About Yesterday Afternoon: Sending A Message: Yankees 8, Blue Jays 3

About Yesterday Afternoon: Sending A Message. Yankees 8 - Blue Jays 3

By Tim Kabel

June 15, 2026

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The Yankees beat up on the Blue Jays yesterday and won two of three games in this series. They now lead the season series against the Blue Jays 4-3 and at the time of this writing, they are in first place in the American League East by a game and a half over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees are currently 43-27 and have the best record in the American League. Despite the loss of Aaron Judge, Max Fried, and Trent Grisham, they are still playing hard every day. To borrow a line from The Sound of Music, “Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow till you find your dream.”

Will Warren struggled yesterday, lasting only four innings, and allowing eight hits and two runs. He only had one strikeout and three walks. Jake Bird allowed a sixth inning home run to Davis Schneider. Other than Bird, the other Yankees relievers were excellent. Tim Hill, Brent Headrick, Camilo Doval, and David Bednar combined for four innings of shutout baseball. Bednar surrendered the only two hits from the group. Doval struck out two batters in the 8th inning and allowed no hits, picking up the win to improve his record to 3-0.

The Yankees entered the 9th inning tied at three with the Blue Jays. Ben Rice hit a tie-breaking two-run home run and Jose Caballero added a three-run shot. Paul Goldschmidt was 3-5. Ben Rice was 2-5 with 2 RBI. Anthony Volpe was 2-4 with 2 RBI, which will keep him in the starting lineup through August. Even Ali Sanchez was 2-3. The Yankees catching cadre turned into an offensive juggernaut during this series.

The Yankees had contributions from up and down the lineup and from basically all the pitchers. It was genuinely a team effort. It is the type of game they need to have in the absence of Aaron Judge. On a day when Cody Bellinger went 0-5, the Yankees were still able to generate 8 runs. 

The Yankees will need to continue playing this type of game as they move on in the schedule. Starting Tuesday, they will be playing the first-place Chicago White Sox. Yes, the same White Sox who were known more for losing than William Jennings Bryan and Adlai Stevenson, are in first place. That’s Baseball, Suzyn.

A Few Tidbits: 

·       The Yankees won for the seventh time when going scoring the go-ahead run in the ninth inning or later. 

·       The Blue Jays were without Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. for the second straight game due to a back injury.

·       This was the Yankees sixth win in their last seven games.

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·       After his two hits yesterday, Anthony Volpe is still batting just 211. Jose Caballero is batting .258 with six home runs and 21 RBI. Unless they are both in the starting lineup, Caballero should be the starting shortstop. I know Volpe looked good yesterday but that's what he does. He has a game here and there where he looks very good and then drifts back into offensive incompetence. The Yankees might be better served to send him to Scranton to work on his offense and the ability to play different defensive positions. Oswaldo Cabrera, who seems to be fully recovered from his horrible injury from last season, is batting .245 in Scranton with 5 home runs and 30 RBI and has the ability to play multiple positions. If Caballero is going to be the full-time shortstop, there really is not a role for Volpe. Cabrera would be a better fit for the Major League roster.

·       George Lombard, Jr. is batting .292 in the month of June. Overall, he is batting .226 in Scranton with 4 home runs, 15 RBI, and 8 stolen bases.

·       On June 14th, 1921, Babe Ruth pitched the first five innings and hit two home runs in an 11-8 win over the Detroit Tigers at the Polo Grounds.

·       My friend, author Luca Dimatteo, turned 62 years old yesterday. He recently released his second novel, “Jordan’s Bitter Pill”, which I recommend very highly.

After a day off today, the Yankees will open a three-game series against the White Sox at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Gerrit Cole, (1-1, 2.46 ERA) will face Davis Martin, (9-2, 2.41 ERA).