Yankees - 000 001 000 - 1 6 0
Blue Jays - 110 000 44x - 10 14 0"By the end, the allegedly super polite Canadians were
co-opting a famous Boston-favored phrase: 'Yankees S—!'"
Yankees Unravel Late In Brutal ALDS Game 1 Loss To Blue Jays
Greg Joyce, Post
The good vibes the Yankees carried across the border are apparently worth nothing in Canadian currency. . . .
The biggest Yankees bats came up small in key spots, Luis Gil got tagged in an abbreviated start and then Luke Weaver and the bullpen blew things open late, sinking the Yankees in a 10-1 loss to the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALDS . . . falling to 1-7 at Rogers Centre this year. . . .
Gil lasted just 2.2 innings while giving up solo home runs to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk [and] the game began to fall apart for the Yankees in the sixth inning.
They had the bases loaded with no outs and the heart of their order due up in a 2-0 game, but only came away with one run, in part because Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton each struck out.
Weaver then put an end to any comeback hopes . . . in the seventh inning, flopping again while issuing a walk and back-to-back singles that made it 3-1 and ended his outing before he could record an out. The two inherited runners came in to score off Fernando Cruz . . .
In two outings this postseason, Weaver has faced six batters and retired none of them, getting charged for five runs on four hits and two walks. He had struggled for stretches during the regular season . . . but finished well, giving the Yankees hope they could count on him.
That has not been the case.
Kirk hit his second home run of the game in the eighth inning off Paul Blackburn, who went on to give up three more runs in mop-up duty . . .
Gil recorded just eight outs on Saturday, getting rocked for plenty of loud contact beyond the homers . . . Of the 10 balls put in play against him, six came off the bat at 95 mph or harder.
Aaron Judge, Yankees Can't Put Rogers Centre Woes Behind Them As Bats, Arms Flop In ALDS Blowout
Gary Phillips, Daily News
With the bases loaded, nobody out and Aaron Judge up at the plate, the Yankees finally looked like a threat in Game 1 of the ALDS. . . .
Alas, the Yankees captain, whose postseason shortcomings have been well-documented, struck out on eight pitches, chasing a 3-2 splitter below the zone. Judge's waving bat elicited a roar from Rogers Centre's packed crowd, which erupted again a few batters later when Louis Varland fanned Giancarlo Stanton with a 100.7-mph, inning-ending fastball down the heart of the plate. . . .
With the Yankees only mustering one run on a walk in the sixth . . . The outcome followed a regular season that saw the Yankees play some of their worst baseball north of the border, as they lost 6-of-7 games at the Rogers Centre over two series this summer. . . .
While the Yankees' bats were nearly silenced by Gausman, Luis Gil put them in an early hole, surrendering two homers in the first two innings.
The righty's first mistake came with two outs in the opening frame, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has made his distaste for the Yankees well-known, took the pitcher deep for a solo home run . . .
With one Yankees killer putting Toronto on the board, another padded the Jays' lead in the second inning when Alejandro Kirk led off with another bases-empty blast. . . .
Gil said he was surprised to see Aaron Boone pull him so soon . . .
Luke Weaver's struggles continued, as he began the seventh with a five-pitch walk and a single before permitting an RBI knock to Andrés Giménez. . . .
Weaver failed to record an out for the second time in as many appearances this postseason . . .
Weaver acknowledged that he's been tipping his pitches and struggling to adjust. . . .
Those who followed Weaver didn't fare any better, as Nathan Lukes ripped a two-run double off Cruz before Guerrero added a sac fly. The eighth inning brought more damage, as Kirk crushed another solo homer off Paul Blackburn.
Luis Gil's Disastrous Yankees Start Raises Daunting Rotation Questions
Mark W. Sanchez, Post
What became clear Saturday was [the Yankees] do not have a No. 4.
Luis Gil was given the ball instead of Will Warren, and Gil then had to give the ball to his bullpen in the third inning. . . .
The third batter of the game for the Blue Jays, Yankees-killer Vladimir Guerrero Jr., saw a changeup that got too much of the plate and hammered it out to left field for a lead the Jays never surrendered. . . .
On an evening the Yankees' offense did little, it might not have mattered which fourth starter the Yankees tried. . . .
[I]f this series lasts the distance the Yankees would be faced with the same unenviable position of selecting which fourth arm they trust the most. . . .
Yankees' Bullpen Setup Could Look Different After Hard Lessons In ALDS Game 1
Mark W. Sanchez, Post
[T]he Yankees tried to learn about bullpen pieces who were barely or not touched at all in the wild-card round. . . .
The lessons gained from Luke Weaver's second postseason appearance and Paul Blackburn's debut were particularly worrisome.
Tasked with completing a game that Luis Gil left in the third, the relief corps had an up-and-down evening in the 10-1, Game 1 embarrassment to the Blue Jays . . .
The trouble began in the seventh, when Weaver entered and allowed a walk and two singles, the second to drive in a run, before he was pulled. The former . . . most reliable arm among the group has faced six batters in the postseason and retired none. Among many Yankees concerns, Weaver's struggles might top the list.
The Yankees probably were never going to give Blackburn much of a chance . . . Blackburn lost any goodwill he had built up by allowing four runs on six hits in the seventh and eighth.
Yankees' Luke Weaver Completely Lost After Latest Stinker: 'Don't Really Feel Like Myself'
Mark W. Sanchez, Post
The problem facing Luke Weaver has been diagnosed.
As Saturday demonstrated, it has not been completely fixed.
Within the past month, the Yankees identified that the typically reliable righty was tipping his pitches. Weaver has attempted to halt relaying to hitters which pitch is coming by altering something . . .in his setup or delivery. Pitching through this adjustment has proven difficult.
For a second time already this postseason, Weaver entered a game, faced three batters and retired none.
