Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk made postseason history with a two-homer performance, leading the Blue Jays to a 10-1 rout of the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Rogers Centre on Saturday.
Kirk opened the scoring with a solo homer in the second inning, following Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s first-inning solo shot off Yankees starter Luis Gil. He added a second homer in the eighth, continuing his hot streak from the regular season, in which he drove in six runs in the Toronto finale. Kirk has five home runs in his last three games.
With his fourth multi-HR game in the franchise's postseason history, Kirk now stands in elite company with the Blue Jays legends Jose Bautista (2015 ALCS G6), Teoscar Hernandez (2022 ALWCS G2), and Danny Jansen (2020 ALWCS G2), according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Guerrero finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and made a highlight defensive play on a diving backhand snare for an unassisted double play at first base.
Toronto starter Kevin Gausman executed a near-perfect outing, allowing only one run and four hits across 5.2 innings while striking out three and walking two. Gausman kept his cool in a tense sixth inning in which he loaded the bases with no outs but struck out Aaron Judge in eight pitches before walking Cody Bellinger.
Ben Rice popped up for the second out, and reliever Louis Varland struck out Giancarlo Stanton on a 101-mph fastball to end the threat. Gausman retired five of the last six batters he faced after the bases-loaded situation, keeping the Yankees’ powerful lineup mostly in check.
The Blue Jays’ offense erupted in the seventh and eighth innings, scoring four runs in each frame. Nathan Lukes hit a two-run double, Andres Gimrnez drove in a run with a single, and Guerrero added a sacrifice fly. In the eighth, Kirk homered again, followed by an RBI double from Gimenez, an Ernie Clement sacrifice fly, and a Lukes RBI single. Toronto finished with 14 hits compared to New York’s six, improving their season mark to 72-4 when scoring at least five runs.
Yankees starter Luis Gil struggled, lasting only 2.2 innings while giving up two early home runs and four hits. Relievers Luke Weaver, Fernando Cruz, and Paul Blackburn allowed seven runs over the final two innings. New York, the second-best road team in MLB this year, fell to 1-7 at Rogers Centre, failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider employed a strategic pitching plan after leaving Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt off the ALDS roster, starting Kevin Gausman in Game 1 and planning to use Shane Bieber in Game 3, while relying on a versatile bullpen to handle high-leverage matchups against left-handed sluggers like Judge and Stanton. The approach paid off, as the team not only broke a seven-game playoff losing streak but also forced the Yankees to use five relievers.
