The Yankees lost their second straight game on Monday night, as the Toronto Blue Jays held the Bronx Bombers scoreless in a 3–0 divisional matchup.
Jameson Taillon got the start for New York in his first game of the season, and allowed 5 hits in 5 innings pitched, and allowed 2 Blue Jays to cross the plate — both of which came on a 2-run blast from center fielder George Springer to left.
Right hander Michael King took over for Tallion in the 6th inning, and gave up the Blue Jays’ third run, which came from another Springer at-bat, when he sent a 94 mph sinker over the head of second baseman Gleyber Torres for a long double, which scored Santiago Espinal after he had singled earlier in the inning.
Reliever Ron Marinaccio took over with 2 outs in the 8th inning, and held the team from Canada scoreless through the remaining 4 outs.
On offense, the Yankees failed to produce any runs, while recording just 4 hits and striking out 9 times.
Their best chance to cross the plate came in the 3rd inning, when Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah walked 3 batters to load the bases, but the Yankees couldn’t capitalize, and all 3 baserunners were left stranded after Giancarlo Stanton grounded out to end the inning.
That disappointing showing came just a day after the Yankees allowed the Boston Red Sox to get out of innings with bases loaded twice in the Yanks’ loss on Sunday night.
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The only Yankee hits came from Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks, along with 2 from Joey Gallo.
The Bronx crowd was clearly unhappy with the lackluster Yankee performance, with booing from fans, directed towards the team as a whole, and specifically to Aaron Judge — who has had a relatively slow start to the season.
Manager Aaron Boone shook off concerns about the fans’ reaction, and assured reporters after the game that Judge would regain his fan-favorite status as season progresses.
“When you’re coming off a big weekend series, and you’ve got a Monday crowd, you tend to hear those things,” said Boone. “The boos sometimes drown out the cheers, especially in a game where we’re not generating a lot.”
“I’m not worried about it. Judgie’s got plenty of support out there.”
For his part, Judge said he’s used to criticism.
“It’s not rare,” he said. “I’ve been hearing it since [2016]. It’s nothing new.”
The pinstripes move to 2–2 on the young season, and they will get another chance to take on Toronto on Tuesday night in the Bronx, with lefty Nestor Cortes scheduled to take the mound for the start.
