Yankees fall to Blue Jays, suffer consecutive losses for first time this year

Big leagues

By Greg Joyce

TORONTO – The Yankees played north of the border on Monday, but their offense appeared to be stuck in customs.

Chris Bassitt silenced the Yankees’ bats in 6 ¹/₃ innings to lead the Blue Jays to a 3-1 victory in the series opener Monday night at Rogers Center.

Bassitt, the former Mets right-hander, allowed just one run, four singles and two walks while working his way into the Yankees’ lineup.

He became just the second opposing starter this season to pitch into the seventh inning against the Yankees (12-5), who have lost consecutive games for the first time this year.

“He’s the epitome of the kitchen sink,” manager Aaron Boone said of Bassitt, who threw eight different types of pitches. “He will throw everything away. He is able to make things up on the fly. He’s very good at coming up with different pitches, so it’s hard to track him down. He has a pretty good grasp of everything. That sinker is his bread and butter that he gets to, but he’ll mix it up on the slow curve, change speed on the slider, and slice the ball. He mixes it up as well as anyone.”

In four career starts against the Yankees, Bassitt owns a 1.00 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 27 innings.

“It’s nasty,” said Oswaldo Cabrera, who drove in the Yankees’ only run of the night with an RBI single in the second inning. “He’s a really good pitcher. Everyone can [see] because he has too many pitches to beat you up. We try to fight, but we know he is a very good pitcher.”

Three consecutive singles by Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo and Cabrera gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead with one out in the second inning.

But that was their only real scoring threat of the game, as Bassitt worked his way out of trouble and then largely cruised the rest of the night.

Luis Gil, meanwhile, needed 74 pitches just to record nine outs, but managed to get through five innings, although the damage had already been done. The right-hander tied a career-high with seven walks, leading to two of the three runs he allowed.

“Definitely not my night,” Gil, who struck out six, said through an interpreter.

Boone noted that Gil’s mechanics were possibly out of control, while Gil said they could have been mechanical or “a little overthrown at times,” although he wanted to watch the video to find out the exact cause of his lack of control.

After Cavan Biggio led off the second inning with a double, Gil walked three batters in a row; The third was former Yankee Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who drove in a run to tie the game. The go-ahead run was scored shortly after on a wild pitch, giving the Blue Jays (9-8) the lead for good.

In the third inning, Bo Bichette singled and struck out two later, scoring again with an RBI double by Alejandro Kirk that made it 3-1.

But the fact that Gil didn’t let the game fall away from him and instead made it through the fifth saved the Yankees on a night when they were shorthanded in the bullpen and impressed Boone.

“If almost someone else goes out and does that [seven walks]Seven, eight, nine are hanging. [runs] about you,” Boone said. “I think this shows that when he’s in the strike zone, he can be dominant and he will be. That’s just the next level for him. That’s where we’ve seen growth, with his ability to throw punches. Tonight was a challenge for him. If that continues to improve, you’ll get a glimpse, even on a night when he struggled, how difficult it is to square up. I’m glad he was able to get through it, especially on a night where we had to have innings.”