Offense explodes, pitching implodes: Yankees drop a wild one in Toronto

Toronto—it looked like this game was over in the first inning, but the Yankees battled back after being down big, but ultimately lost this one 11-9 to lose the series to the Blue Jays. Will Warren got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against José Berríos for the Jays. 

In the top of the first inning, Cody Bellinger lined a single the other way on a beautiful piece of hitting, but that would be all for the Yankees. 

Warren's first-inning struggles this year continued tonight as he gave up five runs before recording an out. Alejandro Kirk ripped a two-run double into the right field corner to make it 2-0, and Addison Barger followed that up with a three-run home run to quickly make it 5-0 Jays, as this brutal series for the Yankees in Toronto continues. Davis Schneider then crushed a two-run home run to make it 7-0 before Warren could record the second out of the game. 

"Yeah, I mean, they did a good job putting the ball in play," Warren said about the first inning. "I didn't execute some pitches, and guys were on base, and they made me pay for it." 

"Yeah, I think maybe there's a couple that we want back. I thought the stuff overall was pretty good," catcher Ben Rice said about Warren's first inning. "But yeah, just that's what happens. You just maybe leave a couple pitches out over, and good hitters are going to capitalize." 

Andrés Giménez grounded an RBI infield single that kicked off the glove of Warren to make it an 8-0 game in the bottom of the third inning. 

Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe hit back-to-back singles to lead off the top of the fifth inning. The next batter, DJ LeMahieu, lined a RBI single right back up the middle to make it an 8-1 game. The next batter, Rice, lined a RBI single to right field to make it an 8-2 game. Aaron Judge followed that up with an RBI double off the top of the wall in right center to make it an 8-3 game. A couple batters later, Giancarlo Stanton launched a three-run home run, his first of the season, to make it an 8-6 game, as the Yankees are right back in it.

Ian Hamilton replaced Warren on the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning and retired the Jays in order. 

Will Warren's final line: four innings pitched, 10 hits allowed, eight earned runs, four walks, seven swings and misses, and four strikeouts on 99 pitches. Warren threw his sinker 33% of the time, the fastball 33%, the sweeper 17%, the changeup 12%, and the curveball 4% of the time. Unfortunately, there's really no sugarcoating this one; Warren was flat out terrible tonight. I have liked Warren a lot this year, but when the Yankees needed him most tonight, he unfortunately folded like a lawn chair. 

DJ worked a one-out walk in the top of the sixth inning. Rice followed that up with a double off the wall in right-center field. Judge was then intentionally walked to load the bases for Belli. Belli legged out an RBI fielder's choice to put the Yankees within one run, making it 8-7 after being down 8-0. 

Hamilton remained in the game for the bottom of the sixth inning and picked up the first two outs of the inning, then walked a batter. Tim Hill took over for Hamilton on the mound and recorded the final out of the inning. 

Jazz worked a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh inning. A couple of batters later, Dominguez grounded a single to right field. However, neither Jazz nor Domguez decided to steal for some reason, and the rally killer himself, Volpe, bounced into a double play to end the threat. Jazz has not attempted a stolen base since June 10; for a guy known for his speed, that's odd. 

Hill remained in the game for the bottom of the seventh and picked up the first two outs, then served up a solo home run to Schneider, his second of the night, to make it a 9-7 game. 

In the top of the eighth inning, Trent Grisham pinch hit for DJ, so his hamstring appears to be ok. Grisham flew out, then Rice worked a walk. Judge, after being down in the count 0-2, battled back and then launched a two-run bomb, his 31st home run of the season, to tie this game up at 9-9 after once being down 8-0. 

Devin Williams was called upon to replace Hill on the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning and walked the leadoff batter George Springer, which ended up costing him as that run eventually came around to score on a wild pitch with two outs to give the Jays a 10-9 lead. Addison Barger then lined a RBI single to left field to make it an 11-9 game. 

"Yeah, I mean, I got to make a better pitch there," Williams said on his wild pitch. "You know, it wasn't the easiest one to block for Ben, so you know, I've got to make a better pitch."

Grisham picked up a two-out infield single in the top of the ninth inning to bring the tying run to the plate. However, Rice popped out to end this one 11-9.

"It's a long season, we've got to play better. That's what it comes down to," Judge said. "We play better, we'll put ourselves in a better position, but it's not concerning. We're not concerned about what's going on around us. We've got to control what we do in this room and what we do out there on the field, and you know we're not getting the job done right now." 

The Yankees will look to avoid being swept tomorrow with Clarke Schmidt on the mound, facing off against Chris Bassitt. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Frustrating loss tonight, but the Yankees did show a lot of fight coming back down 8-0. Unfortunately, the Yankees are now tied for first place with the Blue Jays and a half game ahead of the Rays. Warren was terrible, hard to win when your starter put you in an 8-0 hole. The offense was great tonight. Judge had a huge game with three hits and a huge game-tying home run that was unfortunately wasted because they lost. Stanton with a huge three-run bomb as well. Williams, who had been performing well since the start of June, unfortunately, didn't have it as well. Volpe also cost the Yankees in a big way with a rally-killing double play in the seventh inning and has now left 161 runners on base this year. Plus, another thing from Volpe when the Yankees were down 8-0; he was seen on the broadcast laughing with Jay's shortstop Ennrie Clemet, which was a horrible look.  The Yankees have to figure it out fast, as the seven-game lead they had about a month ago has disappeared. On to tomorrow, the Yankees need to win.

“Yeah, I like how we were resilient,” Rice said. “It's a tough one to come back from. So, to be able to be right in it late, there is a good sign.”