Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe takes part in karaoke event for The Valerie Fund
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe takes part in karaoke event for The Valerie Fund on June 18, 2025 in the Bronx.
TORONTO – Here up north, just about everything went south for the Yankees.
Before their quiet caravan left Canada late Thursday night, the Yankees had lost their 82-day grip on first place – swept in four games by the Blue Jays, now atop the AL East.
Immediately after Toronto’s latest George Springer-fueled victory, 8-5 at Rogers Centre, manager Aaron Boone felt a need to quickly address his second-place club.
“I know the trust they have in one another. We even just talked about it in there,’’ said Boone, after Toronto’s first home four-game sweep of the Yanks since the Jays entered the AL in 1977.
“It’s all part of it, bring it on. You’ve got to embrace the challenging times of it.’’
Yankees face a tough road ahead
Only, this isn’t getting any easier for the Yankees – who’ve lost 14 of their last 20 games and face July series against the Mets, Mariners, Cubs and Braves before returning to Toronto for another set.
Then, it’s three games against the Phillies and four against the Rays – co-sharers of second place – before the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
Boone’s message was “that we’re the best team in the league and we knew we were going to hit a speed bump,’’ said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who said he feels “like there’s no panic at all. We’re going to be just fine.’’
That best-in-the-league sentiment “doesn’t change’’ for the Yankees, said captain Aaron Judge. “No matter the record, no matter what’s happened.’’
But these Yankees might ultimately regret not taking advantage of a soft June schedule, losing 10 of 16 games against the Red Sox, Angels, Orioles, Reds and Athletics before arriving in Toronto.
And talk about regrets…
During this four-game sweep, the Yankees came to bat 50 times with runners in scoring position; they batted .180 and left 40 runners on base.
Jasson Dominguez had four hits Thursday, including a triple and double, but the one time he batted with runners in scoring position, he struck out – curtailing a seventh-inning rally.
Aaron Judge was intentionally walked five times in four games, an aggressive strategy by Toronto manager John Schneider that contenders might begin to follow.
Two of those walks came with a runner at first base and two occurred with no one on base.
Waiting on Clarke Schmidt’s MRI
On the pitching side, Max Fried was the only starter to go six innings, and the Blue Jays feasted on a taxed Yankee bullpen.
Twice in this series, Springer hit two homers in a game and collected 11 total RBI.
But in a series where Vlad Guerrero Jr. had one RBI, Bo Bichette (knee) had one at-bat and Anthony Santander (shoulder, IL) had none, the Yankees couldn’t stop Addison Barger and Davis Schneider from wrecking games.
And they might have lost a key starter, too, as Clarke Schmidt exited after three innings Thursday with right forearm tightness – something he’s dealt with, on and off, for a month.
“We understand the focus is on the playoffs and making sure we’re good down the stretch and not try to push through something and make it worse,’’ said Schmidt, hoping he avoided a worse outcome by exiting when he did.
Yankees’ immediate task: To remain “unfazed”
Boone said he’s looking for his players to be “unfazed’’ during this period.
“I don’t want us to flinch,’’ said Boone, asking only to “prepare to go out there and compete our (butts) off. And I know if we do that enough’’ that a positive outcome awaits.
Luke Weaver called it “true in the big picture, but I’ll be very raw and honest that I do feel slightly fazed right now, personally,’’ though not to the point where it impacts his performance.
But, yeah, he was shaken by Springer twice taking him deep this week, despite feeling better than he did before a hamstring injury in early June.
“This is not something you just move on from and sit there and go about your life all happy,’’ said Weaver. “Soak on it a little bit, figure out what you want to do about it and make some action.’’