Three things you need to know about the Blue Jays’ 2-1 win over the New York Yankees at the Rogers Center on Wednesday:
What’s that Yusei?
After back-to-back outings in which he’d allowed four runs and not made it past the fourth inning, Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi was brilliant.
He has held the Yankees to just a run on three hits over six innings, his longest outing of the season. He walked only one and struck out seven along the way.
The south paw saved his best for last. He gave up a double to Kyle Higashioka on his first pitch of the sixth inning but then, with the bullpen warming up behind him, mowed down the top of the Yankees order. DJ LeMahieu moved the runner to third with a ground ball, but Kikuchi then struck out Aaron Judge and popped up Anthony Rizzo — the two sluggers who went into the night tied for the league lead in home runs with nine.
two-out rally
Runs have been hard to come by for the Jays lately, but with two out and nobody on in a tie game in the bottom of the fourth, they had four straight hitters reach base safely, resulting in what wound up being the winning run.
Bo Bichette, hitting .400 over his last five games, got it started with a double into the right-field corner. He scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lined an 0-and-2 pitch to center for a single. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a double down the left-field line that sent Vladdy to third, then Matt Chapman walked to load the bases.
It was the first time in 10 games that the Jays had four hitters in a row reach safely, the last being the game-winning rally against Boston in the opener of the homestand that culminated in a Bichette grand slam. One run was all they would get, as Santiago Espinal grounded out to end the inning, but it was enough.
Streaks struck
The win closed out a 6-4 homestand and ended a pair of streaks. The Yankees had won 11 in a row, the longest streak in the majors this season, while the Jays snapped their longest losing skid of the year: two whole games.
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