Tyler Austin's two homers not enough as Yankees drop first game of the year, 5-3

The Yankees dropped their first game of the season today as Tyler Austin’s two home runs and CC Sabathia’s solid start were not enough to propel the Yanks past the Jays. Dellin Betances had an implosion on the mound in the eighth, and the Yankees saw Billy McKinney and Adam Warren leave the game with injuries.

Photo Credit: AP

CC Sabathia came out of the gate struggling as the Blue Jays got on the board first with a Josh Donaldson double to left field, which was followed by a Justin Smoak single to left. More worrying than the run allowed was the fact that Billy McKinney crashed into the Blue Jays’ unpadded left field wall as he made a tremendous effort to catch the ball. McKinney was examined by Aaron Boone and Steve Donahue and was left in the game, but was taken out after a lackluster throw into second base following Smoak’s knock. He was later diagnosed with a shoulder sprain. Sabathia escaped the inning without further trouble.

After settling down in the second inning, CC got hit around again in the third. An error by Brandon Drury, which should have been saved by Tyler Austin, set up a baserunner for Justin Smoak who doubled in the run. The Jays led the game 2-0 heading into the fourth.

The Yankees finally got to Marco Estrada in the fifth inning as Brandon Drury and Tyler Austin picked themselves up after the error in the third. Drury worked a walk, and Austin blasted a mammoth two-run home run to tie the game at two runs.

Warren relieved Sabathia in the sixth inning, but could not finish the effort as he was struck by a comebacker. Holder took his place and then surrendered an RBI single to Luke Maile giving the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead.

This lead did not last long, however, as Tyler Austin took Estrada deep for the second time tying the game at three runs.

Dellin Betances pitched into some trouble in the seventh as Curtis Granderson singled, but Gary Sanchez threw a bullet to catch him stealing and stop the threat. However, he was not as fortunate in the eighth as Yangervis Solarte hit a massive home run to dead center field. The inning went from bad to awful as Betances allowed four stolen bases and a steal of home to Kevin Pillar.

Roberto Osuna pitched a solid ninth to secure the victory.

The Yankees will look to secure the series win tomorrow on Easter as game four of this series will be played in Toronto at 1:07 PM ET. Marcus Stroman will face off against Sonny Gray.

Winning Pitcher: Ryan Tepera IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Losing Pitcher: Dellin Betances 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Save: Roberto Osuna (1)

Notables:

Tyler Austin 2-3, 2 HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 R

Giancarlo Stanton 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB
CC Sabathia 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR

Article by Ryan Thoms

Follow @RyanThoms_ Follow @BronxBomberBall