Yankees fall short to Blue Jays in pitchers’ duel on a long night in the Bronx

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 20: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees reacts during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on May 20, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images It was a good, ol’ fashioned pitchers’ duel in the Bronx on Wednesday night, one that we had to wait patiently for due to a lengthy rain delay. Two young, burgeoning aces who burst on the scene during last year’s postseason went toe-to-toe in a big midweek divisional matchup, and it lived up to the billing.

Toronto’s pitching was excellent from top-to-bottom for nine innings, only getting in trouble on some bloop hits in the seventh and ninth innings. The Yankees matched that for eight innings of their own, but the difference in this game proved to be the one inning all night where the pitching faltered. Cam Schlittler’s terrific night fell apart thanks to bad command, great at-bats, and a little bit of bad luck in the seventh inning, allowing the Blue Jays to score both of their runs that would prove to be enough to win this one.

The Yankees avoided a shutout with a late rally in the ninth, but were never able to get the big hit as they dropped this one, 2-1. This ballgame finally kicked off after a two-hour, five-minute rain delay, and Schlittler came out firing. A leadoff single by George Springer was quickly erased on a nicely turned 4-6-3 double play before the Yankees’ young ace ripped a 99.

6-mph fastball past Daulton Varsho for his first strikeout to put up a quick zero. Trey Yesavage, who tormented a very similar lineup in Game 1 of last year’s ALDS, responded with a 1-2-3 inning. Schlittler needed just 11 pitches to get through a 1-2-3 second inning, while the Yankees finally got their first-ever hit off Yesavage in the bottom of the second on a bloop double by Trent Grisham in a play that probably won’t make Buck Martinez the happiest man in the world.