Blue Jays swept away by gritty Yankees in New York

Fresh off a slick showing against the Boston Red Sox, the Blue Jays, with some semblance of hope, cruised into New York City to face the division-leading New York Yankees in a mid-week, three-game series.

The first of many against the Yanks down the stretch, the Blue Jays were swept out of town after losing all three games, the last two of which only by a single run.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the weird from this week’s showdown at Yankee Stadium:

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (7-for-14, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2B, 4 R) had a smashing set, while fellow youngsters Cavan Biggio (5-for-12, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2B) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (4-for-13, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2B) also had tremendous at-bats throughout. Randal Grichuk (5-for-13, RBI, 2B, 2 R, BB) was solid, as was Rowdy Tellez (3-for-12, 2B, R, 2 RBI), who showed some heart in some tough late-game plate appearances.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Freddy Galvis (4-for-13, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, SB) made some noise, with Danny Jansen (4-for-6, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2B) putting together a reassuringly good stretch, breaking out in the finale.

On the mound, relievers Daniel Hudson (1.0 IP, H, 2 SO, 0 R) and David Phelps (1.0 IP, H, BB, SO, 0 R) were good in one outing each, with Clayton Richard (6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, HB, BB, SO) putting up a decent performance in his start.

Relievers Derek Law (0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, HR, BB), Joe Biagini (1.1 IP, 3 H, ER), and Nick Kingham (0.1 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, L) struggled mightily, while Wednesday’s starter, Trent Thornton (3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB), also failed to give the Blue Jays length. Aaron Sanchez (5.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, HR, 3 BB, L), faltering perpetually this season, was battered around in his start on Monday.

With the bats, Eric Sogard (2-for-11, 2 R, HR, RBI, SO) cooled off significantly, with Teoscar Hernandez (0-for-8, 6 SO) and Brandon Drury (1-for-4, R, SO) also proving ineffective. Billy McKinney (0-for-4, 3 SO, R) and Luke Maile (0-for-4, 2 SO) put up o-fers as well.

In Wednesday’s finale, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo opted to pitch Nick Kingham in the ninth inning instead of closer Ken Giles. Since the game was, at that time, tied at 7-7, it was a curious move, to say the least. Kingham ended up taking the loss after surrendering the winning run to New York’s Gleyber Torres.

After an off-day on Thursday, the boys in blue will head home to face off against the abysmal Kansas City Royals (28-53) in a four-game set which will feature Marcus Stroman (5-9, 3.04 ERA, 77 SO), Sanchez (3-10, 5.89 ERA, 69 SO), and Richard (0-4, 6.89 ERA, 15 SO) battling KC’s Danny Duffy (3-3, 4.48 ERA, 50 SO), Homer Bailey (7-6, 4.61 ERA, 72 SO), Brad Keller (3-9, 4.32 ERA, 72 SO), and former Rule 5 pick Glenn Sparkman (2-3, 4.07 ERA, 30 SO). The Blue Jays have yet to announce a starter for Friday’s game.