The Blue Jays blew out the New York Yankees 10-1 behind some dominant pitching and an excellent offensive day from their All-Star catcher.
The Toronto Blue Jays earned a pivotal win in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday afternoon, blasting the New York Yankees 10-1 at Rogers Centre.
Toronto, who went 8-5 against New York in the regular season, is now 7-1 against them at home. With the win, the Jays are now two wins away from their first trip to the American League Championship Series since 2016.
New York is two losses away from seeing its season end.
Here's how it happened:
Kirk's historic day
Catcher Alejandro Kirk went 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBIs, making history with the multi-homer day.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
Alejandro Kirk with the fourth multi-HR game in Blue Jays postseason history, joining:
2022 ALWCS G2 Teoscar Hernandez
2020 ALWCS G2 Danny Jansen
2015 ALCS G6 Jose Bautista
Clutch hits abound
In addition to Kirk, the Blue Jays got a big first-inning home run from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and they also got a two-run double from Nathan Lukes in the seventh.
It should be noted that this was only a 2-1 game into the seventh inning before the Jays broke it open into a comfortable final margin.
Excellent pitching
Kevin Gausman went 5.2 innings as the starter, surrendering just one earned run on four hits. He walked two and struck out three. Louis Varland went 0.2 innings, utilizing a 100+ mph fastball to strike out Giancarlo Stanton with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth.
What's next
The two teams will play again on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:08 p.m. ET. Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage, who made just three starts this season, will get the ball. The Jays brought him on the roster over established veterans like Max Scherzer, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt.
The Yankees will counter with Max Fried, who figures to be in the mix for the American League Cy Young. He took a no-decision in Game 1 of the wild card series against the Boston Red Sox.
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