Starting pitcher C. C. Sabathia and outfielder Brett Gardner are two of the three holdovers from the 2009 Yankees team, the last one to win a World Series, but rough outings for both on Saturday intensified doubts about their roles in any playoff run this season. Sabathia failed to last three innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing three home runs and five runs in two and a third innings, his shortest outing in more than three years. He was showered with boos as he left the mound at Yankee Stadium. Gardner struck out with the bases loaded to end the third inning; misplayed a fly ball by Justin Smoak to left field, turning it into a fourth-inning double; and ended up being removed for a pinch-hitter in the sixth — Miguel Andujar, who hit a grand slam in the seventh. Despite a late-game rally from a seven-run deficit, the Yankees lost, 8-7, to the fourth-place Blue Jays, who are 35 games out of first place in the American League East.

Source: New York Times September 16, 2018 03:00 UTC