Yankees Takeaways from Monday’s 3-1 win over Blue Jays, including Kyle Higashioka’s two home runs

The Yankees used Kyle Higashioka‘s two home runs to grab a 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Here’s a few takeaways from the game:

1. Gerrit Cole threw one pitch and got one immediate pop out behind home plate to get the game started Monday night, and went on from there.

He got himself into a bind after giving up a run in the first, and seemed to have trouble with his slider in the second. But after putting two runners on the bases on a walk and hit with no outs on the board, Cole struck out the next three batters.

He finished with another strong overall outing, allowing one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight in six innings. He also retired the last 15 Blue Jays he saw on the night.

2. Things were quiet from the Yankees offense with Robbie Ray dealing a no-hitter through the first four innings. But Rougned Odor opened things up with a single to right in the top of the fifth.

Kyle Higashioka came up to bat next and took an 0-2 fastball and sent it into the center field bleachers to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead and knock in his first homer of the year.

3. The low scoring affair continued into the eighth inning until Higashioka came up to bat, and again, crushed a homer over the left center wall to make it 3-1 Yanks.

Later in the inning with the Jays up, Darren O’Day retired the first two batters he faced, but got into a bit of trouble thereafter. He first allowed a hit to Marcus Semien to put the tying run at the plate, and then walked Bo Bichette on four straight balls to bring up the go-ahead run.

But O’Day struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to keep the Blue Jays down and bring in Aroldis Chapman for the save opportunity.

4. Chapman allowed a double on his second pitch to Randal Grichuk, but the Jays couldn’t bring him in. Chapman got a pop out and struck out the last two batters to pick up his first save of the season.

Through 10 games, the Yankees bullpen has the best ERA in the AL at 1.65.

5. Giancarlo Stanton, who almost didn’t play Monday because of the situation in Minnesota, may not have been focused on baseball on the night, going 0-for-4 at the plate.

Story continues

The top of the order, in genera, did not have a good night at the plate, with Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela combining to go 0-for-16 with five strikeouts.

Highlights:

What’s Next:

The Yankees and Blue Jays run it back on Tuesday at 7:07 p.m., with Jameson Taillon and Hyun Jin Ryu taking the mound.