Blue Jays Shut Out Yankees 2-0 to Tie First Series of 2026
On Wednesday, the Blue Jays shook up their series versus the Yankees with a win, giving themselves a chance to tie the series Thursday night. This was the first matchup between these division rivals since the 2025 ALDS. Going into the fourth game, Toronto was 22-27, while New York was 30-20. Though their records are not close, they are second and third in the AL East. The Jays spot started for the second time since trading Eric Lauer to the Dodgers, and the Yankees started three-time all-star Carlos Rodόn who recently recovered from elbow surgery. Toronto continues to extend its IL with José Berríos officially out for the season after Tommy John surgery, and relievers Tommy Nance and Joe Mantiply have been added most recently. The Blue Jays started the scoring swiftly with an RBI double from Daulton Varsho to bring in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Despite that early run, the score stayed 1-0 through the top of the seventh when George Springer hit a solo homer to make it 2-0. That ended up the final score as the Blue Jays held the Yankees to three hits to tie the series 2-2.
Varsho’s on a Hot Streak
The Jays’ center-fielder has been a key part of their lineup since his walk-off grand slam on May 13th. The 29-year-old is hitting .338 with a .877 OPS in May. This is a significant improvement from his April stats of a .250 AVG and a .788 OPS. In his last 11 games, he averaged .395. His streak continued as he hit in the only run of the first six innings with his first-inning double. Though the lefty only went one for four, his one hit had a significant impact on the outcome of the game. He’s also rarely removed from center field due to his constant game-changing plays. He recently ran into the outfield wall at Rogers Centre and still managed to secure the catch. The Blue Jays' strength as a team is that every player can be a hero. When stars like Guerrero Jr. are slumping, someone else steps up, and right now, that guy is Varsho.
Is Spot Starting the Blue Jays' New Normal?
Toronto’s pitching staff has made up a majority of the injured list since Spring Training. Despite their diminishing pitcher problem, they still DFA’d Lauer last week. The IL has gotten even worse since then, but the Jays must expect that by now. They’ve brought up Yariel Rodríguez and Adam Macko to fill the gaps. The first attempt against Detroit opened with Mason Fluharty before Spencer Miles pitched a majority of the game with three and two-thirds innings. This was successful as it led to an extra-inning win for closer Louis Varland. Thursday was similar as Braydon Fisher threw four strikeouts in the first five batters, followed by Macko’s two strikeouts in one and one-third innings to precede Miles’ four and one-third scoreless innings. Miles admitted to some fatigue after the game in Detroit, but the stretch is already working as he passed his pitch and inning count in the Bronx, which included six strikeouts. Tyler Rogers then pitched the eighth before Jeff Hoffman got a rare save since being replaced as closer by Varland. Manager John Schneider mentioned earlier in the season that they’d have to get creative with all the injuries, and this experiment has clearly paid off as they are now 2-0 with spot starts.
