The Yankees lost the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night by a score of 4-1.
Here are the takeaways…
-Things were going okay for Carlos Rodón until a four-run fifth inning put an abrupt end to his night. Holding on to a 1-0 lead, Rodón began the inning with a walk to George Springer. It was his fifth walk of the night as the lefty had trouble with his command. Up until then, the walks didn't come back to bite Rodón who maneuvered through traffic on the basepaths, including twice with the bases loaded.
-Things started to cave in, though, during the fifth following the leadoff walk. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled and Bo Bichette drove in two with a double which gave Toronto the lead. After retiring the next two batters, Rodón's defense let him down.
-Throwing errors by third baseman Oswald Peraza and shortstop Anthony Volpe on routine ground balls scored two more runs, both unearned. Rodón was finally able to put the inning to bed by striking out Joey Loperfido, but not before throwing 40 pitches in the inning (which included a 14-pitch at-bat against Davis Schneider that resulted in a pop out).
-Rodon's final line: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K on 107 pitches (66 strikes).
-Offensively, the Yankees were outmatched by Kevin Gausman who handled them over seven innings. He allowed a run on four hits and two walks while striking out eight.
-The only run New York scored came in the fourth inning on Giancarlo Stanton's leadoff home run. The blast, Stanton's fifth of the season, gave the Yanks a 1-0 advantage as the designated hitter stayed red-hot. Stanton is now slashing .421/.522/.947 with three home runs over his last seven games.
–Trent Grisham had a two-out double in the third inning, but after Gausman intentionally walked Aaron Judge, the right-hander struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. who has batting third in the lineup. Despite phenomenal numbers against Gausman, Judge finished 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
Game MVP: Kevin Gausman
In command all night, Gausman was able to silence the Yankees' hot bats.
Highlights
GIANCARLO STANTON OPENS THE SCORING WITH A HOME RUN pic.twitter.com/xytlEhaBxI
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 21, 2025
What's next
The Yankees continue their series against their division-leading rivals on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m.
RHP Cam Schlittler (1-0, 5.06 ERA) will make his second career start and will be opposed by veteran RHP Max Scherzer (1-0, 4.70 ERA) who is making his sixth start of the season and 463rd of his career.
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