The Yankees redid their initial rotation, but still plan to rely heavily on their bullpen.
Even without Aroldis Chapman for a second straight game, the relief corps helped the Yankees get their first win of the season, a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Saturday in the Bronx.
They got a second home run in as many Gary Sanchez games and a two-run single from Jay Bruce, but clung on to a two-run lead in the eighth inning when Darren O’Day opened a pair of singles innings.
O’Day bounced back to get a couple of outings before manager Aaron Boone went to Chad Green to save himself for four. With two counters and two outs in that eighth inning, the right-hander got Rowdy Tellez to swing with one of four seams of 1 and 2.95 mph to preserve the two-run lead.
Green finished the game in ninth in front of an announced crowd of 10,107 at Yankee Stadium. Chapman will return Sunday after serving his two-game suspension for throwing close to Rays head Mike Brosseau last season.
The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the second. Gio Urshela hit a single from two and went on to third with a strong double from Clint Frazier on the left. DJ LeMahieu followed with a slow goal in the third and Cavan Biggio’s shot took the foot off Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the first base bag, resulting in an RBI single when Urshela scored.
Toronto tied the game at third with the help of a couple of walks from Yankee starter Corey Kluber. A wild throw allowed Danny Jansen to reach third place and Jansen scored when Marcus Semien passed the second and Sanchez’s shot went out to center for an error.
Kluber escaped trouble at the top of the quarter. Guerrero and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. they hit individual goals with an out and Randal Grichuk tied at two before Jansen stayed on the ground to keep the match tied.
Sanchez put the Yankees ahead again at the end of the inning, when he left with his second home run in so many other games. After falling behind 0 and 2, Sánchez regained the lead at 2 and 2 and sent a shot into the left field seats to get a 2-1 lead.
A match at Frazier and a single player from LeMahieu left Jays head coach Ross Stripling out of the game in the fourth. Tyler Chatwood’s Aaron Judge single loaded Aaron Hicks ’bases, whose field goal sparked a run to make it 3-1.
Kluber immediately gave up the race in fifth place, allowing an early score for Semien. That ended the afternoon after four more innings in his Yankees debut. He allowed two runs, one win, in four more innings and threw 74 pitches. After walking seven in his last two starts in spring training, the right-hander walked three and hit another batter on Saturday.
Jonathan Loaisiga came in and removed the six batters he faced, eliminating three.
The Yankees added some insurance at the end of sixth place. Rafael Dolis walked the laden bases of two before being replaced by Tim Mayza, who faced Bruce. Bruce threw a two-run single slowly to the left to extend the lead to 5-2.
Lucas Luetge, who pitched in his first major league game since 2015, allowed Grichuk to achieve success in seventh place. He also threw a couple of wild throws, which helped Grichuk score on Semien’s short playing field to reduce it to 5-3.
In the eighth, O’Day came in and quickly allowed a couple of flower shots before getting Guerrero and flying left and Gurriel on the left line, where Brett Gardner caught. Green came in and won the savings.