Opening Day Recap: Blue Jays win clash against Yankees, 6-1

Apr 4, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin (55) strikes out during the first inning against the Cincinnati Redsat the Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin (55) strikes out during the first inning against the Cincinnati Redsat the Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /
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Game notes and grades as Toronto takes down New York 6-1


Baseball is back! After the Opening Night clash between the Cardinals and the Cubs Sunday, the season began in earnest Monday, kicking off with the Blue Jays visiting the Yankees.

Drew Hutchison was the surprise Opening Day starter for Toronto, getting the nod over the more experienced R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle, but he rose to the challenge, looking every bit like an Opening Day starter in shutting down the Yankees’ lineup, some first pitch jitters aside.

Masahiro Tanaka was the Yankees’ starter, and he was a bit up and down, shying away from his fastball and relying heavily on off-speed pitches, with the Blue Jays hitters often took advantage of. On some occasions, he looked extremely hittable; on others, he looked lights-out. It’s tough to tell what we’ll be getting from Tanaka this year.

And, of course, this game marked the return of the Notorious A.R.O.D., also known as Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod came out to a surprisingly warm welcome from the Yankees faithful, and lined a base hit to the outfield in his first at-bat.

Other than a solo home run from Brett Gardner, the Yankees were largely unable to get to Hutchison, while the Blue Jays rode a combination of strong hitting and pitching to the victory.

Game Notes:

  • It was the Yankees’ sixth loss in the past seven Opening Day games.
  • For the first time since becoming a Yankee, CC Sabathia watched his team’s first game from the dugout rather than pitching from the mound. Masahiro Tanaka got the nod this year, which is understandable both if you saw him pitch last year and if you saw Sabathia, who really didn’t look like his old self.
  • Surprisingly enough, the attendance at Yankee Stadium fell short of a sellout crowd. Considering that Opening Day is the one day a year most teams are sure of a sellout (the Indians, last in attendance in 2014, sold out their home opener in seven minutes), this is a surprise, and speaks to how hard it is to fill those expensive seats at the new Yankee Stadium.
  • The Blue Jays had several players making their major league debuts, including second baseman Devon Travis, who hit his first career home run, and 20-year-old reliever Miguel Castro, who looked electric closing out the game.

Grades:

A-. The Blue Jays stormed out to a five-run fourth inning, and looked very good against Tanaka, the Yankees’ ace. That’s promising for the upcoming year, and Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson look like they’ll help them team’s fortunes immensely this year. Also, Ewin Encarnacion continues to be a beast.. . Blue Jays. OFFENSE

A-. Drew Hutchison didn’t look like a guy who had a 4.42 ERA last year, displaying excellent command in allowing three hits and one run in six innings. Hutchison is arguably the key to the Blue Jays’ success this year with Marcus Stroman out; it’s just one game, but he looks like he’s up to the challenge.. . Blue Jays. PITCHING

I suppose I don’t have to tell you that three hits isn’t exactly a lot. Other than Gardner’s home run and A-Rod’s hit, there’s not a lot to talk about here.. . Yankees. OFFENSE . C

B-.  Tanaka looked vascillated between looking like an ace and a pitcher who needs a lot of work. Time will tell which is true, but one thing’s for sure: he didn’t look like the monster he was last year.. . Yankees. PITCHING

1. 43. 6. 39. Final