Blue Jays bats fall quiet, drop opener to Yankees

Another one-inning offensive effort from the Blue Jays was not enough to support Aaron Sanchez as the Blue Jays fell 3-2 to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre.

Toronto’s lone offensive output came off the bat of Jose Bautista, whose double in the bottom of the third inning scored Kevin Pillar and Josh Donaldson. Toronto’s three hits were spread among those top three names in the lineup while the bottom two-thirds were held completely quiet.

Strikeouts continued to be a problem for Toronto, with 11 total for the game and two each for Edwin Encarnacion, Troy Tulowitzki, and Michael Saunders.

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Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez didn’t have as easy a time in his second start of the season, but his final line still showed some positive results. The right-hander lasted 6.0 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Sanchez did battle a rounded strike zone that resulted in a heightened pitch count early (97 through six innings). Tuesday night’s start was an uphill battle for Sanchez, but against a lineup heavy with left-handed bats, the end result is encouraging. Through two starts, Sanchez owns a 1.38 ERA.

Brett Cecil was first out of the bullpen but continues to scuffle out of the gate, recording just two outs while allowing two hits and a walk. Jesse Chavez picked up the slack to bridge the gap to the ninth, however, with two critical strikeouts over one and a third. Gavin Floyd pitched a clean ninth, striking out one.

Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka was a victim of the pitch count, as well, leaving after just five innings. Tanaka walked four batters and allowed three hits, but limited the damage to two runs by striking out six. Johnny Barbato, Chasen Shreve, and Dellin Betances kept the Yankees clean until the ninth inning where Andrew Miller recorded the save.

Left-hander J.A. Happ is scheduled to face Michael Pineda on Wednesday night in game two of the series.