TORONTO – Frustration was evident in Carlos Rodón’s body language as he labored through a fatiguing fifth inning, including a 14-pitch battle with Davis Schneider that produced a laughable number of foul balls.
To Rodón’s credit, that exasperation didn’t carry over after his defense let him down during a 40-pitch, four-run frame. The left-hander returned to the dugout cheering for his teammates, hoping for a comeback that never materialized.
Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe committed costly throwing errors that led to runs as the Yankees’ struggles north of the border continued in Monday night’s 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
“Our goal is to not only win this division, but to go out there and get a chance to go to the World Series,” Rodón said. “It’s tough. They’re playing good baseball right now; obviously, you can tell. They strung together some really good at-bats.”
The Yankees have dropped all five games played this season in Toronto, where the Blue Jays have won 11 straight contests. New York fell to 10-17 against American League East clubs, slipping four games behind the Jays in the division standings.
“It’s still the middle of July. We’ve got so many games ahead of us,” Volpe said. “We don’t stack ourselves up against one team or another. I feel like we stack ourselves up against ourselves. So when we play our best, I think everything will take care of itself, regardless of how many games are left.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he expects more consistent results.
“It’s been a month now where we haven’t been our best,” Boone said. “We need to obviously start playing better consistently and putting wins in the win column.”
Giancarlo Stanton hit his fifth home run of the season, but the Yankees were otherwise silenced by Kevin Gausman, who delivered seven stellar innings. Boone noted an uptick in Gausman’s fastball and splitter, saying, “We had a couple of chances that we didn’t cash in.”
Rodón bent but did not break in the first four frames, with the Blue Jays twice leaving the bases loaded. That good fortune evaporated in the fifth.
George Springer walked (one of five free passes issued by Rodón), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hammered a single and Bo Bichette belted a two-run double that gave Toronto the lead.
“They strung together some good at-bats,” Rodón said. “They were longer at-bats. I was trying to make pitches. I just wasn’t crisp.”
After the lengthy battle with Schneider, which Rodón called “really impressive,” he induced a Myles Straw grounder that could have ended the inning. But Peraza ranged to his left and rushed the throw, which sailed wide of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
Though Peraza has been typically sure-handed at the hot corner (that marked just his fourth error this season), his offense has been below league average, with 23 hits in 153 at-bats (.150) through 67 games.
“I understand the numbers are not exactly where I want them to be,” Peraza said through an interpreter. “I focus on the work, trust the work and keep doing it every day.”
The Yankees have made little secret of their desire to seek an upgrade at third base before the July 31 Trade Deadline. Earlier Monday, Boone spoke highly of the Diamondbacks’ Eugenio Suárez, calling him “a really good power hitter in this league for a long time.”
“I’m sure he’s going to be talked about by a lot of teams,” Boone said.
The Yanks are also believed to have interest in the Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes, son of former Yankee Charlie Hayes.
“As far as trades and things like that, you have to focus on what you’re doing on a daily basis and focus on the things you can control,” Peraza said.
Volpe’s defensive issues have been an ongoing storyline. His bounced toss after fielding Leo Jiménez’s grounder was the shortstop’s 12th error of the season -- the most among all AL position players.
“It’s a few too many,” Boone said. “I’m not so worried about it. He’s still making a lot of plays, but he hasn’t been as consistent as he wants to be and as consistent as he normally is. Those are plays he expects to make, and that we need him to make.”
An AL Gold Glove Award winner in 2023, Volpe said he has been working with infield coach Travis Chapman to sharpen his fielding.
“Any time you get a ball hit to you, you expect it to be an out,” Volpe said. “When that doesn’t happen, it’s frustrating.”