TORONTO — The place that served as the Yankees’ house of horrors last year delivered a nightmare of a throwback inning Friday night.
And thanks to another quiet offensive night, it was enough to sink them in another loss.
What should have been an inning-ending double play to preserve a one-run lead in the sixth inning turned into a comedy of errors — somewhere, Benny Hill’s “Yakety Sax” must have been playing — tying the game and extending the inning so the Blue Jays could take the lead on the way to a 3-1 win over the Yankees at a sold-out Rogers Centre.
Continuing to operate with a razor-thin margin for error because their offense has been doing next to nothing on most nights, the Yankees (68-54) once again got quality pitching from Gerrit Cole but were let down by their defense and baserunning while remaining 6 ¹/₂ games back of the Rays in the AL East.
“Obviously, it continues to be a challenge for us [offensively],” said manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected in the top of the sixth for arguing balls and strikes rather mildly from the dugout. “This is another night where we made decent contact and we were having some of the right at-bats. But at the end of the day, we got to push runs across when we get opportunities because that’s where we’ve struggled. We got to make it happen.”
The sequence that ruined Cole’s start and the Yankees’ night started harmlessly enough. They led 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth with one out and runners on first and second when George Springer hit a chopper to third base. Ryan McMahon fielded it, stepped on third and threw across the diamond trying to complete the double play. But his throw was a one-hopper to Luis García Jr., who tried to backhand the scoop, only for his glove to fly off in the process.
“Springer’s moving pretty good, felt like I had to throw it as soon as I stepped on the bag,” McMahon said. “Just didn’t get enough on it to get it all the way over there.”
New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) reacts during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026.
The #BlueJays tied it with a little chaos, then immediately took the lead.The Yankees made a mess here on the game-tying play when they could have escaped the inning still up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/XX1vAwwOjD— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) August 15, 2026
García then made matters worse by picking up the ball, spinning and firing to third base, where shortstop George Lombard Jr. was in the general vicinity (McMahon had trailed toward home after throwing to first) but not in a position to handle García’s wild throw. Lombard then collided with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. while trying to chase after the loose ball to no avail as Guerrero raced home to tie the game.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way we wanted,” García said.
“Once he got his back to the play, I think he just got overly aggressive throwing to third,” Boone said. “Should’ve obviously held it.”
With the extra out, Alejandro Kirk drilled a double that scored Springer to put the Blue Jays ahead 2-1. Cole, who became frustrated during Guerrero’s at-bat when he lost track of how many disengagements he had left and could not get clarification quickly enough from the umps, lamented leaving a first-pitch slider down the middle to Kirk (who later added a solo shot in the eighth inning off Bradley Hanner in his MLB debut).
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. runs into New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. (96) during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Trent Grisham snapped the Yankees’ 14-inning scoreless streak by leading off the top of the sixth inning with a solo shot off Shane Bieber for the 1-0 lead.
But that was the only offense they could muster, now having scored just one run over their last 18 innings since Wednesday’s 10-run outburst. It marked the ninth time in their last 14 games that the Yankees have scored two runs or fewer, wasting another strong pitching performance from Cole, who allowed just two runs (one earned) across six innings.
The Yankees’ baserunning miscue came in the third inning from Lombard, who took what Boone described as an “overly aggressive” turn around second base on Grisham’s single to right field and was caught in a pickle for the second out.
New York Yankees’ George Lombard Jr., front, gets caught in a rundown as Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Andrés Giménez, back, pursues during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP
An inning later, Spencer Jones led off with a hustle double but was eventually stranded at third, adding to the offensive frustration.
Cole insisted that the bats’ extended malaise was not adding extra stress on the pitchers, though common sense would say otherwise.
New York Yankees pitcher Bradley Hanner reacts after giving up a home run to Toronto Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk (30) during the eighth inning in Toronto, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP
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“We’re having a good time pitching and playing close games,” Cole said. “Certainly we want to blow guys out and secure as many wins as possible, but at the same time, we’re throwing the ball well, we’re playing good defense and we’re hanging in a lot of games, giving ourselves a chance to win.”
