Yankees Highlights: CC Sabathia shines, offense outslugs Blue Jays in series opener

Baseball isn’t a game of runs the way a sport like basketball is, but sometimes, you get a game like tonight. The Blue Jays started fast to take an early lead, then the Yankees responded forcefully with ten unanswered runs. Toronto countered in kind, racking up six straight runs of their own before the Yankees finally emerged with a 10-8 victory. Perhaps it wasn’t as pretty as it could have been, but a win is a win. After seeing their eight-game winning streak snapped yesterday, a new potential streak has already begun.

Winner(s) of the Game

After his last start, I included CC Sabathia in this space, as he put together a vintage late-career Sabathia outing. He did it again tonight, this time with even more strikeouts. Sabathia was living on the edges of the zone all game, nary allowing a hard-hit ball by the Blue Jays, ultimately logging six innings and fanning nine, allowing two runs in the process.

As for the lineup, DJ LeMahieu had a perfect night, logging four hits in as many at-bats along with a walk, and Aaron Hicks flashed a glimpse of snapping out of his slump, lacing a three-run homer to right.

Honorable mention: Giancarlo Stanton crushed his first homer of the year, a jaw-dropping frozen rope to left-center:

Loser of the Game

This one is shockingly clear. Jonathan Holder entered what looked like a blowout. He faced five batters, and he allowed five batters to score. He gave up two home runs, including a grand slam to Freddy Galvis, and exited what had become a close game. He’s allowed 15 runs over his past six innings, and his ERA on the season sits at 6.81 ERA.

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FanGraphs