Springer responds to boos with HR, 3 hits, leads Jays over Yanks

Greeted with boos at Yankee Stadium, George Springer responded with the kind of racket he and his Toronto Blue Jays are ready to make.

Springer hit a two-run homer and an RBI double, and the Blue Jays made three stunning defensive plays to beat New York 3-0 on Monday night.

Toronto is off to a 3-1 start after missing the playoffs last year despite a 91-71 record.

“I think the world is probably a little behind what we thought, but we’ve always been confident in what we can do,” shortstop Bo Bichette said. “We knew we had the ability to make some noise for a few years internally. Obviously, we didn’t. But I think this is the first year that people are on board.”

Bichette made two brilliant plays, Teoscar Hernandez had a big hold in right field and Alek Manoah (1-0) allowed one hit in six innings.

“Those little things, that’s how you win games,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “They’re just kids, so they’re going to get better little by little.”

Springer remains a target of fans for his time on the 2017 Houston Astros championship game, convicted by Major League Baseball of stealing signs with an unauthorized camera.

Springer was booed by fans before and during each at-bat, and he finished a triple before the cycle in the leadoff spot. No. 9 hitter Santiago Espinal hit three singles for the Blue Jays.

“I’m concentrating on the things that I can control, which is the swings and all that,” Springer said.

Manoah allowed only Joey Gallo’s opposite-field single with one out in the second. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out seven and walked four, helping the Blue Jays extend their winning streak at Yankee Stadium to five.

He pitched six scoreless innings of two-hit ball to win his major league debut in the Bronx on May 27.

“It’s Mecca,” Manoah said. “You want to get in, you want to play hard. There are a lot of fans here and it’s an exciting stadium to play in and something you dream of as a kid.”

Springer followed Espinal’s third-inning single with Jameson Taillon (0-1)’s slider into the left-field seats for his second homer in two days. Espinal singled with two out in the seventh and scored when Springer sliced ​​an opposite field fastball for a two-jump double to the right-field wall.

Manoah relaxed before the game with a football, then mixed 44 fastballs, 22 sliders, 18 sinkers and 15 changeups, getting five swings and misses on fastballs, four on sliders and three on changeups.

He walked with the bases loaded in the third before Giancarlo Stanton hit a broken-bat grounder to Bichette, who hit a backhand hit and lopsided throw to first from the edge of the outfield grass.

Hernandez slid to grab Kyle Higashioka’s looper into right field short with two in the seventh inning after Gleyber Torres’ leadoff single off walks by Trevor Richards and Aaron Hicks.

Espinal, off to the left side of second, dropped back to the right side of second to hit pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson’s 106 mph ground ball off Adam Cimber. Espinal passed Bichette, who did an acrobatic 360-degree spin at second and threw to first for a double play late in the inning.

Jordan Romano finished the ball with four hits for his third save and 26th straight since last season, and the Yankees lost their second straight game after opening with two wins. Of the seven times New York was out last year, two were against Toronto.

Taillon became the first Yankee pitcher to go five innings, allowing five hits with six strikeouts and no walks.

“They made a couple of big plays when they got into trouble, but for the most part Manoah was in control,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

extra basses

Yankee Stadium has a bit of a club atmosphere during batting practice. A subwoofer has been installed at the front of each bench.

the dye is cast

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took batting practice with a tie-dye bat. He wasn’t sure what brand. “Someone just put it in my locker. I just grabbed it,” he said through a translator.

Long distance

While Michael Kay and David Cone were in the YES broadcast booth at Yankee Stadium, Paul O’Neill called the game from his home in Ohio due to family issues, the network said.

coach room

Blue Jays: C Danny Jansen was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. LHP Anthony Kay was removed from Triple-A Buffalo, C Tyler Heineman was selected from the International League club, LHP Tayler Saucedo was optioned to Buffalo and OF Josh Palacios was designated for assignment.

Yankees: LHP Jordan Montgomery “had some swelling that moved around the knee” after being hit by the return of Xander Bogaerts at 103 mph on Sunday, manager Aaron Boone said.

Until next time

Left-hander Nestor Cortes (2-3, 2.90 in 2021) starts for the Yankees on Tuesday night and left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (7-9, 4.41 in 2021) for the Blue Jays.