About Yesterday Afternoon: Blue Jays Defeat NYY, 5-1

About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Were Stomped by the Blue Jays 5-1

By Tim Kabel

April 24, 2023

*** The Yankees were no match for the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday, or in fact in this series. They were outscored in the series 13-5 by the Blue Jays and lost two out of three games. Clarke Schmidt was a lot better than he had been. Although he lost, the three runs he surrendered in the 6th inning were not earned. He had eight strikeouts and one walk in the game. The Yankees offense was ineffective, and they were once again baffled and handcuffed, this time by Kevin Gausman. At this point, the Yankees are 13-9 for the season and are treading water. There is no need to panic as reinforcements will soon be on the way and things should improve. However, they are simply struggling along early in the season as they find their way.

Quick Stats -

• The Yankees lost their first series of the season. They were the last team to do so.

• In a replica of Friday night's game, the Yankees only had 6 hits and just one run. That is why they lost two of the three games against Toronto.

• Andres Chaparro has 7 home runs in 75 at bats in AAA. Perhaps he could take the roster spot of Aaron Hicks and be the right-handed DH while Giancarlo Stanton is out.

• The Yankees will finish their season series against the Twins and the Guardians next week.

• On April 23, 1903, the Yankees, then known as the Highlanders, won the first game in franchise history. On April 23, 2000, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada became the first teammates in MLB history to both hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game.

Big Story - The Yankees are 13-9 so far this season. It is as if they are bogged down in traffic on the way to work. They are headed in the right direction, but they are not making the progress that they would like to, and it is frustrating for everyone involved. These things happen. It is very early in the season and despite having some key players out of action, they were the last team in the major leagues to lose a season series. All is not lost. There are some good signs and there is reason for optimism.

Player of the Game -

DJ LeMahieu had three hits, Including a double.

Notable Performance -

Anthony Rizzo hit a home run in the ninth inning.

Better to Forget -

Other than LeMahieu and Rizzo, only Gleyber Torres and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had hits.

My Take -

The Yankees have played 22 games. That means they have 140 more games to go. It is a long season. Right now, they are missing three members of their planned starting rotation. Two of them will be back, Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino. It is unknown if Frankie Montas will ever pitch for the Yankees again. Regardless, the starting rotation and the team will improve.

At this point, the Yankees are playing three rookies on an almost daily basis. I advocated for this. I thought it was a great idea. I still do. I think Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Anthony Volpe will all develop into very good Major League ballplayers. It takes time and patience for that to happen. The organization and the fans have to give it a chance.

Remember, Aaron Judge struggled when he first came to the Majors. Many people were ready to write him off. I'm not saying that any of these three will be players of the caliber of Aaron Judge. But they could still be very good.

If the Yankees stay the course and develop Volpe, Cabrera, and Peraza, while adding in players who are currently on the IL, they could have a very competitive team. I am interested to see how this all shakes out and what the team looks like at the end of the season.

I have never been a fan of Aaron Boone. I think that winning a championship with him as the manager would be extremely difficult. Yet, here he is. At this point, he is not going anywhere. Thankfully, he is allowing the young players the opportunity to develop in the Major Leagues. Aaron Hicks has been banished to the bench. He may soon be off the roster. Josh Donaldson is on ice, recovering from his hamstring difficulties. He will be gone for weeks, if not months.

On Saturday, the Yankees showed their abilities to score runs without relying on the home run, per se. The home run will always be an important part of this team's offense, but they now have speed and athleticism interspersed throughout the lineup. In the third inning of that game, both Peraza and Cabrera were on base while Volpe was at the plate. Peraza and Cabrera each stole a base. As a team, the Yankees have 22 stolen bases, which is tied for fourth in the league. Volpe, Cabrera, and Peraza have thirteen of those stolen bases. I believe that by the end of the season, this will be a very exciting team to watch.

I will suspend my lack of confidence in Boone and enjoy the process as this team develops. I hope and expect they will win at least 100 games and go far into the postseason. I have been pushing for them to go to a youth movement for quite a while. Now that it appears they are doing so, I am excited and confident that things will go well. If I am wrong, it will be a long season. However, if I am right and Brian Cashman and his team are right, this could be one of the best seasons the Yankees have had in many years.

Next Up -

Tonight, the Yankees open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at 7:40 PM at Target Field. Jhony Brito (2-1, 5.40 ERA) will face Minnesota's Sonny Gray. {Remember him?}(2-0) 0.82 ERA).