BUFFALO, N.Y. – Having already secured a playoff spot, the last thing the Yankees want to do is wobble through the regular season’s final week.
They’ve already come through one major confidence crisis, restoring their status as World Series contenders with a 10-game winning streak that ended Sunday.
On Monday night, they made it back-to-back blowout losses, this time 11-5 against the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field.
Combined, the Yankees (31-23) have been outscored 21-7 in the past two days by the Red Sox and Jays; Mike Tauchman added three-run double in Monday’s ninth.
Making a spot start, rookie Michael King couldn’t provide much length and was knocked out during Toronto’s five-run third inning.
The Blue Jays (28-26) batted around again in a four-run fourth inning against reliever Jonathan Loaisiga, charged with three runs on five hits and two walks in just one inning.
An early miscommunication between outfielders Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge didn’t lead to a run, but it foretold a long night ahead.
Hicks failed to take charge of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s innocent fly ball as Judge approached, resulting in a gift triple.
But King picked up his teammates with his fourth strikeout of the night, ending the second inning.
As sharp as King looked early, he didn’t miss many bats in his abbreviated third inning, though there wasn’t a lot of loud contact; Toronto collected four singles and a walk.
Loaisiga yielded two inherited runs on a sharp double by Guerrero (3-for-3, 3 RBI) and catcher Alejandro Kirk concluded a four-hit night with a solo homer off Chad Green in the seventh.
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