The Toronto Blue Jays toppled the New York Yankees 2-1 on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium to earn a split in the four-game series.

Perhaps the back-to-back excellent pitching performances are enough to spur the Blue Jays into positive momentum as they enter the weekend at 23-27 and in third place in the American League East through 50 games.

George Springer hit a home run in the win and Rule-5 Draft selection Spencer Miles dominated over 4.1 innings on the mound, striking out seven. And former closer Jeff Hoffman earned his first save in more than a month with a scoreless ninth.

Hoffman needed just 12 pitches to retire the side in the ninth, striking out two. It was his fourth save of the season and could perhaps elevate him back to high-leverage opportunities alongside Louis Varland.

As noted by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, Hoffman did not throw a single fastball in his 12 pitches, opting for 10 sliders and two splitters.

It's worth asking the question: Is Hoffman going away from his fastball, or was this a one-off performance?

Let's examine a little more:

1) Hoffman's average fastball velocity is 96.7 mph, good enough for the 84th percentile in baseball, so it's certainly good enough to utilize.

2) Opponents are hitting .303 on his fastball with a .636 slugging percentage. He's allowed three home runs on the pitch, the only pitch he's allowed a home run on.

3) He's thrown 153 fastballs this season, more than he's thrown he's slider (131) and splitter (103), but there is a clear reliance on offspeed offerings.

4) Opponents are hitting .290 on his slider, but the slug is just .355.

Hoffman was pitching against Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt, three All-Star caliber hitters with enormous power. In a one-run game, it seemed like Hoffman didn't want to throw the fastball to this group of hitters, especially when you look at the damage being done against that pitch.

I don't believe that "never throw fastballs" is the plan that Hoffman will opt for moving forward, but in this situation, against these hitters, it feels like an understandable plan of attack.

And it worked.

Now, we'll continue to see how Hoffman evolves as the season moves on, and if he'll end up getting his closer's role back as a result.

The Blue Jays enter play on Friday at 23-27 and in third place in the American League East. They'll host the Pittsburgh Pirates (26-24) at Rogers Centre at 7:07 p.m. ET.

Gausman will take the mound for Toronto while top prospect Bubba Chandler pitches for Pittsburgh. Gausman is 3-3 with a 3.45 ERA while Chandler is 1-5 with a 5.14. Though he's struggled, he has one of the best fastballs in the league, so the Jays will have to be ready to capitalize on opportunities. 

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