His October ERA is infinite, charged with five runs on four hits and two walks while recording zero outs.
"I don't really feel like myself," Weaver said after the 10-1, Game 1 ALDS loss . . . "I don't feel like my mind is completely clear . . . [T]here's some factors that are building up.". . .
The Yankees believe Weaver is no longer tipping his pitches.
But whatever tweak he has made has altered his feeling and execution on the mound. . . .
It is unclear how long Weaver had been tipping his pitches . . .
"I feel like I'm close. I feel like I'm competitive," Weaver said . . . "I don't feel like I'm getting hit hard. Guys are finding some holes. …"
Luke Weaver’s Mind Seems Fried Amid Yankees’ Pitch-Tipping Worries
Gary Phillips, Daily News
Luke Weaver did his best to keep things vague Saturday, yet the Yankees' reliever exposed a lot after failing to record an out for the second time in as many appearances this postseason. . . .
Weaver . . . spoke hypothetically about "giving things away" and "doing things out of the ordinary that people are picking up on." . . .
Blake acknowledged that the Yankees talked to Weaver about tipping. . . .
[Weaver became] the second pitcher in playoff history to face three-plus batters and not record an out in each of his first two appearances of a postseason.
Rick Honeycutt became the first in 1989, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. . . .
Weaver couldn't say for sure if the Blue Jays picked up on his tips Saturday, but he said it's "doubtful." Instead, he attributed the day's performance on the adjustments he's made and where his head is at.
Yankees Have Lost Their Identity — And It's Up To Aaron Judge To Find It Again
Joel Sherman, Post
. . . The Yankees, as much as ever, are a homer-hitting team. It is their identity. Their lifeblood. Their separator.
And Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are the flex brothers. They . . . represent the might and menace of this style. . . .
[F]our games into this postseason, neither has gone deep. Judge has hits, but not enough impact. Stanton has struck the ball hard, but not often in the air or far. . . .
The Yankees simply cannot lose the long-ball battle to the Blue Jays [2 in the first 5 batters in Game 1] . . .
Judge had the biggest at-bat for the Yankees in this game — none out, bases loaded in the sixth and Toronto ahead 2-0. He chased a Kevin Gausman full-count splitter out of the zone to strike out rather than draw a run-scoring walk. Judge is 6-for-15 this postseason, but his lone RBI was a gift [on a dropped line drive]. . . . Judge still is without a signature postseason Yankee moment and is now 8-for-47 (.170) with [RATS] in the playoffs.
With two outs and the Yankees trailing 2-1, Stanton [.067 in the postseason] whiffed against a Louis Varland triple-digit fastball, and the best chance for the Yankees . . . vanished.
Luke Weaver entered in the seventh, faced three batters, retired none and has faced six batters this postseason without recording an out. He may be at the unusable stage. . . .
Ten of [New York's] first 14 batters swung at [Gausman's] first pitch and four led to one-pitch at-bats. Thus, Gausman had shut out the Yankees on just 50 pitches through five innings. . . .
The Yankees never cleared the fence. The flex brothers did not flex. And for the second time this postseason, the Yankees will have to rally to stay alive.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Shows Again Why He's A Yankees Killer
Jon Heyman, Post
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the one avowed Yankees hater among probably tens of millions of Yankees haters up here and in the States who actually has many and ongoing opportunities to hurt them. What's more, Guerrero rarely misses a chance to do so, and Game 1 of the ALDS was the latest example . . .
Hardcore baseball fans know Guerrero probably took extra enjoyment from the Jays' big victory, even if . . . Guerrero gave rather drab answers about the Yankees in his pre-series interview. "It just happens that I do well against them," he said at one point . . .
In 2023, Guerrero said in an interview that he "loves crushing Yankee fans and the Yankees."
In 2022, he was even stronger, saying, "I like to kill the Yankees. I would never sign with the Yankees."
One time he topped that, saying he'd "never play for the Yankees … not even dead."
Guerrero brought the Jays to life here Saturday, helping Toronto to a 10-1 series-opening victory over the Yankees. . . .
By the end, the allegedly super polite Canadians were co-opting a famous Boston-favored phrase: "Yankees S—!"
Beyond the dinger, Guerrero also singled twice, hit a sacrifice fly and turned a nifty double play after nabbing a liner, most of it occurring well before the game turned into a late hitting display by Toronto. . . .
Guerrero's not only a Yankees hater, he's a career Yankees killer. In 103 games against the Yankees, he has 51 extra-base hits and 76 RBI. His slash line coming in was .302/.367/.550/.918. He generally does what he sets out to do, which surely is to hurt the Yankees.
Guerrero doesn't often talk about it, but his detest for the Yankees goes back to early childhood. One time he felt mistreated by Yankees security (he wouldn't be the first there). Another time, and this is more important, he felt the Yankees, and specifically George Steinbrenner, wronged his father, the Hall of Famer.
As for his encounter, when he was a little boy, he was apparently removed pregame from a desired area while his father was a visiting player. . . . [I]t's eminently believable, as Yankees security is known for overzealousness in removing family members (even occasionally Yankee family members) and media.
As for the issue with his father, the Yankees had a deal set up with Guerrero's Hall of Fame father following the 2003 season when Steinbrenner pulled it and decided to sign his fellow Tampa resident Gary Sheffield instead. . . .
Yankee fans are truly the ones who lost out there, as Sheffield's brief tenure . . . was fairly volatile, and more vitally, paled compared to Vlad Guerrero Sr.'s years at the time. Sheffield also became embroiled in a steroid scandal . . .
His son may not quite be the overall hitter his dad was, but he's also a big-time guy . . . [H]e awakened when the Yankees got to town, helping the Blue Jays win their first postseason game in nine years. . . .
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