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The New York Yankees spent most of the opening weeks racking up a strong start outside of their division.

After playing 21 of their first 25 games against non-division opponents, the Yankees start a run of nine straight games against the American League East staring Friday when they host the slumping Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series.

New York went 3-1 last weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays but has played nine games against the AL Central and 12 interleague games. The Yankees return to play nine of their next 12 at home after a 4-3 road trip that ended with Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt continuing their hot starts in a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday.

Judge returns home leading the majors with a .415 average and a 1.247 OPS. He hit an RBI triple and reached three times on Wednesday. Judge is hitting .418 (33-for-79) during a 21-game on-base streak and has been on base multiple times in 19 games so far.

“It’s fun to watch,” Goldschmidt said. “I’ve seen it from afar for a few years now. It’s incredible. He’s a great hitter. Very smart. Obviously, physically gifted but does a lot of little things that stick out. Takes his walks, deals with failure very well. Just all the things we’re trying to do.”

Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 drove in two runs on Wednesday, and he is hitting .383 this season after struggling for most of his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024 (.245 batting average, 22 home runs, 65 RBIs, .302 on-base percentage). He is also hitting .419 (31-for-74) over his last 19 games.

The Blue Jays are attempting to generate better offense and stop a five-game losing streak. Toronto has been outscored 31-9 in its skid and is hitting .188 (32-for-170) with 46 strikeouts and 15 walks.

Toronto went 9-for-90 in a three-game sweep against the Houston Astros that ended when it was held to five hits in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is hitting .277, is 5-for-19 in the past five games and has just one homer this season. Bo Bichette is 6-for-22 in the skid while Anthony Santander is hitless in his past 17 at-bats and 2-for-23 in his past five games. Alejandro Kirk is in a 3-for-25 skid, and Andres Gimenez is in a 1-for-17 slide.

“I think everybody believes in each other, and that’s the only thing that matters,” said George Springer, who is hitting .333 “It’s obviously still early, and I think guys are still getting their feet under them. It’s over, and on to the next.”

Toronto will open the series with Jose Berrios (1-1, 5.02 ERA), who is off to an inconsistent start. The right-hander allowed three runs in 12 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals in early April but has been tagged for seven runs on 11 hits in his past two starts, including Saturday against Seattle when he allowed three runs in six innings and accused the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh of stealing signs.

Berrios is 4-8 with a 5.22 ERA in 14 career starts against the Yankees. Judge is 11-for-32 with four homers and nine RBIs off him.

New York will counter with Carlos Carrasco (2-1,6.53), who followed up five innings of one-run ball against the Royals on April 14 by allowing four runs and six hits in four innings Saturday against Tampa Bay.

Carrasco is 5-2 with a 4.70 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts) against the Blue Jays. The right-hander last faced Toronto on June 21, 2024, in Cleveland when he allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven in six innings of a 7-1 win for the Guardians.

–Field Level Media