Yankees 9, Blue Jays 6 (which is to say Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1)

should have wanted it more, I guess

So that one got away from us a little! That Vladdy homered again in the first, and that the boys rallied for four runs in characteristic fashion to go up 6-1 and chase Carlos Rodon in the second, these are all excellent things. But when you're on the road, are you really up before the other team has batted in the bottom half? Are you really? My perhaps idiosyncratic view is that all road leads are an illusion always. It is regrettable, certainly, that Shane Bieber did not have it Tuesday night, and that John Schneider understandably felt compelled to pull him in the third with things at 6-3 and Bieber both getting hit hard and missing his spots (one or the other, you maybe let it ride a little longer?). Of all our guys, I would not have expected Isiah Kiner-Falefa to boot a ball, and I would not have expected a windy popup to pop right out of Addison Barger's glove behind third, but these kinds of physical errors are easier to take than some major lapse of judgement or effort; these are things that happen. What does not really happen, and yet did, is homers being hit on 101mph fastballs that are well-in off the plate. I thought the deal with Aaron Judge's great big long arms is that he can cover off-the-plate away! Wouldn't these same super long arms mean he would be more jammable inside? Perhaps that was Louis Varland's thinking? You will literally never see a less likely pitch homered uponst, and yet there it was, ripped off the foul pole to tie the game at six, and from there, certain things followed. Other minor disappointments included Santander (who delivered a big, two-run single in the second, it must be noted) diving disastrously for a ball in right, and a gettable ball getting by Vladdy to his right—neither of these were errors, but both guys would tell you they should have made those plays. (Honestly, maybe Springer in the outfield rather than at DH when Santander is the guy you're going to put out there? Not the case when you're starting Nathan Lukes, obviously.) There's all kinds of things you can say, but fundamentally it is a drag that Bieber had so poor a third inning that we had to go to Fluharty early. Everything follows from that, really.

And so a bullpen day for game four, which has been the plan all along (Berios and Bassitt hurt, Scherzer sadly unplayable down the stretch), and either we steal one here (let's go Varland! and also Lauer! and literally all of our guys! because that is how many of them we are likely to use!), or it is back to Toronto for game five Friday night, with both Gausman and Yesavage ready to go for it. That's really what I'm expecting, the latter, but the former would really be quite something, and I would welcome it with great enthusiasm, should the universe choose to unfold its mysteries in that particular manner (please do).  

KS