TORONTO -- Mired in one of their worst offensive stretches of the season and a three-game losing streak, the Yankees and manager Aaron Boone shook up their lineup in hopes of avoiding a sweep on Sunday north of the border.
Most notably, Ben Rice was moved up to the leadoff spot, Luis García Jr. got the bump to the two-hole, Trent Grisham slid to cleanup and José Caballero slotted in at second base for Jazz Chisholm Jr.
“More than anything, just switching it up a little bit,” Boone said before the game. “Giving a little bit of a different look.”
For much of the series finale in Toronto, it was the bottom of New York’s order that had the biggest impact.
But after some sloppy defense in the ninth spoiled a 2-1 lead and allowed the Blue Jays to tie the score and force extra innings, Rice provided the swing he and the Yankees so desperately needed.
Rice blasted a two-run shot with one out in the 10th -- just his second homer of August -- to give New York a 4-3 win and make up for his error in the bottom of the ninth that represented the eventual tying run.
It was also a moment of catharsis for New York, which hadn’t left the yard through the previous 27 innings of this series and had to scrap and claw for its previous two runs on Sunday.
Tasked with solving Cy Young Award contender Dylan Cease, New York’s new-look lineup wasn’t able to generate much momentum against the Blue Jays’ ace over his 6 1/3 innings of work, reaching base just five times.
However, with the score level at 1-1 in the seventh, George Lombard Jr. chased Cease with a one-out double. Caballero stepped up three batters later with an RBI single off reliever Brendon Little to score the rookie shortstop before getting in a rundown between first and second, which -- if not for a video review -- might have brought a second run in on the play.
Caballero was just as involved in the game’s opening run after working a leadoff walk -- aided by two successful ABS challenges -- in the third inning. He then advanced to second on a ground ball in front of the plate from Rice, stole third and came in to score on a sacrifice fly to left field by García.
It marked the first time the Yankees had scored more than a single run in a game since Wednesday’s 10-5 win over the Mariners.
Although the lineup shakeup didn’t result in the type of offensive explosion New York has been waiting for, the chaos inserted with Caballero and Rice’s late homer helped back another strong showing from its starting pitching.
Ryan Weathers turned in a fifth straight excellent outing, retiring the first 10 batters he faced on his way to 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts while allowing six hits and one walk.
“I think he's had a really good grasp of his arsenal as far as his plan going into a game. The execution of the secondary pitches has been really, really good,” Boone said pregame of Weathers’ recent stretch.