Sonny Gray Throws Shutout, Aaron Judge And Giancarlo Stanton Homer As New York Sweeps Toronto
It's always exciting when a pitcher has success in his start in the rotation.
For New York's Sonny Gray that success continued in the finale against Toronto with the right -hander throwing eight shutout innings.
That's not all that happened though in the finale at Rogers Centre that went into extra innings.
From their positions in the field, the Yankees applauded Sonny Gray's confidence and efficiency through eight scoreless frames, then tried to push across a run that would reward his dominant effort. It took longer than anticipated, but Aaron Judge finally gave everyone in the visitors' dugout something to cheer about."according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
Judge broke a scoreless tie in the 13th inning by mashing a floating Joe Biagini curveball for a two-run homer, and Giancarlo Stanton tacked on with the hardest-hit homer in the Majors this season, lifting the Yankees to a 3-0 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday evening at Rogers Centre. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
"I was just thinking about trying to get on base for the guys behind me," Judge said. "That was the biggest thing for me. With the type of lineup we have, hitting is contagious. ... I just knew in the back of my mind, when I've faced [Biagini] in years past, he does have a big breaking ball. I was just trying to stay on something hard out over the plate." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
That team-leading 17th homer snapped a 15-at-bat hitless skid for Judge, who rested in Tuesday's series opener after going 0-for-9 with eight strikeouts in Monday's doubleheader against the Tigers. He returned as a hero, powering New York to its ninth victory in 12 games as the team improved to a season-high 22 games over .500. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
"[Judge] commands his emotions so well," manager Aaron Boone said. "He's so mature, and he just deals with whatever comes his way as good as anyone I've been around. I never really get a sense that he's pressing, honestly. I think it's one of the traits that he has that's better than anyone. He handles this really well." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
Two batters after Judge's drive, Stanton added a laser homer that sizzled off his bat at 119.3 mph for his hardest-hit blast since Statcast™ began tracking such data in 2015. David Robertson picked up the victory in relief after delivering a scoreless 12th, and Aroldis Chapman recorded the final three outs for his 15th save. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
In his finest performance since being acquired last July, Gray seemed to be locked in, working efficiently as he limited Toronto to two hits over eight scoreless innings. The right-hander retired the first 12 men he faced and each of the final seven, putting the finishing touches on a 99-pitch gem that included two walks and eight strikeouts. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
"Just get the ball and go. No thinking. No second-guessing," Gray said. "You just throw each pitch with conviction, and I was able to do that tonight." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
As it had been numerous times during Gray's early tenure in New York, however, the Yankees' lineup was silenced. The vaunted order had no answers for right-hander Sam Gaviglio, who spun seven scoreless frames of three-hit ball in his fourth start since being traded to the Jays, pinning runners in scoring position to end the second, fourth and fifth innings. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
"It was definitely a good one, especially when the other guy was putting up zeros as well," Gray said. "You know that a run was going to be extremely valuable tonight, so you want to go out and put up as many zeros as possible. It was definitely a good win." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
Austin Romine was robbed of an RBI on a hard-hit ball up the middle in the second inning, with second baseman Devon Travis making a dazzling stop. New York left the bases loaded in the fifth when Greg Bird bounced out to first base, as Gaviglio retired his last seven men before handing the game off to the bullpen. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
The Yanks didn't notch another hit until Didi Gregorius singled off Ryan Tepera with two outs in the ninth. Gregorius was erased on a caught stealing, ending the inning. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
"That was tough," Judge said. "We wanted to try to scratch out some runs early. We had a couple of guys on and weren't able to get that big hit for [Gray]. Especially the performance he had, where he was just dialed in, making his pitches. He was ahead on every single hitter. It was quite a performance by him." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
Gray cruised early until Justin Smoak doubled to open the fifth inning, followed by a Kendrys Morales hit that placed runners at the corners with none out. Third baseman Miguel Andujar alertly threw home on a fielder's choice that cut down Smoak at home plate for the first out. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
A walk followed before Gleyber Torres and Gregorius teamed on a slick double play, one of two inning-ending twin killings that Gray induced as both clubs piled zeros across the scoreboard. After Gray's exit, Chad Green hurled a pair of scoreless innings and Dellin Betances worked a blank 11th before handing the ball to Robertson. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
"Sonny set the tone, just filling up the strike zone early and often," Boone said. "He was able to put guys away, and the command all game long, it was a really impressive performance. The bullpen was terrific; came in, pounding the strike zone.""according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
The Yankees were awed by the sheer force of Stanton's homer, which at 119.3 mph is the third-hardest-hit homer recorded by Statcast™, behind a pair of Judge homers (121.1 mph and 119.4 mph). Boone believes it was "maybe the hardest ball I've ever seen hit." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
"I'm not surprised by that," Judge said. "We had a good view for it, and he's been taking a lot of good swings. Whenever he connects with something like that, you know it's going to be hit hard. That got out in a hurry. We didn't even have time to celebrate or do anything. He swung and was halfway to first. That thing was already gone. Impressive." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442
With the win, New York improves to 40-18 on the regular season and is 1.0 games back of their rival Boston who is leading the American League East . Meanwhile with the loss Toronto drops to 26-35 on the season and is fourth in the division. . "according to http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/
UP NEXT
Following an off-day on Thursday, the Yankees will cross borough lines on Friday for the opening of the Subway Series against the Mets, facing off for a 7:10 p.m. ET game at Citi Field. Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-2, 4.79 ERA) has won five consecutive decisions and three straight starts, most recently defeating the Orioles in Baltimore. Right-hander Jacob deGrom (4-0, 1.49 ERA) will go for the Mets. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/yankees-go-deep-in-13th-to-beat-blue-jays/c-280086442