About Last Night: Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4
- Derek McAdam
- Jul 23
- 4 min read
About Last Night: Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4
By Derek McAdam
July 23, 2025
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The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a three-game series by a score of 5-4. Here’s a quick recap of last night’s game.
Quick Stats: W: Ian Hamilton (2-1): 0.1 IP
L: Jeff Hoffman (6-3): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER
S: Devin Williams (15): 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
HRs: NYY: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (18), Cody Bellinger (18), Ben Rice (15)
The Big Story:
The Yankees came into last night’s game having lost five in a row at Rogers Centre and were looking to turn things around to force a rubber game tonight. And it did not take them long to get things going, offensively.
Trent Grisham led off with a single and Cody Bellinger then hit a double to put runners at second and third with no one out. Aaron Judge struck out, but Jazz Chisholm hit a three-run home run into the right field seats to give the Yankees a quick 3-0 lead.
Cam Schlittler was making just his second big-league start and first road start of his career. He quickly found himself in some trouble in the bottom of the 1st, walking George Springer and allowing a single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Addison Barger then hit an RBI single into left field to cut the Yankee lead down to 3-1. THat was all the Blue Jays would get that inning though.
Schlittler also got himself into a bases-loaded jam in the 2nd with two outs for Guerrero, who popped up to end the inning without any further harm. However, his pitch count was nearly at 50 after only two innings.
Although the pitch count got high quickly, Schlittler had himself a nice couple of bounce back innings that were relatively quick and kept his pitch count low.
In the 5th, Cody Bellinger hit a solo home right to right to extend the Yankee lead to 4-1. It was his third hit of the night up to this point. His 18th home run of the season also matched his season total last year with the Chicago Cubs.
In the bottom of the inning, the Blue Jays got a run back on a Barger RBI single to score Springer and make the new score 4-2 Yankees.
Schlittler’s night was finished after five innings, to which the Yankee bullpen was going to need four solid innings out of its higher-end relievers. In the 6th, Davis Schneider hit a pinch-hit RBI double to score Myles Straw and bring the new Yankee lead to 4-3. Jonathan Loaisiga then came on and on the first pitch gave up a George Springer RBI double to tie the game. IT would stay tied until the ninth inning.
In the 9th, Ben Rice delivered a go-ahead solo home run to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. After allowing a run in each of his last two appearances, Devin Williams came on to try and close out the game. Guerrero led off with a single, but Williams was able to get Bichette to strike out. Barger then flew out before Alejandro Kirk struck out to end the game and secure a Yankee victory.
Player of the Game:
Ben Rice delivered the crucial home run to win the Yankees the game. Not only did it win the game, but hopefully it can turn their season around.
Notable Performances:
Cody Bellinger had a fantastic outing at the plate and also made a couple of nice plays in left field. Jazz Chisholm also put three runs up for the Yankees, which was a big start to the game.
Better to Forget:
Anthony Volpe continues to not have productive at-bats and made another crucial error in last night’s game. His arm strength (or lack of) has recently been exposed, although many Yankee fans have known about this.
My Take:
Watching the Yankee team and then the Blue Jays’ team is like watching polar opposite teams. The Blue Jays have treated both games of this series as if they were win-or-go-home games, while the Yankees just treat it as if it’s another day in the ballpark.
During a Bo Bichette at-bat, George Springer was on second base visibly cheering Bichette as he battled Schlittler. Every time the Jays score a run, they make the motion as to keep the rally going. It’s fun, entertaining baseball to watch, regardless of the final outcome. At least you know as a Blue Jays’ fan that they have a chance of winning every single game no matter how far behind they are.
The Yankees have been boring in this series. They are relying too much on the home run and it is taking its toll on them. In the 1st, Judge did not even put the ball in play to potentially get a run home. Luckily, Chisholm bailed him out with the home run. But that cannot be their only solution. They have to be able to rally and put pressure on the pitcher as opposed to swinging for the fences time after time.
However, the Yankees came away with a crucial victory. The win snapped Toronto’s 11-game home winning streak and puts the Yankees in position to take the series tonight. They’ve struggled all season against AL East teams, and it was nice to not only break the Blue Jays’ home winning streak, but the Yankees’ losing streak at Rogers Centre.
I will say that it is concerning to see the Yankees continue to only score runs via the home run. But at the end of the day, I cannot complain too much about a victory, so I will leave it there. Let’s hope they win the series tonight!
What’s Next?:
The Yankees will be back in action tonight against the Blue Jays in the final game of the series before having a travel day tomorrow. Max Fried is scheduled to start for the Yankees, while Chris Bassitt is scheduled to start for the Blue Jays. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. EST from Toronto and will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
A team of .330 OBP hitters would put them second in the League in that category behind the Yankees (.334) and Jays (.332). If a guy can work a walk, then he's on base. His singles are added into the OBP, and his XBH record is compiled in SLG. Hence, OPS.
Consider the real high-walk guys, for example Gene Tenace, Toby Harrah or Mickey Mantle (three guys who had huge walk numbers). Tenace hit only .241 for his career, but at a .388 OBP clip, good for 5.0 WAR per 162. Harrah hit .264 with .365 OBP, 4.7 oWAR/162. Mantle, of course, was a great overall hitter for his career, but in 1968, which was viewed as a failure…
I'd love to get the pom poms out, but even in a win, this team's holes and weaknesses are glaring. I found an at bat last night very interesting, and something we don't see very often in the Bronx.
I was in Cleveland for the O's - Tribe game. It ended in time for me to see the Bottom 9th.
Leadoff hitter (Vlad Jr), 2 strikes, infield (STILL) playing him to pull, and he slaps a base hit into the wide open side of the infield for a single. That is how you play the game. Yes, blue jays still lost, but that is winning baseball in the long run. They gave him half the field to slap a ball…
when the game begins with Yankees hitting a single then a double and then scoring three runs on a home run, I'm not all that worried about relying on the home run for the scoring.
it's reasonable to have a concern when the team garners only 6 hits and 2 walks in a game, but 3 HRs by 3 left-handed hitters in a Toronto ballpark aint too shabby.
some people might think that scoring 5 runs on those paltry 6 hits is pretty efficient.
might also think that scoring 5 on 6 is way better than
than amassing 11 hits and scoring only 1