Yankees edge Blue Jays 5‑4 on homers by McMahon, Rice
NEW YORK (Interstat) — Ryan McMahon broke out of a prolonged slump with a three-run home run in the fourth inning and Ben Rice added a two-run shot in the fifth as the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium II.
The victory extended the Yankees’ winning streak to two games and improved their record to 30-19. The Blue Jays dropped to 21-27.
McMahon, who had gone 0 for 15 in his previous four games, finished 2 for 4 with the homer and three RBIs. His fourth-inning blast erased an early three-run deficit and tied the game at 3-3. Rice’s 16th home run of the season in the fifth gave the Yankees the lead for good.
Will Warren earned the win, improving to 6-1. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits over five innings, striking out three and walking one. Camilo Doval recorded his first save of the season, working a scoreless ninth inning despite allowing a hit and a walk.
Dylan Cease took the loss, falling to 3-2. He allowed five runs on four hits over five innings, striking out nine but issuing four walks.
The Blue Jays took an early lead in the first inning. George Springer led off with a single to left field, and after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. struck out, Daulton Varsho singled to right, sending Springer to third. But Kazuma Okamoto popped out and Yohendrick Piñango grounded out to end the inning without a run crossing the plate.
Toronto broke through in the fourth. Varsho singled to center, and Okamoto walked. Piñango singled to right, scoring Varsho and sending Okamoto to third. Jesús Sánchez followed with an RBI single to left, and after Davis Schneider sacrificed the runners into scoring position, Andrés Giménez singled to left, driving in Piñango. The Blue Jays led 3-0.
The Yankees answered quickly in the bottom of the fourth. Aaron Judge walked after a challenge overturned a called third strike. Cody Bellinger flied out, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked to put runners at first and second. McMahon then launched a 1-0 pitch from Cease over the left-field wall for a 421-foot home run, tying the game at 3-3.
Anthony Volpe followed with a single, but Spencer Jones struck out and Volpe was caught stealing second to end the inning.
In the fifth, the Yankees took the lead for good. Austin Wells struck out to start the inning, but Trent Grisham walked. Rice then drove a 2-2 pitch from Cease to right-center field for a two-run homer, giving New York a 5-3 lead.
The Blue Jays threatened in the seventh. Springer struck out, but Guerrero Jr. was hit by a pitch. Varsho singled, putting runners at first and third with one out. Okamoto grounded into a force out, erasing Varsho at second. A strikeout and a flyout ended the inning.
Toronto made it close in the ninth. Giménez walked, and Ernie Clement singled, moving Giménez to third. Springer lined out to first base, but Guerrero Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Giménez and cutting the lead to 5-4. Varsho singled, putting the tying run on third, but Okamoto grounded out to shortstop to end the game.
The Yankees’ bullpen held Toronto scoreless over the final four innings. Brent Headrick pitched 1⅓ innings of one-hit relief, striking out two. Tim Hill worked a perfect sixth, Jake Bird tossed a scoreless seventh, and Doval closed it out despite allowing a hit and a walk in the ninth.
For the Blue Jays, Louis Varland and Mason Fluharty each threw a scoreless inning of relief, and Adam Macko recorded a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.
The game featured 15 combined hits, with Toronto outhitting New York 9-6. The Blue Jays left eight runners on base.
Tuesday’s game was the second of a three-game series between the American League East rivals. New York had won the opener 7-6 on Monday. The series concludes Wednesday, with Toronto sending right-hander José Berríos to the mound against Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes.
After the series, Toronto returns home for a six-game homestand against Pittsburgh and Miami. New York hosts Tampa Bay for a weekend series before traveling to Kansas City and Oakland.
The attendance was 37,181. The game lasted 3 hours.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Toronto 4, New York 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Yankees a 58.40 percent probability to win. New York was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 9 runs went under the over-under line of 8.5.