Fade from contention continues as Yanks get steamrolled 9-0 by Blue Jays

Source: FanGraphs

For the fourth straight season, the Yankees will not win the AL East. Friday night’s 9-0 loss to the Blue Jays officially eliminated New York from the division race. This isn’t a surprise, it was only a matter of time until they were knocked out of the AL East race, but now it’s official. Their tragic number in the wild card race is only six as well. It’s Friday night, so let’s recap with bullet points. This game doesn’t deserve a full write-up anyway:

• Six & Grind: In the first two innings it did not look like Bryan Mitchell was long for this game. A Billy Butler error and a two-run single by Troy Tulowitzki gave the Blue Jays a quick 2-0 lead in the first. Then, in the second, two singles and two walks plated a third run for Toronto. They had Mitchell on the ropes, but Jose Bautista banged into an inning-ending double play, and the young righty retired 12 of the final 15 batters he faced. It wasn’t pretty, but three runs (one earned) in six innings after those first two innings is pretty good. Nice job by Mitchell grinding that one out.
• NOffense: The Yankees have been shut out in back-to-back games for the second time in 2016. They did it once from 2000-15, so yeah. I’m pretty sure their only hard-hit ball Friday night was Gary Sanchez’s first inning double over Ezequiel Carrera’s head in left field. That double plus two walks loaded the bases in the first inning, but Chase Headley struck out to strand all three runners. The Yankees haven’t scored a run since Donovan Solano’s two-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday night. It’s been 18 innings.
• Leftovers: Blake Parker (four runs) and Ben Heller (two runs) let things get out of hand … Sanchez (double, dingle) and Jacoby Ellsbury (single) had the only hits … Butler, Didi Gregorius, and Aaron Hicks had the three walks … Brian McCann grounded into a double play as a pinch-hitter and made a brutal error on a Hicks throw in the seventh. It was a one-hopper right to his chest, and he missed it. Not the best night for him … home plate umpire Tom Hallion had a really rough night. Here’s the strike zone. Sheesh.

Here are the box score, video highlights, and updated standings. Also make sure you check out our Bullpen Workload and Announcer Standings pages. This series continues Saturday afternoon. That’s a 4pm ET start. CC Sabathia and Marcus Stroman are the scheduled starters.