Game Recap: 2025 ALDS, Game 1 – L – NYY: 1, TOR: 10
The Yankees must hope Max Fried will give them length when he starts Game 2, because Game 1 was a disaster. The Yankees allowed 10 runs to the Toronto Blue Jays on 14 hits, and after Luis Gil got pulled in the third inning, the Yankees’ bullpen caved in. The Blue Jays’ win marked their first in the playoffs in nine years, and they showcased their dominance over the Yankees.
Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
Aaron Boone’s decision to pull Gil early forced him to exhaust his bullpen. Gil had allowed a couple of solo home runs to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – his first homer since September 5 – and Alejandro Kirk, so his struggles on the mound were evident. However, he was locating his pitches much better in the third inning, and he was finally generating lateral movement on his slider. Then, with two outs in the third inning, he gave up a single to Guerrero, which ended his afternoon at 48 pitches.
“I think they were hunting the top of the zone a little bit, and I thought they put a lot of good swings on [Gil],” said Boone. “We can live with the two solo shots. We’re in the game there, and [Gil] did enough. We felt like we could still piece it together there.”
Tim Hill secured the final out of the third inning, keeping the score 2-0. He tossed a silent fourth inning, and Camilo Doval kept the fifth and sixth innings scoreless, too.
In the top of the sixth inning, Anthony Volpe doubled, Austin Wells singled, and Trent Grisham walked to load the bases for Aaron Judge. The captain worked an eight-pitch at-bat but ended up swinging on Kevin Gausman’s low splitter. The captain had a chance to have a big moment for his team, but he came up short.
Cody Bellinger backed Judge up with a four-pitch walk that scored Volpe, but that was the Yankees’ only RBI of the game. Ben Rice popped up a fastball that was low and inside, and Blue Jays manager John Schneider decided to replace Gausman with Louis Varland, who sent Giancarlo Stanton down swinging on an inning-ending 101-mph fastball.
“There was an opportunity,” Judge said. “Bases loaded. Thankfully, [Bellinger] got that one to get the RBI in. Couldn’t really get anything after that, but I like our chances. Got to keep getting those opportunities, and we’re gonna come through when we need to.”
Maybe the Yankees will come through the next time they have a chance at a big moment, but they were clearly unprepared for the playoff atmosphere in Toronto. While Judge has posted a .905 OPS so far this postseason, he hasn’t homered yet, and he’s also in desperate need of a game-breaking moment. So is Stanton, who has been one of the Yankees’ best playoff performers of the last decade. He only has one hit in 15 at-bats this postseason, and the Yankees need him to break through if they want to come back and win this series.
Nevertheless, the Yankees were only down 2-1 after the top of the sixth inning, but given how early they activated their bullpen, it felt like only a matter of time before a reliever worsened the deficit. And just like in the first game of the Wild Card series against Boston, it was Luke Weaver who helped the Blue Jays put the game out of reach. For the first time in his Yankees career, Weaver has failed to record an out in consecutive appearances, and he’s also the first Yankees pitcher in postseason history to face six batters without recording an out, per Katie Sharp.
“Not a stuff issue,” said Aaron Boone. “Obviously, command is usually a strength for [Weaver]. Losing the first guy on four pitches there, and then looked like a couple of changeups that just kind of were flat and up and out over the plate that Santander got, and Giménez. […] We’ve just got to get him locked in with his delivery.”
Weaver began the seventh inning by walking Daulton Varsho on five pitches. By walking the first batter he faced, he instantly put himself in trouble. Then, Anthony Santander singled on a 1-1 changeup just outside the zone to put runners at first and third for Andrés Giménez, who extended his team’s lead to 3-1 with a single.
After the game, Weaver told the media that he had discovered that he had been tipping his pitches. “There have been adjustments that have been made based on things that people are seeing, and it just hasn't really lined up,” he said. “It’s been pretty late in the adjustment period, and it’s just not lining up out there. I don’t really feel like myself. I don’t feel like my mind is completely clear to go out there and attack. I do feel physically strong. I do feel mentally strong, overall. I just think there are just some factors that are building up, and I’m just not executing at the clip I want to.”
This is a concerning situation for Weaver to find himself in, especially in the postseason. He was one of the Yankees’ best relievers when they went to the World Series last year. What’s more concerning is why Aaron Boone decided to have him pitch the seventh inning, when a different reliever might have helped the Yankees keep the game within reach.
It felt like throughout this game, Boone was trying desperately to manage with urgency, but he went into panic mode as soon as his starting pitcher began to struggle. Pulling Gil early after he started to improve was one example of how Boone panicked. Punch-running José Caballero for stellar defender Ryan McMahon with one out in the seventh inning, midway through Anthony Volpe’s at-bat, was another.
“I just changed my mind on the first couple pitches into it,” said Boone, who also revealed that his plan for this game included removing Gil early if he started struggling. However, that plan also involved a prescribed lane for Weaver.
Determining lanes for relievers isn’t inherently bad. It’s good to give every pitcher their most favorable matchup. However, when a team is trailing in a playoff game, the manager’s priority should be to keep the score tight, because in October, there are no soft landing spots for struggling pitchers.
“These guys are finding some holes,” Weaver said. “I'm leading off with the first guy with the walk, which is kind of creating momentum in the wrong direction. Tonight, I just felt late, and the adjustments I was making, I wasn’t on time, and ultimately, it just kind of kept some of those changeups up in the zone where they were able to get some lift to it, and I guess rolled over through the hole.”
Boone selected Fernando Cruz to replace Weaver in the seventh inning with no outs and runners at first at second. After fielding Ernie Clement’s ground bunt to put the lead runner out at third base, George Springer walked to load the bases. Then, Nathan Lukes slammed a high changeup toward the right field wall for a two-run double and a 5-1 lead, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pumped his fist as he hit a deep sacrifice fly to end Cruz’s outing.
In the top of the eighth inning, Aaron Judge notched his first extra-base hit of the postseason – a one-out double to center field – but it was too late. The Yankees had already dug themselves too deep a hole. That hole got deeper with Paul Blackburn pitching in the bottom of the eighth as Alejandro Kirk hit his second home run of the game, and Daulton Varsho and Andrés Giménez doubled to give Toronto an 8-1 lead. Then, Ernie Clement made it 9-1 with a sacrifice fly, and Nathan Lukes extended the lead to 10-1 with an RBI single.
Now that the Yankees have allowed the Blue Jays to not only win their first playoff game in nine years, but to do so by a nine-run differential with home-field advantage, it’s tough to imagine them winning this series. However, they have the starting pitching advantage in the next three games, including their ace Max Fried, slated to start Game 2 against the rookie Trey Yesavage, who has only made three Major League starts. But that doesn’t mean Yesavage won’t pitch well in Game 2.
“I’m thinking it’s early in the series,” said Luke Weaver. “It’s Game 1. We have a lot of games to play. We expect to do our job to push it all the way to what helps achieve [our goal]. It’s a great environment. It’s a tough environment. They know what they’re doing. They’re a great team. We’re a great team. When we’re clicking and we’re all doing our job, especially myself, we compete with anybody in the world.”
Game 2 is scheduled for October 5 at 4:08 PM (3:08 PM CDT) (FS1, FOXONE). LHP Max Fried (19-5, 2.86 ERA) will try to at least match the six scoreless innings he posted against Boston, while the Yankees’ offense hopes to tee off against the rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage (1-0, 3.21 ERA).
