The Toronto Blue Jays ended the New York Yankees’ winning streak while adding to their AL East rival’s woes at home on Friday night.
A big part of the Blue Jays’ success against the Yankees has come from their bats, as Toronto has scored eight or more runs in each of its last three victories over New York.
Ernie Clement drove in three runs on Friday night while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to 15 games in the Blue Jays’ 8-5 win. Guerrero Jr. is currently tied for the longest active hit streak in the majors at 15 games (Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals and Colton Cowser of the Orioles) and leads baseball in several categories during that time.
Guerrero Jr. has been on a mission during his hitting streak, leading MLB in batting average (.509), on-base percentage (.576), slugging percentage (1.091), OPS (1.667), extra-base hits (16) and total bases (60).
Fortunately for Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays, they will get a chance on Saturday to pile on more offence against Yankees starter Carlos Rodon, who has had his struggles this season.
One of Rodon’s outings in his rough stretch came against Toronto on June 27, when he allowed eight runs and 10 hits in five innings in a 9-2 loss. The left-hander is 1-2 with a 5.01 ERA in six career starts against the Blue Jays.
For the Blue Jays, José Berríos will look to record double-digit victories for the sixth time in his career. He is currently 9-8 with a 3.93 ERA in 2024.
In his last start, Berríos allowed one run on six hits in seven innings against the Texas Rangers in a 7-3 win. The right-hander has had his ups and downs against the Yankees in his career, going 4-7 with a 4.96 ERA in 13 regular-season games. In his last outing against New York, he allowed two runs in seven innings of work.
George Springer, who left Friday’s game with left shin bruise after fouling a ball off his leg in the sixth inning, will slot on as the designated hitter on Saturday, with Steward Berroa taking his spot in right field.
Springer went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts and is hitting .229 with 13 homers and 41 RBIs. The 34-year-old is a four-time All-Star.
“We were planning on DH-ing him one of these games anyway,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider had said on Friday.
Recently acquired outfielder Joey Loperfido, who went 2-for-5 and scored two runs on Friday, will play in centre field, while Davis Schneider will play left.
For just the second time in seven years, the Blue Jays have a chance to clinch the season series against the Yankees. Watch the game on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET/10:05 a.m. PT and Blue Jays Centreal kicking things off at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT.
