Brian Cashman's philosophy of outhitting everybody doesn't seem to be working. The idea that they could win a low-scoring game was getting further and further away.
They had the right pitcher, though, in the opener of a 3-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays -- at the Jays' Spring Training facility, TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, in the Tampa Bay region, because they couldn't play in Toronto due to COVID restrictions, and couldn't play in Buffalo like they did last year because that ballpark is being renovated.
The pitcher was Gerrit Cole, and he allowed only 1 run in 6 innings. But he allowed a run in the 1st inning, and, despite eventually retiring 15 straight batters, it began to look like the Yankees might lose the game 1-0.
Indeed, the Yankees only got 4 hits all game long. And 2 of them were singles by Rougned Odor and Mike Tauchman. To someone who knows no more about this game than they've seen in this post thus far, that looks bleak.
But the other 2 hits were home runs, by backup catcher Kyle Higashioka, whom Cole prefers to pitch to, over Gary Sanchez. Higgy's 1st homer followed Odor's single in the top of the 5th, and gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. His 2nd homer led off the top of the 8th, and gave the Yankees some breathing room.
Justin Wilson pitched a perfect 7th, Darren O'Day a scoreless 8th, and Aroldis Chapman a scoreless 9th. So they actually won a game where they didn't have to bomb the opposition out of the yard. Seriously.
Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1. WP: Cole (2-0). SV: Chapman (1). LP: Robbie Ray (0-1). This got the Yankees back up to .500, at 5-5.
The series continues tonight. Jameson Taillon starts, against Hyun Jim Ryu. Come on you Bombers!