DUNEDIN, Fla. — Hyun Jin Ryu cruised into the seventh inning, Marcus Semien and Rowdy Tellez homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 7-3 on Tuesday night.
Ryu (1-1) allowed only an unearned run over 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven and limiting the Yankees to four hits and a walk. The Blue Jays ace retired 12 in a row after DJ LeMahieu had a leadoff infield single in the first.
Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks was back in the lineup and went 3 for 4 after getting permission from manager Aaron Boone to sit out Monday’s game following the police shooting of a Black man, Daunte Wright, in Minnesota.
“He’s in a good head space,” Boone said before the game. “There’s no question he was down yesterday when we first talked in my office. Just struggling.”
Giancarlo Stanton, mired in an 0-for-16 skid, got the Yankees within 6-3 on a two-run single off Jordan Romero in the eighth. With Hicks batting against Julian Merryweather with two on and two outs, Gary Sánchez got caught between first and second after a pitch in the dirt and was tagged out in a rundown.
Bo Bichette put Toronto ahead 7-3 with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly
Josh Palacios had a two-run single in the second and Randal Grichuk hit a third-inning sacrifice fly off Jameson Taillon (0-1).
Semien connected for a solo homer before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made it 5-0 and ended Taillon’s night on an RBI double in the fourth.
Taillon allowed five runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 innings in his second start after missing the 2020 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Tellez had a fifth-inning solo shot off Lucas Luetge.
Romero replaced David Phelps, who earlier in the eighth departed after he appeared to get hit in the lower back by Clint Frazier’s single.
COVID-19 ISSUE
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo announced that OF Teoscar Hernández tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday. He has been away from the team since last Thursday after having close contact with someone away from the team that tested positive.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: SS Gleyber Torres was out of the lineup with a sore right ring finger stemming from a head first dive into first base on a pickoff play Monday night. X-rays and a CT scan were clean. Gio Urshela filled in for Torres. … 1B Luke Voit (partial left knee meniscus tear surgery) could start hitting off a tee next week.
Blue Jays: OF George Springer (quadriceps) took batting practice. He won’t accompany the team for the start of a nine-game road trip that begins Friday in Kansas City. … RHP Nate Pearson (groin) will throw live BP on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Yankees RHP Corey Kluber (0-1) and Toronto RHP Ross Stripling (0-1) are the scheduled starters in Wednesday’s series finale.
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