NEW YORK — The Blue Jays aren’t simply leaning into their very own superpower within the American League Division Collection, they’ve stolen the Yankees’.
With extra house runs (eight) than strikeouts (seven) within the first two video games of the ALDS, in fact the Blue Jays are up 2-0, already placing the Yankees on the ropes forward of a possible clinch recreation Tuesday night time at Yankee Stadium. They’re simply the second crew with extra homers than strikeouts by way of two their first two postseason video games, becoming a member of the 2005 White Sox (six homers, 4 strikeouts).
They’re profitable by getting the perfect of each worlds. Energy and strikeouts sometimes come hand-in-hand, the chance and reward balancing each other out. Simply take the 2025 Yankees, who led Main League Baseball with 274 house runs this season however struck out 1,463 instances, the third-highest whole within the Majors behind solely the Angels (1,627) and Rockies (1,531). On the opposite finish of the spectrum, these pesky high-contact groups not often strike out, however not often blow they recreation open with their energy.
If the Blue Jays are displaying us the perfect of each worlds by way of two video games, the Yankees have proven us the worst with one house run and 21 strikeouts. It’s the entire danger with not one of the reward, and regardless that this pattern dimension is microscopic, there’s no time for persistence within the postseason, one loss away from elimination. If this doesn’t change, the outcomes gained’t, both.
“In case you do not win the house run recreation in opposition to them, in all probability not,” mentioned Giancarlo Stanton. “However you’ll be able to nonetheless manufacture runs. But when they’re hitting them, and we’re not, as a rule, we’re not gonna [win].”
Within the common season, you might name the Blue Jays a high-end contact crew. They led the league in batting common (.265) and on-base proportion (.333), however they weren’t a bunch of slap hitters. Toronto’s 191 house runs had been tied for eleventh. A crew that’s “nice” at getting on base and “good” at hitting house runs goes to win a ton of ballgames.
What we’re seeing now’s the height end result of that method.
“We will put the ball in play,” mentioned supervisor John Schneider. “We have finished that over the course of the 12 months. I feel the house runs are a by-product of a extremely good method in opposition to particular pitchers that you simply’re actually centered on right now of 12 months. all the house runs, except Ernie’s, he was simply attempting to hit a sac fly, and like he mentioned, he simply sort of blacked out. I feel it is simply constant, a extremely, actually deliberate method in opposition to guys that we will be dealing with.”
What we’re seeing on the Yankees’ facet of issues, nevertheless, is the underside finish of their offensive identification.
It’s simple to level to Aaron Choose and Stanton as the 2 who have to snap this terribly timed stoop for the Yankees, however this lineup had seven batters with 20-plus homers and 10 with 10 or extra.
That mentioned, would a house run even be sufficient proper now? They’ll want two or three with the way in which the Blue Jays have been enjoying, placing up 23 runs by way of their first two postseason video games, a brand new MLB file. On prime of all of it, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is instantly a person on fireplace, setting the tone in Sport 1 with a first-inning homer after which breaking open Sport 2 with a grand slam.
“He is a man that hits the ball extremely exhausting, has a good suggestion of the strike zone, has energy when he will get sort of in that mode somewhat bit,” mentioned supervisor Aaron Boone. “Clearly he is hit a pair balls out of the ballpark but in addition proven his sort of bat-to-ball abilities the place he can sort of spray it across the yard too. He is actually harm us up to now, and hopefully we will include that somewhat bit tomorrow.”
If the Yankees need there to be one other tomorrow, they should win the ability battle. It’s how they’ve gained all season lengthy.
This collection was purported to be a conflict in types, the regular Blue Jays versus the boom-or-bust Yankees. A 3-2 Blue Jays win and a 9-1 Yankees win in Sport 1 and a couple of wouldn’t have stunned anybody, however right here we’re.
The Blue Jays beat the Yankees with “Blue Jays baseball” in 2025, sufficient to say the season collection for the eventual tiebreaker that determined the division. Now, they’re beating the Bronx Bombers at their very own recreation, too.
