Yankees Lose All Support at Home After Blown Comeback as Aaron Judge and Co. Fail to Break Blue Jays Curse

The New York Yankees vs. the Toronto Blue Jays—it was supposed to be a crucial matchup, and it was. However, for the Yanks, it began with a thud, then boos. And at the center of his volcano was none other than rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler- the guy has been a bright spot in the rotation since his July call-up. But if only he had come through at Yankee Stadium during the September 6 matchup, the outcome might have been different. Or so the Yankees fans would like to think.

The 24-year-old delivered the worst start of his major league career in a 7-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a game where he simply unraveled, giving up four runs in just 1⅔ innings, including a three-run, 40-pitch first inning. This left New York four games behind the Jays. Not just that, it was also the seventh loss in their past eight meetings against Toronto.

“They’ve certainly had our number to this point,” Aaron Boone admitted after the game. And honestly, sure, at moments the Yanks looked like they were trending up, but the damage was sadly done. And on the Locked on Yankees podcast, they couldn’t help but bring this up. Locked On Yankees podcast host Jay Berman said, “Bad start from Schlittler, and that’s just one of those—when you don’t have it, you don’t have it, and your team usually loses.” But then this is not the only reason.

Locked on Yankees highlighted that the offense, or the lack of it, has been a major red flag here: “Regardless, as we said, the Yanks managed just four hits, two of them from John Carlos Stanton—the long home run and a clean single later in the game. The only other two hits from the Yankees were a Trent Gisham single and an Aaron Judge single, and that was it. So again, the offense was not there, but it’s hard to blame him when you get put in an instant hole like that and then have to go to the bullpen in the second inning. There’s something deflating about that. There’s something defeating about that.”

That kind of perfectly sums up the night. The fans were visibly frustrated with the game. Schlitter’s line was too insanely bizarre to ignore. The Blue Jays had 24 foul balls off him, constantly threatening and forcing two-strike hits. Meanwhile, while the New York Yankees were simply not performing like stars, for Toronto, Kevin Gausman allowed just one run over eight innings. The Yanks’ offense, normally the best in the AL, managed just four hits. Even a Stanton 418-foot homer in the second inning was not enough to spark a comeback.

For now, Yankee fans should fear the Jays because they have George Springer, Bo Bichette, and Vlad Guerrero Jr. leading the charge. And if there is no magic from Judge and the rest, the Jays could be a thorn they can’t tackle.

CC Sabathia is willing to help Anthony Volpe

There is no doubt that Volpe has been under the microscope all season and has led the AL in errors with 18. Not to mention that he is always under the weight of being compared to Derek Jeter. And it’s not easy to handle the pressures, given his performance has been less than ideal this season. But amidst all that chaos, he has people who have his back. And no, it’s not just Boone defending him, but rather Yankees legend CC Sabathia, who also seems to get what Volpe is going through.

Sabathia said, “Can you imagine a 21-year-old or a 20-year-old that comes here and all the pressures on their shoulders. I think Volpe gets a tough break because people want to compare him to Derek [Jeter] all the time, and like, hey, he needs to replace Derek.” And the Hall of Famer knows better than anyone what it is like to play under the bright lights in New York. And hence, he offered to help Volpe through the struggles.

Sabathia also pointed to past players like Miguel Andujar or Gary Sanchez, who were all talented but never got the patience they deserved in New York. A brutal reality of how you are tense and strict once you wear the pinstripes. “If we were able to … like if … as a fan base, as a city, let let these kids go through whatever they’re going to go through. The game’s hard to play, man. It’s very difficult,” he said.

Well, that’s the kind of perspective that the HoF brings now as a Yankees special assistant, a role that he has been balancing with his work for MLB and his charity. On September 9, in fact, his PitCCh Foundation will host a star-studded golf outing, and it will feature several names like Derek Jeter, Michael Strahan, Gerrit Cole, and more.