Alejandro Kirk emerged from the bullpen before the game, and before he had taken two steps, the cheers began. By the time he made his first long toss during pre-game warmups, the dull roar had built to a crescendo. On his second throw, chants of “Kirky, Kirky” erupted from the crowd.
The popular Jays catcher did not acknowledge the welcome back until his first at-bat of the night. In that at-bat, he lined a ball into the gap and over the head of center fielder Trent Grisham, driving it off the wall for an RBI double that scored Ernie Clement with the first run of an eventual 8-5 victory over the New York Yankees.
It was the beginning of a huge night for Kirk, who reached base in all four plate appearances: a double in the first inning, singles in the third and fifth, and a walk in the seventh. He scored one run and drove in two.
The win snapped New York’s three-game winning streak and was just the visitors’ second loss in seven games.
The first home run of the night left even Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in awe as it landed in the fifth deck in left field. It came off the bat of Kazuma Okamoto, the third baseman’s team-leading 14th home run of the season.
An inning later, George Springer tagged another David Weathers offering a few decks lower, but it still cleared the fence for a two-run home run. Springer had a stellar night as well, scoring three times and reaching base in four of five plate appearances with the homer and three walks.
The night was not perfect for the home side, despite Kirk and Springer’s performances. Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage, despite blanking the Yankees through four innings, struggled with command. A pair of walks in the second inning loaded the bases before he escaped with a strikeout and a soft liner to second. Yesavage allowed four walks through the first four innings, all of which were stranded.
The Yankees got to Yesavage in the fifth inning, starting with a double off the left-field wall from light-hitting catcher J.C. Escarra. Escarra moved to third on a groundout, and Yesavage walked Ben Rice, the best hitter in the Yankees lineup with Aaron Judge on the disabled list. A Paul Goldschmidt sacrifice fly to deep right plated Escarra, and Cody Bellinger brought in two more runs with his 10th home run of the year.
Yesavage came out to start the sixth but was pulled after a walk and a double put two more runners on base. The six walks over five-plus innings marked the second time in his past three starts that the rookie right-hander struggled with free passes. Two starts ago in Baltimore, Yesavage walked seven in an eventual 6-5 loss, lasting just 2 1/3 innings. All five runs were charged to Yesavage, who still earned his third win of the year to even his record at 3-3.
Mason Fluharty, Braydon Fisher, Tyler Rogers, and Louis Varland handled the final four innings for the Jays. Weathers fell to 3-4 with the loss and has not won since May 2. Kevin Gausman will start for the Blue Jays on Saturday, while Cam Schlittler is scheduled for the Yankees. First pitch is at 3:07 p.m.
