The New York Yankees welcomed in the struggling Toronto Blue Jays for a weekend series that got underway on Friday.
With the Yankees atop the AL East standings, this was perfect opportunity to create a further gap between themselves and another division contender in the early going of the season.
Carlos Carrasco — who has been heavily criticized at times this year — did his job to perfection on Friday. He threw five scoreless frames where he only gave up three hits before he turned things over to the relief staff.
The bullpen gave up a run in the top of the sixth inning, but New York’s offense was able to strike back in the seventh and eighth with runs of their own to take a 2-1 lead into the top of the ninth.
Manager Aaron Boone called upon high-profile offseason addition Devin Williams to close things out, which was a risk considering how he has performed to date.
And like the right-hander has done so often during the early portion of the campaign, he struggled in this one, as well, blowing the save by allowing three earned runs before he recorded a single out.
Things immediately went south for Williams.
After giving up a leadoff single, he then hit the next batter to put runners on first and second.
Following the hit by pitch, Yankees fans let Williams hear their displeasure.
Yikes. George Springer leadoff single and Devin Williams hits Andres Gimenez with a 2-2 pitch. Chants of “We Want Weaver” heard in the Bronx.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) April 26, 2025
Those chants turned to groans when Alejandro Kirk hit a two-run RBI double that gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning, forcing Boone to pull the struggling closer.
Mark Leiter Jr. allowed the inherited runner to score on an RBI single, but he got out of the frame without giving up more damage.
Still, the harm had been done with New York trailing Toronto 4-2 entering the bottom half of the ninth inning, and they weren’t able to overcome the change in momentum as they dropped the opener.
What comes from this will be seen.
Williams was supposed to shore up the back end of the Yankees’ bullpen, but he has been a detriment to the team thus far.
Boone had held firm in his belief that Williams would right the ship, but after this latest outing, it seems like a change will have to be made.
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