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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays fall 5-1 to Yankees in split-squad game
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 28, 2026, 15:30 ESTUpdated: Feb 28, 2026, 16:26 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays’ losing ways have continued.
On Saturday afternoon, the Blue Jays played a split squad game, with one coming in Dunedin against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the other a game against the New York Yankees on the road. In this Instant Reaction, we’ll look at the former, a 5-1 loss to their divisional rivals.
José Berríos made the start and threw four hitless innings. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth that there was scoring, as José Caballero hit an RBI double to drive in Austin Wells. They scored their second run in the same inning, as Arjun Nimmala made a throwing error on a tailor made double play. Both runs were tagged to Ryan Jennings.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Yankees scored two more runs. After Nate Garkow got the first out, Paul Goldschmidt singled to put a runner on. Up next was Austin Wells, who hit a no doubter to right field to make it a 4-0 game.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Yankees added a fifth run off the bat of Kenedy Corona, as he hit his second home run of Spring Training. The Jays added a late run due to an error in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t close to being enough.

Takeaways…

José Berríos’ second start was a lot more encouraging than the first one. Over four innings of work, the right-handed pitcher didn’t allow a hit, walked two, and struck out two. Berríos’ velocity was higher than it was in his first start, with his fastball averaging around where it did last season.
Eloy Jiménez had three plate appearances in this game, grounding out twice and hitting a single. All three of his batted balls had an exit velocity of 100 mph or more, maxing out at 104.7 mph. The outfielder/first baseman/designated hitter now has seven batted balls that have an exit velocity of 100 mph or harder, as well as another hard-hit ball at 97.7 mph.
Speaking of hard-hit balls, it was a good day for the players with the last name Jiménez, as Leo Jiménez also hit the ball hard. In the first inning, he hit a 100 mph flyout, then a 103.2 mph force out in the third. His other plate appearances ended in a walk. Jiménez hit the hardest ball of his career on Friday.
Charles McAdoo has had a solid Spring Training, and that continued on Saturday. In the top of the third, the third baseman hit a single with an exit velocity of 94.4 mph, just barely missing being considered a hard hit ball. McAdoo’s double to lead off the top of the sixth was a hard hit ball, registering an exit velocity of 95 mph.
Addison Barger also finished the game with two hard-hit balls. Funnily enough, his single clocked in at 87.5 mph, while his groundout had an exit velocity of 105.5, and a sixth inning flyout had an exit velocity of 97 mph.
It doesn’t look like the Blue Jays will be anywhere close to repeating as the Golden Grapefruit champions. By losing both split squad games, they are 1-6-1 for Spring Training, well behind the 7-2 New York Yankees. They have the worst record in the Grapefruit league.
The Blue Jays are back in action on Sunday at 1:05 PM ET against the Detroit Tigers. This game will be on  television, as Grant Rogers takes the mound for the Blue Jays, while the Tigers will have Tarik Skubal.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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