TORONTO — As the Yankees prepared for Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage before Game 2 of the ALDS on Sunday, the only hitter on the team who had faced him chimed in.

“He’s kind of deceptive,” J.C. Escarra told his teammates during a pregame hitters meeting. The third-string catcher, who struck out twice against Yesavage in a Triple-A game on Aug. 21, made sure to warn of the right-hander’s over-the-top arm angle, which gives him the highest release point in the majors, and deadly splitter.

When asked how helpful Escarra’s limited scouting report could be, Aaron Boone said he didn’t know. But the Yankees soon found out that it did not make a difference despite its accuracy, as Yesavage mowed the Bombers down in Game 2 while their own pitchers crumbled for the second straight day, resulting in a 13-7 victory for Toronto.

With the Yankees permitting double-digit runs again – the 23 they’ve allowed in the ALDS are the most in franchise history over two postseason games – they now find themselves on the brink of elimination with the series moving to New York.

“We’ve been playing with our backs up against the wall all year long, so it’s nothing new for us,” Aaron Judge said, noting the Yankees raced Toronto for a division title until the regular season’s final day before winning two do-or-die games over the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card round.

A Monday off day will give the Yankees time to heal before Game 3, as Yesavage carved them up on Sunday.

Drafted 20th overall out of East Carolina last year, Yesavage dazzled in the fourth big league start of his career and his postseason debut, holding the Yankees hitless while striking out 11 and walking one over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. At 22 years and 69 days old, he became the youngest pitcher in MLB history to allow zero hits in a playoff start.

“That was nasty stuff. That split is unlike much you ever run into,” Boone said, adding that “there’s no substitute for experiencing someone” after the Yankees did their best to prep with video of Yesavage.

Armed with that devastating splitter, Yesavage repeatedly had the Yankees swinging from their knees. With the pitch inducing 11 whiffs, he got the Rogers Centre rocking well before his Blue Jays broke out for six runs in the fourth inning.

”This has got to be cloud nine,” Yesavage said. “I couldn’t imagine a better feeling right now.

“It’s something I’ve never felt before. The energy and the passion that this fan base has, all 44,000 people that were here tonight, it’s special. They’re the reason I had so much juice and life in me, and I thank them for it.”

Such an atmosphere could have intimidated a young player, but Boone said Saturday that he “heard he’s a guy that’s kind of unfazed by being up here in big spots.”

Prior to Sunday’s dismantling, the skipper added that Yesavage would be a “challenge” for his lefty-loaded lineup, as the splitter gives the youngster reverse splits. Those comments proved prescient, as Yesavage, having previously logged just 14 major league innings, went on to outduel $218 million ace and World Series champ Max Fried with ease as the kid’s parents watched from the stands.

“I saw a bunch of heaters and sliders,” said Judge, who struck out on a fastball in the fourth. “It’s just more the arm angle. He’s right over the top, releasing it right above his head. So everything’s coming down into the zone, and you gotta pick up if it’s either going to stay in the zone or drop down underneath. So he did a good job feeding us some in the zone and feeding us some down out of the zone.”

“I think it just comes down to the funky release and him playing it off that fastball line. It was just something we were a little unfamiliar with,” Ben Rice added after K’ing on two splits. “It’s one thing on video, but another when you’re in the box.”

It wasn’t until Jays manager John Schneider lifted Yesavage at 78 pitches to a chorus of boos that the Yankees finally put themselves in the hit and scoring columns, as Judge legged out an infield single off Justin Bruihl before Cody Bellinger homered in the sixth.

“I know I was getting booed when I went out there, but he wasn’t going to go 120, 130 pitches,” Schneider said. “I just wanted to let him get recognized for a job well done.”

While Yesavage, who began the season at Single-A, enjoyed a curtain call after his exit, five more Yankees runs followed in the seventh, which included a two-run single from Giancarlo Stanton. However, the team was in too big of a hole at that point.

That’s because the Jays had already scored a dozen runs by the time their AL East rival got on the board. Seven of those were charged to Fried, who only lasted three innings, while Will Warren, forced to wear it after surrendering a grand slam to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., took responsibility for six by day’s end.

“We kind of got it going there late,” Judge said, “but at that point, it’s a little too late.”

Even if Yesavage had been hittable, it wouldn’t have mattered with the Blue Jays’ bats shelling the Yankees’ pitchers. But with Toronto receiving big-time contributions at the plate and on the mound, Canada remained a nightmare destination for Boone’s club, which has now lost 8 of 9 games at the Rogers Centre this season.

That trend will have to end if the Yankees hope to win the ALDS, as the series’ potential Game 5 would take place in Toronto if the pinstripers can pick up a pair wins in the Bronx on Tuesday and Wednesday. But after two north of the border embarrassments, that’s looking like a tall task, as teams that took a 2-0 lead at home in the ALDS have won it 31 of 34 times.

“Baseball is a funny game,” Boone said of the Yankees’ predicament. “I know we’ll show up and be ready to go expecting to win Tuesday night. Obviously, it feels like the world’s caving in around you, you lose two games like that in their building where it doesn’t go right, but all of a sudden, you go out there and win a ballgame on Tuesday, the needle can change.

“There’s been a lot of weird things that have happened in baseball this year. This would not be the weirdest, us rallying. We’ll come ready to go Tuesday, expect to win, and then look to win again and push it back here.”

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