TORONTO – The Yankees walked off the field in the bottom of the first inning trailing by seven runs, knowing they’d need their greatest comeback of the year thus far to overcome Will Warren’s rough opening act.
Giancarlo Stanton helped close the gap with his first home run since returning from the injured list, capping a six-run fifth inning. Aaron Judge brought them all the way back in the eighth, launching a two-run shot into the second deck in left field -- a no-doubter that drew salutes from his teammates on the top step of the dugout.
But Devin Williams -- summoned to face the top of the Blue Jays' order in the eighth inning -- bounced a changeup for a wild pitch that allowed George Springer to trot home with the go-ahead run, handing the Yankees an 11-9 loss on Wednesday evening at Rogers Centre.
“Any loss is brutal, but for the offense to come back and battle back and tie it up like that, that’s all you can do there,” Judge said. “Just fight until the last out.”
Addison Barger added a run-scoring single off Williams as the Yankees have company atop the American League East: New York (48-38) and Toronto (48-38) are now tied for first place.
“We think we’re really good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve obviously had a tough stretch here, but we’ll get through it. We respect all the teams in this division. We know how tough it is. I always say, you’ve got to pack a lunch when you come play in this division. It’s not surprising that it’s really competitive.”
The Yanks, who have lost 13 of 19, had been alone in first place since April 14. Their lead was seven games as recently as May 28.
“It’s a long season. We’ve got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. We play better, we’ll put ourselves in a better position. But it’s not concerning. We’re not concerned about what’s going on around us. We’ve got to control what we do in this room and what we do out there on the field. We’re not getting the job done right now.”
Williams struck out the first batter he faced in the eighth, then lost Springer to a five-pitch walk. Springer stole second, prompting the Yankees to intentionally walk Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Alejandro Kirk flied out to deep center, with both runners tagging up, and Williams spiked a changeup that catcher Ben Rice couldn’t corral.
“That wasn’t the easiest one to block for Ben, so I’ve got to make a better pitch,” Williams said.
Said Rice: “That’s on me there. I’ve got to find a way to keep it in front.”
His season debut delayed until June 16 due to epicondylitis (tennis elbow) in both arms, Stanton had gone 43 at-bats without a long ball. Though Stanton was hitting more grounders than expected, Boone said he was encouraged by Stanton’s swing decisions, believing the 35-year-old would soon get back to lifting deep drives.
That happened in the fifth against José Berríos, three runs already home courtesy of run-scoring hits from DJ LeMahieu, Rice and Judge. Berríos left a low 83.5 mph slurve over the plate and Stanton hammered it, the ball coming off the bat at 102.8 mph and traveling a Statcast-projected 415 feet.
“I feel like he’s looked pretty good so far and close,” Boone said of Stanton, whose 430 home runs are the most among active Major Leaguers. “When he’s gotten that swing off, it hasn’t been elevated. It’s been a smoked ball on the ground or just missing a pitch. So I feel like the timing has been pretty good overall.”
Davis Schneider’s seventh-inning homer off Tim Hill put the Yanks down by two runs, but the Blue Jays deviated from their strategy of avoiding Judge, who had been intentionally walked three times in the first two games of the series.
Judge equaled the score with one swing, connecting with a Yimi García sweeper for a Statcast-projected 440-foot blast that placed him two behind the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (33) for the Major League lead.
“Yimi has had my number for years,” Judge said. “I’ve faced him many times here at the Rogers Centre late in the game, big spots. I would’ve had him pitch against me, too.”
It also got Warren off the hook for a decision, despite the right-hander allowing eight runs on 10 hits and four walks in four innings.
“I think we’re going to come out of it,” Warren said. “It’s nice seeing them put up nine runs after I gave up seven in the first like that. That shows the fight; that shows the camaraderie of this team. Like we always say, it’s a long season, and we’re going to play Yankee baseball like we’re supposed to.”