A few years ago, the Blue Jays were constantly throwing the ball all over the place and making a slew of errors that cost them wins. These days, it’s the New York Yankees who can’t seem to get out of their own way.
The Yankees might have entered the season as the favourites in the American League East but they looked nothing like a contender during this week’s series at Rogers Centre. They were sloppy and careless to the point that even a Little League coach would have taken exception to their quality of play.
The Jays came away with a series victory in a pivotal matchup between division rivals and yet it was the Yankees who were responsible for their own demise. Two errors in Game 1, another in Game 2, and four in a finale that resembled a house of horrors carnival ride more than a big-league game.
There were two errors in the Jays’ two-run fifth. A botched fly ball and an error in a two-run sixth. Then, for good measure, another miscue in the seventh that came just before a soul crushing home run by Bo Bichette that resulted in an 8-4 victory for the Jays.
“Hell yeah, I guess is the right answer,” manager John Schneider said when asked if a game like that made him appreciate the Jays’ strong defensive play even more. “You can’t take it for granted. Outs are precious, and you can see how the game can get flipped with one swing, not against just this team, but against any team. So, hell yeah.”
This three-game series was billed as a battle for first place in one of baseball’s top divisions. It ended with the Jays looking like a legitimate contender and the Yankees, well, looking like anything but. º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍødidn’t even have to do much in two of the three games, the only thing required was putting the ball in play before watching the Yankees self-destruct.
The Jays scored two in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and an RBI single by Ernie Clement. The Yankees’ poor fielding didn’t factor into either run, but the same could not be said for how the rest of the game played out. It was miscue after miscue after miscue.
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Left-handed starter Max Fried fielded a slow chopper down the third-base line in the fifth and made an errant throw home that allowed two runs to score. An inning later, right fielder Cody Bellinger lost a routine fly ball in the lights, resulting in a Clement triple. Myles Straw made the Yankees pay with an RBI double before an error by first baseman Ben Rice allowed him to score, too.
The Yankees’ calamity of mistakes wasn’t done there. Guerrero singled in the seventh and was allowed to advance to second when left fielder Jasson Dominguez couldn’t make a clean play. Bichette followed with a 360-foot blast over the wall in left that doubled the Jays’ lead to four.
The Jays made an error, too, when Guerrero booted a ground ball in the sixth, but when compared to the Yankees they looked like a team filled with gold glovers. It’s no wonder then the Jays entered Wednesday ranked eighth in the majors with 13 outs above average while the Yankees were a distant 17th at minus-4.
“We’re never out of it because of how hard our position players play,” said Jays starter Chris Bassitt, who allowed three runs on three hits while striking out eight. “Defensively, every night I feel like it’s something special that happens. Base running every night … and then obviously the at-bats, same thing. Just make everyone work hard and then when they give up mistakes, you hit ‘em.”
If only the Yankees could claim the same. The battle for top spot in the AL East is far from over, but when it comes to the head-to-head matchup between the Jays and Yankees there has already been a definitive winner.
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The Jays have owned the surprisingly sloppy Yankees. Even though there are three games still to be played in September, the season series has already been decided and it belongs to the team up north with a 7-3 edge in games.
That means the Jays’ current four-game lead over the Yankees is more like five because they own the potential tiebreaker.
“You give a little credit to the crowd,” said Schneider, whose team moved into a tie with the Houston Astros for the best record in the AL. “It’s a tough environment to play in.
“I think that when you look at how we put the ball in play, I love the effort down the line from everyone and it kind of gets a little bit contagious. When you put pressure on the defence, usually good things happen.”
The Yankees are no strangers to the big stage but they apparently weren’t ready for what took place in º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøthis week and there’s a large gap between first and second place in the division to prove it.Â
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