DUNEDIN, Florida – Kyle Higashioka was behind the plate Monday primarily for his work with Gerrit Cole.
And while the drums were again excellent against the Blue Jays, Higashioka hit both with his bat, throwing a couple of homers that propelled the Yankees to a 3-1 win at TD Ballpark.
Higashioka closed out a two-run shot in the top of the fifth to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead and then added a safe run with a mammoth shot to the left led by left-hander Ryan Borucki. and made it 3-1.
“We know of his power,” Aaron Boone said of Higashioka, who played a three-game game against the Blue Jays last September 16th. “He proved it last year. Obviously, we needed everything.”
“It’s closed,” Cole said. “He is a difficult boy to play right now. Red. “
Higashioka said the same of Cole, who ended up strong.
“The most satisfying part is that after a first or two difficult innings, he calmed down and got into a rut,” Higashioka said.
The Blue Jays threatened in the eighth, getting a couple of base runs against Darren O’Day, but O’Day made Vladimir Guerrero Jr. swing to finish the entry.
Meanwhile, Higashioka and Cole continued to work magic together, as Cole continued his most dominant start as a Yankee on his previous outing with another excellent performance that ended with the right-hander retiring the last 15 batters to whom faced.
Boone said Higashioka would not necessarily be Cole’s “full-time” receiver, but “will catch him a lot.” Boone added that Gary Sanchez would still catch Cole on occasion.
Cole overcame the first two unstable innings.
“I think he gets a little angry if things don’t go as he wants early,” Higashioka said. “He’s never satisfied with anything but zero.”
And the Yankees shook the first four minutes of the race against Toronto left-hander Robbie Ray.
Ray, in his season debut after spending the first part of the year on the injured list with a bruised elbow suffered during spring training, did not allow a success until Rougned Odor reached first base with one out at five.
Higashioka then hit a two-run homer in the center right to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.
Earlier, the walks of Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier in the third and Aaron Judge in the fourth were the only Yankee base runners.
The Blue Jays reached Cole at the bottom of the first.
Bo Bichette hit a strong single score on the right side of the field and Guerrero continued with a slower ground that also passed on the right side, this time partly due to the change.
He sent Bichette into the third and scored on a Randal Grichuk shortstop to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
Cole quickly found himself again in trouble in the second, with an exit walk to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed by a lining through the center of Rowdy Tellez. But Cole straightened up and threw the next three batters to keep him in a one-shot game, but was on 43 throws through two blocks.
The right-hander became overdrive and was excellent the rest of the way, cutting the Blue Jays in the process.
The Yankees turned him into their bullpen, who led a goalless draw of ten innings on Monday. Justin Wilson threw a seventh scorer.
O’Day withdrew the first two batters in the eighth before Marcus Semien went to the left and Bo Bichette walked for four pitches to bring in Guerrero, he said.
“I made him a little more exciting than him [should] they have been, ”O’Day said.
Aroldis Chapman ceded a double striker to Grichuk in the ninth, but managed to get Cavan Biggio, Gurriel and Tellez to earn their first savings of the year.
The shot caused another light to show from the attack.