TORONTO – The Yankees had done their homework on Trey Yesavage, at least as much as they could. The rookie right-hander was something of a mystery, a live arm they’d never faced, with a unique release and a hellacious splitter that didn’t show up clearly on video. Still, they figured they would adjust once they saw him live.
Then the first inning started, and reality hit hard. Three strikeouts later, the Yankees realized they weren’t just facing a challenge – they were in trouble. Yesavage carved through their lineup like a veteran, Rogers Centre roared like an all-day party, and New York’s hopes of returning to a second straight World Series are once again on the brink.
By the time Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched a fourth-inning grand slam off Will Warren, the game had gone from frustrating to humiliating. Max Fried was knocked out early, the deficit ballooned and the Yankees had no choice but to ride out a 13-7 loss to the Blue Jays in Sunday’s Game 2 of the American League Division Series.
“Now we take it back home,” said captain Aaron Judge. “We’ve been playing with our backs against the wall all year long, so it’s nothing new for us.”
The Yankees must win three consecutive games to extend their season, including a potential Game 5 here in Toronto, where they have lost all but one of nine contests this year. It’s a tall order, magnified by this: In Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams to win both Games 1 and 2 at home have advanced 31 of 34 times (91.2%), including 20 sweeps.
“Obviously, we don’t like it,” Giancarlo Stanton said. “But you get out of it one at a time. You can’t look to the whole series. Execute each inning, execute each pitch, and don’t look too far ahead.”
The most recent comeback in both situations came in the 2017 ALDS, when the Yankees rallied past Cleveland. To accomplish that, they’ll have to flip the script after being outscored, 23-8, through the first two games of this series.
“There’s been a lot of weird things that have happened in baseball this year,” manager Aaron Boone said. “This would not be the weirdest, us rallying. We’ll come ready to go Tuesday, expect to win, then look to win again and push it back here.”
Yesavage, a 22-year-old who opened the season with Class-A Dunedin, became the latest October breakout star. He struck out 11 across 5 1/3 hitless innings, walking Aaron Judge in the first and allowing Jazz Chisholm Jr. to reach on a fifth-inning error. The crowd demanded a curtain call. Boone called him “nasty.”
“I think it just comes down to that funky release and playing it off that fastball line. It’s something we’re unfamiliar with,” said Ben Rice. “I think we felt better going into our second at-bats, but he just did a good job mixing.”
All of New York’s damage came off the bullpen, as the Yankees scored seven runs on 10 hits following Yesavage’s exit, forcing Toronto manager John Schneider to rifle through his available arms.
“When you’re down by a lot of runs, those at-bats against some of their bullpen arms can be very valuable, because you’re going to see some of their stuff,” Rice said. “Those are guys you might end up seeing in Games 3, 4 or 5.”
“They had a really good approach,” Fried said. “They were on a lot of my pitches. Credit to them: I didn’t get it done. It’s frustrating, especially coming out in a game like this. I needed to have a good one.”
Toronto lifted Yesavage after just 78 pitches; he was showing no signs of fatigue, but the score had grown so lopsided – 12-0 when he was pulled – that there was no point in using him further.
“It’s a dream come true,” Yesavage said. “I’m sure tonight when I’m laying in bed in New York, that’s when it will really hit me.”
That presents this quandary: If the Yankees are to come back in this ALDS, they’ll likely need to solve Yesavage in some form or fashion, as well as a second date against Game 1 starter Kevin Gausman. Stanton said the data they gathered over the first two games of the series would help in that regard.
“We’ll make good adjustments to seeing him another time around,” Stanton said. “Obviously that’s what we have to do to win the series. But that would be looking ahead. We’ve still got to win Tuesday first.”
