About Last Night: Déjà vu All Over Again. Blue Jays 8 - Yankees 5.

June 13th, 2026

By: Tim Kabel

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The Yankees came off their three-game sweep of the Guardians in Cleveland on a high note. Unfortunately, they then went to Toronto. The Yankees lost their ninth game in their last ten in Toronto, including two games in the ALDS last year. Toronto and the Rogers Centre remain a mystery for the Yankees even though the calendar has changed to 2026.

Ryan Weathers allowed a season-high six runs and six hits in 4.1 innings. Weathers has given up seven home runs in his last three starts, which were all losses. He allowed two home runs last night. His record is now 2-5. He seems unlikely to remain in the rotation once Max Fried returns. However, if his ineptitude continues, the Yankees should consider moving Weathers into the bullpen now and bringing up Elmer Rodriguez. Brian Cashman and others like to talk about how well Weathers throws. They don't give you ticker tape parades for that. The Yankees need to win games. The last time Weathers won a game was on May 2nd. It is the middle of June now. He's going to have to hustle to remain on a pace to win six games this season. His ERA is 4.36. If the plan is to move Weathers to the bullpen anyway, that move should not wait for Max Fried. As I stated very early in the season, Ryan Weathers pitches just well enough to lose. However, he may prove to be extremely effective in the bullpen. Again, rather than waiting for Max Fried, the Yankee should recall Elmer Rodriguez and insert him into the rotation and move Weathers to the bullpen now. Max Fried is not close to a return. It will be a few weeks at least. Does it make sense to keep sending Ryan Weathers out to lose games every time?

Cody Bellinger hit his 10th home run of the season and had two RBI. Trent Grisham also had two RBI but left the game with a hamstring injury and may be headed to the IL. Jose Caballero had two hits and started at shortstop. It was interesting and surprising that when Grisham left the game, Caballero was not moved to rightfield so that Anthony Volpe could play shortstop. Instead, Max Schuemann went to rightfield. No word on whether Aaron Boone was sedated at the time or simply bound and gagged. JC Escarra had a double last night, which was the first hit by a Yankees catcher in the month of June. Yesterday was June 12th. Let that sink in for a minute. To borrow a line from the musical Carousel, I guess June is bustin’ out all over. Ryan McMahon was hitless last night, continuing his streakiness. He is batting .213 for the season.

Alejandro Kirk returned to the Blue Jays lineup after missing 62 games because of a fractured left thumb. He had three hits and two RBI and went 3-3 with a walk. He also scored two runs. Remember when I told you to let the fact that JC Escarra’s double last night was the first hit by a Yankees catcher in the month of June? Well, think about this. Alejandro Kirk had more hits in his first came back than all the Yankees catchers combined in the month of June. Someone call Rick Dempsey and see if he's available.

I know it's early in the season, but the Yankees need to play well against their division rivals. The Blue Jays are getting better and could be poised to take advantage of the absence of Aaron Judge. The Yankees have two games left in this series. Cam Schlittler is pitching today, and Will Warren is pitching on Sunday. The Yankees cannot afford a sweep because it would put them at 2-5 in the season series against the Blue Jays. They do not want a repeat performance of last year even though last night's game was. Let's just keep it at that and move on with some wins.

A Few Tidbits: 

• Trent Grisham who has been on fire lately, left the game in the 6th inning due to right hamstring tightness. Last year, he left a game against the Blue Jays on June 30th due to left hamstring tightness. That's baseball, Suzyn.

• The Yankees lost the season series to the Blue Jays last year which became important in determining the winner of the division and home field advantage in the playoffs. They currently trail the Blue Jays two games to three in the season series this year.

• Ryan Weathers has allowed 15 home runs this season. Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, and Elmer Rodriguez have given up 17 home runs combined. If Weathers goes one more turn through the rotation, he could surpass the combined total of all those other pitchers.

• Kazuma Okamoto hit a 423-foot home run into the upper deck in the first inning. It was his team-leading 14th home run. Okamoto became the 10th player in Blue Jays history to homer into the upper deck at Rogers Centre, which opened in 1989. No Toronto player had done it since Josh Donaldson in May of 2017. Remember him? I and many others advocated for the Yankees to sign Okamoto in the off-season. They didn't. Okamoto is only batting .230 but he has 14 home runs and 40 RBI. Compare that to Ryan McMahon’s .213 batting average with 7 home runs and 21 RBI. Don't forget that Okamoto is learning a whole new league after coming over from Japan.

• The Blue Jays are 12-6 when hitting two or more home runs in a game. With the return of Alejandro Kirk and George Springer being healthy again, the Blue Jays could be dangerous.

• On June 12th, 1928, Lou Gehrig collected 14 total bases against the Chicago White Sox. He hit two home runs and two triples in a 15-7 Yankees victory.

• Hideki Matsui turned 52 years old yesterday.

Today, the Yankees will play the second game of the three-game series against the Blue Jays at 3:07 PM at Rogers Centre. Cam Shlittler, (7-3, 1.87 ERA) will face Kevin Gausman, (4-4, 3.60 ERA).