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Series Recap: Blue Jays earn series split in first showdown with Yankees
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Photo credit: © Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 22, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: May 22, 2026, 06:45 EDT
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A series victory would have been nice, but a series split against the New York Yankees in the Bronx is nothing to sneeze at.
The Toronto Blue Jays played the New York Yankees for the first time since knocking them off in the 2025 American League Divisional Series. After owning them throughout much of last season, especially at home, the Jays needed to have a good series as they look to get to back to .500 baseball.
Entering this series, the Blue Jays had a 21-25 record and were well behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the top spot in the American League East. Things got worse for them, as they suffered a 7-6 loss on Monday.
Paul Goldschmidt took Patrick Corbin deep on the first pitch the Blue Jays starter threw, giving the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. It stood that way until the top of the fourth, when Ernie Clement hit his third home run of the season.
The Yankees returned fire in the bottom half of the fourth, as J.C. Escarra hit a sacrifice fly and Goldschmidt hit a double to drive in the tying run. George Springer hit his third home run of the season in the top of the fifth to restore the lead, then Clement grounded out to give the Jays a 5-3 lead.
With several of their high leverage relievers down, the Jays first went to Braydon Fisher, who threw one and two-thirds scoreless innings, then Adam Macko made his big league debut, picking up a hold. Unfortunately, Yariel Rodríguez gave up four earned runs in a third of an inning, giving the Yankees a 7-5 lead.
There’s been several occasions this season that the Jays had an opportunity to tie a game they were trailing in the ninth, and Monday’s game was another instance of that. Clement drew a walk, then was driven in thanks to a pinch-hit double by Jesús Sánchez. With a runner on second and no outs, Brandon Valenzuela struck out, then Yohendrick Piñango walked.
That flipped the lineup to Springer, who didn’t swing at the first three pitches, all balls, but then whiffed on three consecutive splitters below the strike zone. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded out to end the game.
On Tuesday, both teams remained scoreless through the first third of the game. But in the top of the fourth, Daulton Varsho led off the inning with a single, Kazuma Okamoto walked, and Piñango drove in a run to make it 1-0. Sánchez hit an RBI single, then Andrés Giménez hit a third RBI single of the inning for a 3-0 lead.
With one swing of the bat, the Yankees tied it in the bottom half of the second, as Ryan McMahon took Dylan Cease deep, a three-run home run and just the second homer Cease has given up this season. Then Cease gave up another home run in the bottom of the fifth, a two-run home run.
Once again, the Blue Jays scored a run in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game, but with runners on second and third and two outs, Okamoto grounded out to end the game.
The Blue Jays’ luck turned around in the third game of the series on Wednesday. In one of the best games of the season, even with a two-hour rain delay to begin the game, Trey Yesavage pitched six scoreless innings with two hits allowed and eight strikeouts. On the other side, Cam Schlittler pitched six scoreless innings as well, but got into a jam in the top of the seventh.
Clement singled to lead off the inning, Sánchez walked, and Valenzuela singled on a bunt to load the bases. That set up an 11-pitch battle with Giménez, who fouled off seven pitches to draw a walk and score a run. Schlittler was removed from the game, then Guerrero Jr. hit a sacrifice fly.
It was just enough to win the game, as Louis Varland gave up his second earned run of the season, but struck out Amed Rosario with a runner on second to end the game, his sixth save in as many tries.
Looking to avoid just their third series loss in their last nine, the Blue Jays managed to win another low-scoring game on Thursday evening. They didn’t wait until the seventh to get on the board this time, as Varsho drove in Guerrero Jr. with an RBI double.
Holding on to a one run lead through the majority of the game, the Jays got some breathing room in the form of Springer’s second home run of the series, a solo blast to make it 2-0. In the end, the Jays bullpen was what won this game.
It was a bullpen day, with Fisher kicking it off by striking out four through an inning and a third. Macko replaced him, striking out two in an inning and a third, and picking up his first career win. Spencer Miles pitched the bulk of the game, striking out six over four and one-third innings with just two hits allowed. Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless inning, as did Jeff Hoffman, who struck out two and picked up his fourth save of the season.
The Blue Jays’ run of 17 games in 17 days continues on Friday, as they return to Rogers Centre to host the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend.
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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