Yanks Barely Scrape By Blue Jays

I got my 2nd Moderna vaccine yesterday. Right now, I'm tired, I'm cranky, and my back hurts.

In other words, the usual. That's not from the vaccine.

In other medical news, the injury crisis is back at Yankee Stadium: 

* Aaron Hicks, the switch-hitter who is the closest thing the Yankees have to a reliable lefthanded hitter, is out for the season (or so it appears) with a wrist injury that will require surgery.

* Corey Kluber, so soon after his no-hitter, went on the Injured List. He will be out for at least 2 months, and the fear that he is out for the season can't be ruled out.

* Luke Voit has an oblique strain, and will be out for a week.

* According to manager Aaron Boone, Aroldis Chapman has been "sick," and unavailable. He could return tonight.

* Some good news, though: Luis Severino is reported as being close to a rehab assignment. He could return before the All-Star Break.

* Zack Britton is set to make his 1st rehab appearance of the season tomorrow, with the Class AA Somerset Patriots.

* And Giancarlo Stanton is expected to be reactivated today, following a quadriceps strain.

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On Tuesday night, the Yankees began a 3-game series, home to those pesky Toronto Blue Jays. Kluber started, but struggled, and only lasted 3 innings. The bullpen didn't do much better. And the Yankee bats struggled against former Met phenom Steven Matz. Aside from RBI hits by Kyle Higashioka in the 7th and 9th innings, the Yankees only got 5 hits.

Blue Jays 6, Yankees 2. WP: Matz (6-2). No save. LP: Kluber (4-3).

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In the middle of Wednesday afternoon, with rain not yet having arrived, the Yankees looked at the weather report, and decided to postpone the game, setting up a twi-night doubleheader for yesterday, meaning 2 games of 7 innings each under the current stupid rule.

Domingo Germán started the opener. He allowed back-to-back home runs to Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette in the 3rd inning. Other than that, in 7 innings, he and Lucas Luetge allowed no runs on just 2 hits and 2 walks. It should have been enough to win.

But a depleted Yankee lineup was only able to produce 2 singles by Miguel Andújar, and a walk each by DJ LeMahieu and Rougned Odor. This was against Alek Manoah, who was making his major league debut. Once again, the Yankees were able to make a kid pitcher look like the next Roger Clemens.

Blue Jays 2, Yankees 0. WP: Manoah (1-0). SV: Jordan Romano (2). LP: Germán (0-3).

It did not escape my notice that, as they had in 1978, when I attended my 1st live major league sporting event, the Yankees hosted the Blue Jays, and didn't hit nearly enough, and had significant injury issues, and lost.

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So the Pinstripes needed to win the nightcap to avoid an embarrassing home series sweep. The needed a good start from Jordan Montgomery, and didn't get it. He allowed 3 runs in the 3rd inning, and didn't get out of the 5th. But, the rest of the way, Jonathan Loáisiga, Wandy Peralta and Chad Green pitched shutout ball.

The Yankees got a run in the 1st, on a single by LeMahieu, a walk by Aaron Judge and a double by Gio Urshela. In the 3rd, down 3-1, LeMahieu singled, and Judge hit a long home run to tie the game. In the 4th, Gary Sanchez hit an even longer one to give the Yankees the lead. Judge nearly hit another in the 5th, but it was long enough to be a sacrifice fly to bring home another run.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3. WP: Loáisiga (4-2). SV: Green (20). LP: Robbie Ray (2-2).

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So here's how things stand, as we head into Memorial Day Weekend:

* The Yankees are 29-21, a winning percentage of .580. If that pace is held over the full 162 games, it would be a record of 94-78.

* They are 2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, 1 game in the all-important loss column. The Boston Red Sox are 1 game behind the Rays, even in the loss column. The Jays are 5 1/5 back, 4 in the loss column. And the Baltimore Orioles are already 14 games back, 13 in the loss column.

* If the current standings hold, the American League Wild Card Game would be the Yankees playing the Red Sox at Fenway. In the AL Division Series, the Yanks-Sox winner would advance to face the Rays, who would have home-field advantage; and the Chicago White Sox would have home-field advantage over the Oakland Athletics.

* The National League Wild Card Game would be that League's biggest rivalry, its parallel to Yankees vs. Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the San Francisco Giants. In the NL DiIvision Series, the Dodgers-Giants winner would advance to face the San Diego Padres, who would have home-field advantage, and the St. Louis Cardinals would have home-field advantage over the New York Mets.

* Yes, the Mets are in 1st place in the National League Eastern Division, while the Yankees are not in 1st place in the AL East. That said, the Mets are 24-20, .545, not nearly as good a record as the Yankees. The Mets are also going through an injury crisis. So to see both New York teams doing as well as they are is, to borrow a word from the Mets' lexicon, Amazing.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 3-game series away to the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are not doing well, just 19-31. Gerrit Cole starts for the Yankees, and Casey Mize for the Tigers.