The Yankees have been clearly salty about the way their 2025 season came to a close since the moment it happened. They strongly believed that their team was talented enough to win a championship, and to lose to the Blue Jays—first in the AL East race and then in the AL Division Series—was deeply disappointing. Perhaps the worst part of all of it was that after falling behind 0-2 in the ALDS, they won a dramatic Game 3 to briefly get back into the series, and instead of getting another win to send it back to Toronto for a winner-take-all Game 5, they got utterly embarrassed in front of their own fans at Yankee Stadium as a bullpen game sent them home.
Well, it’s far from the end of the 2026 season, but as far as Mountie Wholestaff once again inexplicably dominating the Yanks in their own backyard goes? As Yogi Berra would say, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
If the Yankees offense looked moribund on Wednesday night, tonight’s effort may want to make them consider checking their pulses. After eking out two close wins over the Blue Jays on Monday and Tuesday, the Yankee lineup completely flatlined over the ensuing pair of games for a dud of a split. Thursday’s contest was a three-hit shutout at the hands of Toronto’s depth pitchers: a 2-0 final that should prompt some big questions, especially with AL East-leading Tampa Bay coming to town. Carlos Rodón’s decent start was not good enough because it involved one mistake—not the margin for error you want from your starting pitchers, or the bullpen that followed.
Rodón got ambushed quickly to begin this affair. After a strikeout to start the night, he let Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slip away on a walk. That set the table for Daulton Varsho, who flapjacked a slider well out of the strike zone off the third-base bag and down the left field line for a goofy little RBI double—the kind Toronto does so well. Rodón regained his composure to end the frame, but that single run would stand tall for a while.
Toronto’s shutout started with a scoreless inning of work from opener Braydon Fisher, aided by a successful ABS challenge to strike out Aaron Judge. Then lefty Adam Macko worked around a two-out Ryan McMahon double to pass the baton to bulk man Spencer Miles. The 25-year-old righty used his sinker-curve combo to work ahead of the slumping Bomber lineup and quell any thoughts of a tying rally in the middle frames.
Rodón continued to work deep counts in this ballgame, exceeding 90 pitches by the end of the fifth and necessitating a move to rookie Yovanny Cruz after he finished that frame. The southpaw held his own though, working around more command issues to strike out seven Jays and keep the game within reach.
But like last night, the Yankees couldn’t hack it. They managed only three hits in the first seven innings against a trio of pitchers not exactly heralded as household names. Miles made his case to be used as a bona fide starter with 4.1 scoreless innings, striking out six and scattering a walk and two knocks.
Then an old, irritating friend paid a visit.
It’s a truism in Yankee circles that George Springer could be hitting .020 across a full season, and his only hits would probably be for extra bases against the Yankees. Well, Springer entered the night hitting below the Mendoza Line despite continuing to hit leadoff. Naturally, the longtime Yankee nuisance found a pitch to drive off Camilo Doval and snuck it over the left-field wall into the first row. I dunno, man. At least it wasn’t a moonshot? Not like those count any differently.
Because the 2026 Yankee bullpen is totally fine, please stop asking, the eighth and ninth innings saw a high-leverage relief appearance from Paul Blackburn. He actually did well enough. In the eighth, he worked around a double from Ernie Clement to retire Myles Straw. Then in the ninth, he got Springer to roll over into a double play.
But asking for this Yankee offense to produce multiple runs tonight felt like asking for the weather in New Jersey to stop seesawing between sweltering heat waves and spirit-crushing rainstorms.
Submariner Tyler Rogers walked the No. 9 hitter, usually an unforgivable sin against a top-flight offense. But a top-flight offense this was not, tonight. Ben Rice went first-pitch hunting and did Rogers a favor, hitting the ball straight to Varsho. Then Judge came up, and promptly dribbled a double-play ball to Andrés Giménez to finish off the eighth. Cool.
Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Paul Goldschmidt were the trio set to face closer Jeff Hoffman in the bottom of the ninth. Bellinger lined a ball down the line but right to Vladdy at first. Jazz struck out for the fourth time, and Goldschmidt chased a pitch well out of the zone.
That’s that: a 2-0 final and a three-hit shutout to clinch the kind of series split that makes you feel hollow inside. Judge and his teammates talked a big game earlier in 2026 about wanting to always finish series strong. This was very much the opposite of that.
The Yankees have now scored one run over the past 18 innings. That’s not going to cut it against a division rival, especially one like Toronto that tends to round into form in the second half—and with another rival already growing their margin in the division. And oh, yeah, that other rival is coming to town. The Rays swept the Yankees earlier in the year at the Trop and will meet them at a convenient time.
Well, the sun will come out tomorrow, at least. And with it will come a gift: Gerrit Cole is back! I mean, starting pitching isn’t exactly the biggest issue facing the Yankees this season, but hey. You take the positives you can get them. He’ll oppose Nick Martinez with first pitch at 7:05pm on YES.
