Aaron Judge’s early two-run homer gives Yankees an 8-1 win over Blue Jays – Winnipeg Free Press

TORONTO – What a difference a year can make for a Major League Baseball pitcher.

Aaron Judge’s two-run homer gave New York a quick lead that the Yankees never relinquished in Sunday’s 8-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Kevin Gausman gave up seven runs on seven hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings, dropping his record to 6-7.

“I think they had a good game plan against me and it was a tight strike zone as well. I don’t think it helped me at all,” Gausman said. “This is not typical of me.

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, 45, pitches during the second inning of an MLB major league baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Sunday, June 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

“I kind of pride myself on striking out and not giving up free bases.”

Gausman’s numbers and 4.75 earned-run average are a stark contrast to last season, in which he was named to the All-Star Game for a second time, led the American League with 237 strikeouts, had a 2.97 ERA and finished third in voting for the Cy Young Award, an award given to the AL’s best pitcher.

“The game has changed a lot in the last few years. I will say this,” Gausman said, referring to the game clock, wireless PitchComs and disconnection policies. “Teams are trying to find ways to beat you in different ways, and you have to tie every knot you can.

“I had to change a few things and it worked out well for me in that regard, but obviously I still gave up seven runs today. So it’s not great.”

Justin Turner’s RBI single in the fourth was the only run for Toronto (38-45). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to six games with one in the first but was hit by a ball in the third.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider took Guerrero off the field in the sixth inning but said an X-ray was negative and showed no signs of a fracture.

“I took them to where the game was,” Schneider said. “It was bothering him a bit, so I didn’t want to make it worse.

“I hope he will be fully fit tomorrow and I expect that to be the case.”

Genesis Cabrera, Nate Pearson, Jose Cuas, Chad Green and Bowden Francis all came out of the Blue Jays bullpen.

DJ LeMahieu scored two more points with a single and a double as New York (54-32) split the four-game series. Trent Grisham added a two-run double and Ben Rice had an RBI single.

Gerrit Cole (1-1) allowed one run on three hits and a walk in five innings. Last year’s Cy Young Award winner struck out six and lowered his earned run average to 6.23 in just his second start of the season.

He added that he consciously tried to improve his command skills between appearances.

“It’s part of the preparation process,” said Cole, who began the season on New York’s 60-day injured list with elbow inflammation and swelling. “As you get stronger and move, you’ll have to tinker here and there.

“I thought it was better today. It’s definitely not where it should be, but it’s definitely better.”

Michael Tonkin, Tim Hill and Josh Maciejewski combined for four innings of scoreless relief for the Yankees.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER – Soto joined the Yankees very late and was added to the batting order six minutes before the first game. He missed Saturday’s 9-3 loss to the Blue Jays with a right hand injury.

“I got a text from (Yankees manager Aaron Boone) at 1:19 p.m., and I think that was it,” Schneider said at 1:37 p.m. “They told us a different lineup and then they changed it, but yes, it was quite late.