What once looked like an easy Yankees victory turned into a nailbiter, as the bullpen faltered and Aaron Boone had to turn to Clay Holmes to get the final two outs of a 9-8 win over Toronto on a chilly Saturday night in The Bronx.
After Luke Weaver gave up three runs in relief to help get the Blue Jays back into the game, Ian Hamilton gave up another run in the top of the ninth, and left the game with runners on second and third and one out.
Holmes, who hasn’t been especially sharp this season, closed it out for the victory, but the Yankees didn’t expect to tax their bullpen so heavily after going up by six runs after two innings and 9-2 after six.
But Hamilton was knocked out by Davis Schneider’s RBI double.
Holmes came on to give up a run-scoring groundout by Alejandro Kirk and an RBI single to Cavan Biggio that made it a one-run game before striking out George Springer to end it.
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton went deep in the bottom of the first.
Anthony Rizzo also homered for the first time this year and Stanton had his first three-hit night since 2022, as the Yankees scored their most runs of the young season.
The win moved the Yankees to 7-2, giving them seven wins in their first nine games for just the second time since 2004.
But it wasn’t an ideal night for the Yankees.
Facing right-hander Kevin Gausman, whose velocity was down throughout his short outing, the Yankees scored three runs in the first and the second.
It came from an offense that was mostly silent in Friday’s home opener, when they were blanked for the second time of the season.
They pounced quickly on a chilly Saturday night at the Stadium.
After Juan Soto drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the first — reaching base for the first of three times on the night — Judge followed with a 425-foot blast into the visitor’s bullpen in left-center.
The two-run homer — on an 0-2 splitter from Gausman — was Judge’s second of the season and gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
Rizzo popped out before Stanton sent one out to right field for his second home run.
For Stanton, it broke an 0-for-11 skid. He had been just 3-for-24 on the season.
The Blue Jays wasted an opposite-field leadoff double by George Springer in the first for a second straight day.
Clarke Schmidt, who gave up two runs in 4 ¹/₃ innings, followed by retiring Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Justin Turner to strand Springer at third.
An inning later, Schmidt gave up a one-out double to Ernie Clement and escaped unscathed again, with some help from a terrific play by Oswaldo Cabrera, who ranged well to his right and made a strong throw from third to get Brian Serven to end the inning.
Anthony Volpe opened the bottom of the second by reaching on a catcher’s interference then stole second. Austin Wells walked and Cabrera singled to load the bases.
A Gleyber Torres sacrifice fly scored Volpe and sent Wells to third.
Wells scored on a passed ball before Soto’s single to right drove in Cabrera to make it 6-0 and end Gausman’s miserable evening.
Schmidt loaded the bases with one out in the third. Justin Turner lined a sacrifice fly to left for Toronto’s first run.
The right-hander gave up a second run in the fourth after another leadoff double, this one by Clement and Schmidt was removed with one on and one out in the fifth, having thrown 91 pitches.
He was replaced by Luke Weaver, who faltered in the seventh, when he allowed three runs before Victor Gonzalez entered and got the final two outs of the inning.
Hamillton finished the eighth, but got into trouble in the ninth, when Turner and Daniel Vogelbach reached base to start the inning.
