Blue Jays Outplay Yankees with Smart, Gritty Baseball

Summary:

• The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the New York Yankees 8–4, scoring six runs through hustle and forcing errors.
• Bo Bichette hit a two-run homer, while Chris Bassitt struck out eight over 7 1/3 strong innings.
• The Blue Jays now lead the season series 6–1 and have a four-game edge in the AL East.

The Toronto Blue Jays who had their unbeaten run ended last game adopted a grind-it-out style of play and came away with a convincing 8-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday, taking the series and sending the clear message that fundamentals still win games.

Jays Capitaized on Yankees’ Errors

While the Yankees continued to rely on the long ball, accounting for all four of their runs, Toronto did the opposite. 

The Blue Jays capitalized on New York’s sloppy defense and mental errors, scoring six of their eight runs by hustling, forcing mistakes, and staying alert. Bo Bichette’s two-run homer in the seventh inning was the only traditional power display.

“Geez, we can score runs in so many different ways”, said Ernie Clement, who had a standout night with a triple, a run, and an RBI. 

Pitching has been a common theme for the last few years. Those guys just give us a chance to win every single night. Now we’re rounding it out, we’ve got a little offence to go along with it. I think we really have a team identity. Whether that’s old school baseball or just playing the game the right way, I don’t know.

Toronto took full advantage of four Yankees errors, with heads-up baserunning and aggressive play turning routine moments into scoring opportunities. According to Clement, that pressure was no accident.

They know we play the game hard. There’s no doubt that they pick their heads up (after fielding the ball) and we’re halfway to first base, head down, running hard. As a fielder, that puts all the pressure in the world on you. You’ve got to be clean. If you bobble the ball at all, I mean, we’re safe.

Bassitt: “They’re Working Their Absolute Butts Off”

Chris Bassitt (11-4) delivered another quality start, striking out eight and allowing three earned runs over 7 1/3 innings. The bullpen closed the door with strong relief work from Justin Bruihl and Yariel Rodriguez.

Discussing the Blue Jays’ positions players, Bassitt praised their daily efforts which he labeled as “extremenly old school“.

“Every single day, they’re working their absolute butts off”, the 36-year-old Ohio-born commented.  

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was blunt about his team’s sloppy play:

In these two series, we’ve given them too many outs and it’s cost us. You can’t give good teams extra outs.

With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 6-1 against New York at Rogers Centre this season, taking a four-game lead in the AL East and clinching the season series and the tiebreaker.

Up next, Toronto is looking forward to a four-game set in Detroit. Commenting on the future encounter, manager John Schneider explained they will “play a team that does the exact same thing in Detroit”, to be ready for it.”