New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays: Jordan Montgomery vs. Hyun Jin Ryu

Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, recapping a game is one of the highlights of my week. For a few hours, I put aside all my day-to-day worries, and focus entirely on Yankees baseball. Every once in a while, however, there’s a game that is such a clanker, where the Yankees are never even within shouting-with-a-megaphone distance, that the entire three-plus hour experience is nothing short of miserable.

I don’t know about you, but if I were a betting man, today looks like it could be that day, as the stumbling Yankees begin a series with one of the best offenses in the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays of Dunedin Buffalo (yes, I will continue to milk this joke and mock the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim until they’re back where they belong, in a Major League stadium in Toronto).

Jordan Montgomery (3-1, 3.99 ERA, 3.34 FIP) will get the ball for the Yankees. Since shutting out the Chicago White Sox over seven innings on May 21st, Montgomery has been solid but not particularly spectacularly, giving up three runs in each of his last three starts (all Yankees wins). He last faced the Blue Jays on May 27th as part of the second game in a doubleheader, giving up three runs on five hits in 4.2 innings and recording only one strikeout.

Going up against him will be Toronto ace Hyun Jin Ryu (5-4, 3.34 ERA, 3.57 FIP). In a lot of ways, despite the impressive numbers, Ryu’s stat line fails to describe just how effective a pitcher he has been this year, as 14 of the 26 earned runs he has given up have come in just three starts, including a seven-run disaster on June 2nd en route to a 13-1 defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros; in eight of his twelve starts, he has given up two runs or fewer. So far this season, Ryu has faced the Yankees twice — both in early April — limiting the Bombers to just three runs (two earned) on eight hits and striking out 12 in 12 innings.

The Yankees lineup is thankfully back to normal, although given their performance this year, that’s not necessarily a good thing. Aaron Judge returned from the back spasms that kept him out of action on Sunday. Giancarlo Stanton is also back in the lineup for the first time since last Thursday, thanks to the stupidity of pitchers hitting the time-honored tradition of National League baseball, so let’s hope that he picks up right where he left off before the two-game, four-day Philadelphia disaster.

The Blue Jays lineup is still missing George Springer, who has only played four games for his new team, but that hasn’t stopped them. Led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., this offense has simply rolled over opponents, and if they can get something that vaguely resembles quality pitching depth, they will keep on rolling all year long.

How to watch

Location: Sahlen Field — Buffalo, NY

First pitch: 7:07 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, SNET-1

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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Let’s Go Yankees! Make it competitive!