TORONTO – For one day at least, all was well again in the Yankees universe.
Aaron Judge continued to hit hard and hit his 31st home run of the season. Juan Soto was a last minute addition to the lineup after proving his bruised right hand was healthy enough. And Gerrit Cole looked more like Gerrit Cole in his third and longest start of the season.
Heck, even the end of the order took a day.
All of this led to an 8-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, as the Yankees clinched a four-game series split and avoided a fifth straight series loss.
Eight of the nine Yankees in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit in a balanced attack, the second time in the last three games that their offense came up big against the Blue Jays (38-45).
Just minutes before first pitch, the Yankees (54-32) got a boost when Soto was inserted into the lineup after doing his pregame work to test his hand and be cleared to play.
This paid off immediately, as Soto hit a 106.3 mph single in his first at-bat and then scored when Judge hit a Kevin Gausman fastball to center field for a two-run shot.
It was the first time in the last 11 games that the Yankees struck first. They have shown the ability to come back and win games this season, but they made it easier for themselves on Sunday by taking a 2-0 lead rather than facing an early deficit.
Cole made sure he stayed grounded as he tossed five innings of one-run ball while increasing his pitch count to 90. After being tagged with four homers in a rough start against the Mets on Tuesday at Citi Field, the right-hander was much sharper, striking out six and walking just one.
Cole’s fastball velocity was also much more stable, averaging 95.8 mph, and for the most part he controlled it better, although two of his faster pitches hit Danny Jansen and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Gausman appeared to retaliate for hitting Guerrero by hitting Judge with a fastball on his back in the fourth inning, but it never went any further.
Ben Rice had another great day of at-bats, going 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI double, and both walks were key in the rallies.
Gleyber Torres also had his third consecutive multi-hit game since his two-day “restart,” while DJ LeMahieu had an encouraging day going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
The Yankees were leading 4-1 in the fifth inning when LeMahieu hit an RBI double to knock Gausman out of the game. Trent Grisham followed with a two-run double off left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera to open the score at 7-1.