TORONTO, ON (8-16-26) — What began as a pitching showcase turned into an extra-inning thriller Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, where the New York Yankees escaped with a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in 10 innings.
Toronto starter Dylan Cease (#84) delivered the performance that defined much of the afternoon, holding New York to just two hits over 6 1/3 innings while striking out 10. Cease threw 104 pitches, 60 for strikes, and allowed two earned runs with three walks.
La Prensa Latina News Wire was in the house at Rogers Centre covering Cease’s gem and the Yankees-Blue Jays matchup as part of its growing baseball coverage and partnerships with Latino Sports and Our Esquina.
But after Toronto forced extra innings in the ninth, Ben Rice (#22) supplied the biggest swing of the afternoon.
With the automatic runner aboard and one out in the top of the 10th, Rice launched a two-run home run off Braydon Fisher (-#63) to right-center field. The 438-foot shot — Rice’s 33rd homer of the season — gave New York a 4-2 advantage. Rice finished 1-for-5 with two RBIs and increased his season RBI total to 78.
Cease was dominant early, particularly with his swing-and-miss stuff. The Yankees struck out 12 times overall, with Cease accounting for 10 of them.
Cease Sets the Tone
New York managed its first run in the third when José Caballero (#72) scored on a sacrifice fly. Toronto answered in the fifth when Kazuma Okamoto (#7) doubled and later scored on Daz Cameron’s RBI double, tying the game 1-1.
The Yankees moved back in front in the seventh. George Lombard Jr. doubled and eventually scored when Caballero singled to left, putting New York ahead 2-1.
Toronto’s pitching staff kept the game there through the eighth, giving the Blue Jays an opportunity to rally.
Blue Jays Force Extras
Toronto did just that in the bottom of the ninth.
After Jonathan Smith reached on an error, Ernie Clement (#22) delivered a sacrifice fly to center, bringing Smith home and tying the game at 2-2.
That set the stage for Rice in the 10th.
His towering two-run homer off Fisher quickly changed the complexion of a game in which Toronto pitching had largely controlled New York’s lineup.
The Blue Jays refused to go quietly.
In the bottom half of the 10th, Okamoto scored when Andrés Giménez (#0) reached on an infield single, cutting the Yankees’ lead to 4-3. But Tim Hill (#41) finished the inning to preserve the victory and earn his second save.
Yankees Pitching Matches Toronto
While Cease drew much of the attention, Ryan Weathers (#40) gave New York an outstanding start of his own.
Weathers worked 7 1/3 innings, surrendering six hits and just one earned run while walking one and striking out four. He threw 95 pitches, 59 for strikes, and finished with a game score of 65.
David Bednar (#53) followed with 1 2/3 hitless innings. Although Toronto scored an unearned run against him in the ninth, Bednar earned the victory to improve to 6-3.
Fisher took the loss for Toronto, falling to 3-4 after allowing two hits and two runs — one earned — in the 10th.
The Yankees finished with only six hits but made them count. Toronto collected seven hits and went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. New York went 2-for-7 in those situations.
New York also stole four bases, including Caballero’s 30th of the season and Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s (#13) 32nd.
The victory allowed the Yankees to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
For those watching from the press box and around Rogers Centre, the afternoon offered just about everything — outstanding starting pitching, late-inning drama, a ninth-inning comeback and one decisive extra-inning swing.
A crowd of 42,351 watched the 2-hour, 59-minute contest.
For La Prensa Latina News Wire, the game also represented another opportunity to bring Major League Baseball coverage and photography to readers while working alongside Latino Sports and Our Esquina to expand Latino-focused sports coverage.
