The Toronto Blue Jays return from a 1-4 rain-shortened road trip for an eight-game homestand that begins Thursday night with the opener of a four-game series against the struggling New York Yankees.
The Blue Jays had their game against the Boston Red Sox suspended because of rain during the second inning on Wednesday with the score 0-0. The game will be resumed in Boston on Aug. 26.
The Blue Jays ended a seven-game losing streak Tuesday with a 9-4 victory over the Red Sox.
The Yankees’ problems continued Wednesday when they lost 12-2 to the host New York Mets, who swept the two-game Subway Series. The Yankees have won twice in their past 10 games. Aaron Judge hit the 30th home run of the season for the Yankees Wednesday, a two-run shot.
The Yankees are scheduled to start left-hander Carlos Rodon (9-4, 3.86 ERA) on Thursday. He is 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA in five career starts against Toronto. He lost his only start this season against Toronto, allowing three runs on five hits in four innings on April 16.
Toronto is scheduled to start right-hander Jose Berrios (6-6, 3.43). He is 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 12 career starts against the Yankees.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has batted .359 (14-for-39) with three doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBIs in his past nine games through Tuesday. He walked in his only plate appearance on Wednesday.
George Springer, who had a two-run homer and two singles on Tuesday, described the past week as “weird.”
“It’s been a lot of emotions — up, down,” he said. “Feels like when you do something right, you kind of do something wrong, but I think we’ve done a really good job kind of staying in the fight a little bit. Obviously, you want to win. I think everyone in that locker room knows that we have to win. And we haven’t. So, to come out today with a big win is huge.”
The Yankees have had their problems recently.
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres was benched Wednesday with Oswaldo Cabrera making his third start of the season at second.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he was planning to give Torres a couple of days off “just to kind of reset.”
Torres was 0-for-4 and made a key error in the sixth inning in the 9-7 loss to the Mets on Tuesday. He also failed to run out a grounder in the eighth. Torres is 2-for-29 over the past nine games. He has been dealing with a minor groin issue.
“It’s been a grind. It’s been a struggle,” Boone said. “I think he’s feeling that a little bit. I think it’s hopefully something that will serve him well, mentally and physically, to just take an exhale and work to get him rolling. When he’s going like we’ve all seen him go, he’s a really important piece to the lineup.”
Torres has batted .215/.294/.333 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 80 games this season. He has made 12 errors.
“He’s made too many errors, and those mistakes certainly are part of the story of his season so far,” Boone said. “He’s also done a lot of things this year that move the needle in a better way; he’s getting to more balls than he ever has in his career, with his first step and some of the range plays he’s making.”
–Field Level Media
