TORONTO — Ben Rice unleashed on a down-and-in, full-count slider from Braydon Fisher and then stood and watched the ball sail into the right-field stands. As a spattering of boos rained down from the Rogers Centre crowd, Rice looked toward the New York Yankees dugout, which was celebrating the tie-breaking shot.
The ninth-inning home run from the Yankees first baseman stood up as the game-winner, before things got out of hand with a Jose Caballero three-run homer off Tommy Nance as the Toronto Blue Jays fell 8-3 on Sunday in front of 41,596.
The loss in the rubber match of the series dropped the Blue Jays’ record to 34-38 on the season while the club fell to 10 games behind the Yankees in the American League East and two games behind the Athletics, who hold the third wild-card spot.
The Blue Jays’ lineup was short-handed on Sunday, with shortstop Andres Gimenez a late scratch due to wrist soreness and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., sidelined Saturday with back tightness, remaining out of the lineup.
On the season, the Blue Jays are hitting .235 with runners in scoring position to sit 26th in MLB, while their .662 OPS in those situations ranks dead last. Such issues plagued the Blue Jays in Saturday’s 3-1 loss, as the club went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, while on Sunday, the 2-for-9 mark didn’t help matters.
“I definitely want them to be selectively aggressive, for sure,” said Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins prior to the game. “I want them to be hunting a part of the plate, a half of the plate. I don’t want them to be aggressive on all pitches because. Pitchers know we’re very aggressive. If they’re throwing pitches around the zone, especially in those situations, you’re exposed if you’re just looking for everything. So I would say be aggressive on the half of the plate they’re looking for.”
Left-hander Patrick Corbin started for the Blue Jays and was coming off the worst start of his season, a five-run, three-inning performance against the Phillies on Monday.
Corbin allowed some loud contact and surrendered seven hits over his 3.2 frames on Sunday, yet limited the damage to just two runs while navigating twice through the Yankees lineup.
The 36-year-old veteran, signed by the Blue Jays to a one-year, $1-million deal by the Blue Jays in the first week of April, has provided mixed results for the Blue Jays over his 13 starts. The club owns a 6-7 record in those outings, with Corbin pitching at least five innings just seven times while posting an overall 4.57 ERA.
The Blue Jays will have a decision to make on Corbin in the coming days as the starting rotation continues to return to health. Right-hander Shane Bieber tossed five innings during a rehab outing in triple-A on Thursday and likely needs just one more start before rejoining the big-league club. At that point, Corbin and right-hander Max Scherzer would become candidates to be removed from the rotation to make room.
Spencer Miles entered the game in relief of Corbin and allowed one run over 2.2 frames, bridging the gap to the Blue Jays’ leverage relievers. Mason Fluharty and Jeff Hoffman provided lockdown appearances before the Yankees got to Fisher in the ninth. Of note, right-hander Louis Varland was down on Sunday after having thrown a combined 29 pitches in Friday and Saturday’s contests.
Up next for the Blue Jays is an off-day on Monday, followed by a six-game road trip with series against the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.