Toronto at New York, September 6-9
Monday, September 06 2021 @ 11:00 AM EDT
Contributed by: Magpie
Under no circumstances would I ever mess with a winning streak.
And so... I offer fresh cigars.
I offer.... refreshing rum.
May Jobu find these offerings pleasing. May they express our gratitude for his bounty these past three days.
We need you still, Jobu. Our bats must venture into an unfriendly, foreign land. Pinstriped millionaires strike fear and terror everywhere. Be with us, Jobu.
May their curveballs lose their shape, and hang invitingly before us.
May their changeups miss the mark, and bounce pointlessly in the dirt.
We'll deal with the fastballs.
The Jays and Yankees opened the 2021 campaign in the Bronx, with Hyun-Jin Ryu and Gerrit Cole hooking up in a pitcher's duel that went to extras. Randal Grichuk doubled in the Zombie Runner and Julian Merryweather struck out the side. Seems so long ago. The Yankees knocked out Ross Stripling early the next day, but the Jays took the finale behind four shutout innings from... T.J. Zeuch? Vlad Guerrero hit what would be the first of many 2021 homers.
Less than two weeks later, the teams met for another three games, this time in Dunedin. Gerrit Cole came out on top of the first pitcher's duel, this one with Robbie Ray, thanks to a pair of homers from Jays-killer Kyle Higashioka. But the home side got the next two - Semien and Tellez homered in support of Ryu in the middle game, and they took the finale thanks to Bo Bichette's two homers, the second of which was a ninth inning walkoff against Chad Green.
The Jays were back in the Bronx at the end of May, and yet again they took two of three from the Yankees. Steven Matz was dominant, striking out 10 in the opener, and supported by homers from Guerrero, Gurriel, and Grichuk (the Killer Gees!). Alek Manoah made his MLB debut the next night, announcing his presence with authority with six shutout innings. Solo homers from Semien and Bichette accounted for all the scoring. The Yankees salvaged the finale as Robbie Ray had what was probably his worst start of the season (4.2 IP, 5H, 5R).
At this point, the Jays had won 6 of 9 against the Bombers, but in June the two teams met in Buffalo for three more. This turned into a home-away-from-home affair for the New Yorkers, and the Yankees swept the series. The Jays blew a 5-3 lead in the opener. First, the Yankees scored twice against Castro to tie it. Then Romano inherited a man on first base. He instantly stole second and scored on Frazier's double. The Yankees won again by a single run the next night - Ross Stripling took a 2-1 lead into the seventh, and was still on the mound to give up a two run homer to Gary Sanchez for the 3-2 final score. They completed the sweep the next evening - the Jays took a 4-3 lead into the seventh, but Castro quickly gave up a two run homer to Stanton and the Yankees tacked on a couple more for good measure. And so the season series stands at a fine and balanced 6-6; the Jays have outscored the Yankees 44-42 in the twelve games.
Matchups
Monday Sep 6 - Ryu (12-8, 3.92) vs Taillon (8-5, 4.44)
Tuesday Sep 7 - Matz (10-7, 3.80) vs Cole (14-6, 2.73)
Wednesday Sep 8 - Manoah (5-2, 3.63) vs Gil (1-0, 0.00)
Thursday Sep 9 - Berrios (10-7, 3.55) vs Cortes (2-2, 2.67)
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