some things never change — on today’s date in 1977, the Toronto Blue defeated the Yankees 19-3. The Billy Martin-managed squad were 87-55, in first place, and 38.5 games ahead of the 7th place Blue Jays, who were 47-92. When the game got out of hand, Willie Randolph was replaced by Dave Bergman, Chris Chambliss by George Zeber, Graig Nettles by Mickey Klutts, and Bucky Dent by Dell Alston. If you can recall one of more of those bench guys, you know your Yankees history! … (h/t: Baseball-Reference.com, Today in Baseball History)
