Was it really so long ago that the Yankees were a .500 team, and looked every inch that? Now, to paraphrase Nancy Sinatra, they are messing where people say they shouldn't be messing -- and, to paraphrase her father, it's time to start spreading the news.
Having taken the 1st game of a 3-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, people who don't like the Yankees were hoping the Jays would reassert themselves, and put a stop to the rampaging Bronx Bombers. At first, it looked like they might, as they took a 1-0 lead in the 5th inning.
But Aaron Judge put that kind of thinking on hold with a game-tying blast in the 6th inning, a 427-foot home run to left field. And the Jays became their own worst enemies by starting the top of the 7th with an error that allowed Giancarlo Stanton to reach 1st base.
Big mistake. Josh Donaldson doubled Stanton home. Gleyber Torres struck out, but Marwin González doubled Donaldson home. Isiah Kiner-Falefa beat out an infield single. Jose Trevino grounded into a fielder's choice that scored González. Aaron Hicks singled home IKF. Judge narrowly missed another homer, with a double that scored Hicks and Trevino. It was 7-1 Yankees.
That was enough to make Jameson Taillon the winning pitcher. He left after that long inning, rather than go out for the bottom of the 7th. Having gone 6, he allowed 1 run on 5 hits, and -- two of my favorite words in the Baseballish language -- no walks. He struck out 4. Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless 7th, Miguel Castro a scoreless 8th, and Lucas Luetge a perfect 9th.
Stanton added a 2-run homer in the 9th. At 444 feet, it was even longer than Judge's. Yankees 9, Blue Jays 1. WP: Taillon (2-1). No save. LP: Adam Cimber (4-1).
That's 11 straight wins. The Yankees had an 11-game winning streak last season, and made it 13, which is their longest streak since 1961. They also had a 13-game streak in 1954; a 14-game streak in 1941; 15-game streaks in 1906 and 1960; a 16-game streak in 1926; an 18-game streak in 1953; and a 19-game streak in 1947 -- including sweeping 4 doubleheaders, and 13 of those 19 were on the road.
The Jays are now 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees, 4 in the loss column. The series is clinched: While I still want to win the finale and claim the sweep, the message has been properly sent: If the Jays weren't afraid of the Yankees before, they should be now.
The series concludes tonight. Nestor Cortes starts against the man who may be Charo's favorite pitcher, Yusei Kikuchi.
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