The New York Yankees have a chance for quick redemption when they visit the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.
The three-game series gives the Yankees a chance to help make up for their previous visit, June 30-July 3, when the Blue Jays won all four games.
The Blue Jays swept past the Yankees into first place in the American League East as a result.
“Hopefully, we can go have a better result this time around,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Toronto is still first, three games ahead of the Yankees, after both teams won their games on Sunday.
The Blue Jays defeated the San Francisco Giants 8-6, and the Yankees beat the host Atlanta Braves 4-2.
The Sunday victory gives the Blue Jays a 10-game home winning streak that matches the franchise mark set in 1985.
The Yankees led the division by seven games on May 28 when the Blue Jays were third and eight games out of first.
The Yankees returned from the All-Star break to win two of three from the Braves after dropping the opener and they want to build on that.
“It’s a big series win, especially going into Toronto, who is leading the division,” said Aaron Judge, who homered in the first inning on Sunday. “It’s a good time to start getting hot.”
Judge’s 36th home run of the season tied him with Alex Rodriguez for sixth on the all-time Yankees’ list with 351.
“Just an incredible honor, especially growing up watching A-Rod for so many years and watching him do what he did in pinstripes,” Judge said. “He’s a legend, one of the best to ever play.”
The Yankees are scheduled to start Carlos Rodon (10-6, 3.08 ERA) on Monday. The left-hander is 2-2 with a 4.85 in 42 2/3 innings over eight career starts against the Blue Jays. He has faced them once this season, allowing two runs in five innings in the series opener on June 30 and did not factor into the decision. Toronto won 5-4.
The Blue Jays are slated to send out Kevin Gausman (6-7, 4.19). The right-hander is 10-10 with a 3.87 ERA in 37 career games (31 starts) against the Yankees. In two starts against them this season, he has struggled, going 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA. The loss came April 27 at New York, an 11-2 Yankees win. The no-decision came July 1, when he allowed two runs in five innings in the 12-5 Blue Jays win.
“It’ll be a fun series,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “They obviously are a really good team. In terms of messaging, I don’t think I need to say much to this group. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point, and I think we just have to play our game.
“It’s going to be a hard series. We know that. They have good pitchers going and they have a really good lineup. So, you kind of attack it one day at a time.”
The Yankees will find out if their 12-9 comeback win over the Braves on Saturday night built some momentum. They overcame a five-run deficit to take the lead on Trent Grisham’s ninth-inning grand slam.
Giancarlo Stanton, who was 3-for-5 on Sunday, agrees that the series in Toronto is important.
“It is,” Stanton said. “But we’re ready. This set us up good, coming back (Saturday) into a quick turnaround today. We’re ready.”
The Yankees won two of three from the Blue Jays on April 25-27. The teams play another three-game series in New York on Sept. 5-7.
–Field Level Media
