Yankees' crucial errors lead to ugly loss vs. Blue Jays, fall further back of AL East lead

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Jul 21, 2025

Published in Baseball

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TORONTO — With the trade deadline nearing, the New York Yankees need a third baseman, multiple relievers and rotation help.

You know what else they need, though? To clean up their act.

Yet another reminder of that came on Monday night, as sloppy play remained an issue for Aaron Boone’s Bombers in a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The untidy performance, which featured two throwing errors in the infield and a season-high five walks from Carlos Rodón, dropped the second-place Yankees to 55-45. The team, which has struggled with fundamentals throughout another summer skid despite just winning a series in Atlanta, is now four games out of first place in the American League East.

Toronto has led the division since sweeping the Yankees over four games at Rogers Centre between June 30 and July 3.

The Yankees, well-aware that they needed to rebound against their rival, took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Giancarlo Stanton blasted a solo homer off Kevin Gausman. But they unraveled in the fifth, allowing the Blue Jays to score four runs.

That began when Rodón, who had already worked himself in and out of two bases-loaded jams, issued his final walk of the night to start the frame. A Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single then set Bo Bichette up for a two-run double, giving Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Rodón came within one out of stopping the bleeding, winning a 14-pitch battle with Davis Schneider. However, consecutive throwing errors by Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe gave the Jays two more runs before the fifth inning came to an end.

Boone, a staunch supporter, described Volpe as a “f–king elite” defender earlier this month, but his defense has inarguably regressed in his third big league season. His error on Monday, a short throw that Paul Goldschmidt couldn’t scoop, gave him an American League-leading 12 on the season. Volpe also entered the day with -3 Outs Above Average and a Fielding Run Value of -2.

A below-average hitter and negative baserunner, Volpe did have two Defensive Runs Saved, but that ranked 10th among 25 qualified shortstops.

Peraza, meanwhile, threw wide of Goldschmidt from the hot corner. He is only playing because of his defense, and the fact that the Yankees have failed to bring in an impact third baseman for some time now. With a wRC+ of 26 entering the evening – the second-worst mark of any hitter with at least 150 at-bats – Peraza already gives away enough outs at the plate. The typically stellar defender can’t afford to do so on the other side of the ball, too.

Rodón needed to be better as well.

While only two of the four runs scored on his five-inning watch were earned, the lefty put himself in unenviable positions and condensed his start with five free passes. Yes, the Blue Jays worked some long at-bats against Rodón — Schneider wasn’t the only one — but the Yankees expected more from their All-Star in a divisional matchup.

The same could be said for a lineup that mustered just one run, though Gausman was on his A-game after some off outings against the Yankees earlier this season.

With the Yankees having now lost their last five games against the Blue Jays, the club is 10-17 against AL East opponents this season. Boone acknowledged that that record would need to improve before season’s end if the Yankees hope to win the division, but they only dug themselves a deeper hole on Monday night.

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