TORONTO -- There were plenty of defensive lowlights to choose from, but the most enduring snapshot of Wednesday’s display at Rogers Centre might be Cody Bellinger standing in right field -- arms outstretched, squinting into a dusky sky, unable to find a ball that dropped behind him and sparked the Blue Jays’ go-ahead rally.
Bellinger avoided an error as Ernie Clement chugged around the bases for a stand-up triple. But four other misplays were recorded as the Yankees put on one of their sloppiest defensive exhibitions of the season, kicking the ball around in an 8-4 series-clinching loss that saw their American League East deficit pushed back to four games.
“I lost it in the sky once it got above the lights, and was trying to guess where it was going to be,” Bellinger said. “Today was a little shaky. Really, for me, it felt like the fly ball that I missed started it all. We’ve got to play a little better.”
The four errors were the Yankees’ second-most in a game this year; they committed five in a March 29 slugfest win over the Brewers. No instructional video will showcase this contest, which featured moments like a fifth-inning sequence that produced two Jays runs.
Max Fried fielded a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. chopper up the third-base line and fired errantly to catcher J.C. Escarra, who attempted a swipe tag on Davis Schneider but sent the ball skidding to the backstop as George Springer raced home.
“It was a tough angle and just not a good throw,” Fried said.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ben Rice and Jasson Domínguez also committed errors in the contest; Rice’s bobble directly led to a run.
“We haven’t been playing that well on defense,” said captain Aaron Judge. “That’s one of the things we’ve got to clean up. Going into this off-day, we’ve got to refocus and tighten it up on defense. If we give any good team extra outs, it’s not going to go well for us.”
Though manager Aaron Boone maintained his belief that this is “a very good defensive club,” it hasn’t shown head-to-head with the Jays. The Yankees have committed 12 errors in 10 games against Toronto this season; their 52 errors rank ninth in the 15-team American League.
“Giving them extra outs, whether it’s through making an error or not making a play that we need to make, that’s cost us in these two series up here,” Boone said. “We’ve got to obviously tighten it up. We’ll continue to work at it. We have good defenders here, but tonight was obviously a rough night.”
That was no doubt partially responsible for the frustration that boiled over between Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake, who were ejected by home-plate umpire Manny Gonzalez during the seventh inning.
“He kind of lost his mind on me,” Boone said of Gonzalez. “But that wasn’t our issue tonight. We gave them too many outs.”
Boone said the team continues to work on its fundamentals, describing the necessary defensive improvements as players needing to be “under control and calm.”
“The last thing I want to do is get tight, and play not to make a mistake,” Boone said.
Making his return to the mound after a blister on his left index finger kept him out of the All-Star Game and the club’s previous series in Atlanta, Fried was charged with six runs (four earned) on six hits over 5 1/3 innings.
The left-hander walked three and struck out three. Television cameras spotted blood on Fried’s left pinky finger, the result of a small cut. He said it should not be a concern for his next start.
“Walking guys definitely isn’t going to help, and throwing the ball away to have two more [runs] come in … that’s frustrating,” Fried said. “That can’t happen.”
Domínguez, Anthony Volpe and Judge homered for New York, with all three blasts off Chris Bassitt, who struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings. Judge’s homer was his 37th of the season and the 352nd of his career, surpassing Alex Rodriguez for sixth place on the club’s all-time list.
The Yankees have slumped since going 17-9 in May, playing to a 21-25 record in June and July as what was once a seven-game AL East lead evaporated. Judge said he believes a run of better performance is still in their future.
“Oh, it’s coming,” Judge said. “We haven’t hit our hot streak, but we’re going to. And when it does, watch out.”