Yanks hold out hope, but playoff chances take another hit

NEW YORK – The schedule-makers likely envisioned Yankee Stadium as the setting for what could have been a taut September showdown between two clubs with no love lost for each other. But the Yankees’ sluggish summer altered those plans, and as they opened their final homestand of the regular season, their long-shot playoff chances have grown even more faint.

Clarke Schmidt saw his fifth pitch of the evening belted over the right-field wall in a contest the Yankees never led, handed a 7-1 defeat by the Blue Jays on Tuesday evening in the Bronx.

“We’re still in it, so I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re done,” Schmidt said. “Obviously, throughout the course of the year, execution, we fell short. We didn’t do what we set out to do, getting the job done, whether that was pitching or at the plate.”

These games have heavy postseason implications for Toronto, which began the night one game ahead of the Mariners and the Rangers for the second American League Wild Card. The Yankees (76-75) are still mathematically alive for the last Wild Card spot, though their Fangraphs odds of qualifying for the playoffs stood at 0.3% entering play on Tuesday.

“There were a lot of expectations, and that’s what comes with being a New York Yankee,” Schmidt said. “That’s what we all welcome. We’ve got to do a better job of executing and getting the job done early on in the season. Letting some of those games slip away, it’s a long season, but every game matters and that ultimately catches up to you.”

Facing Schmidt in the first inning, George Springer parked a 3-1 cutter into the right-field seats, celebrating his 34th birthday with the 57th leadoff homer of his career. Bo Bichette later added a two-run homer off Schmidt, who permitted four runs and four hits in five frames, bringing his season total to a career-high 151 innings pitched.

Schmidt tossed just 90 2/3 innings last season between the Majors and Minors, and it is possible that his performance is showing signs of fatigue. In 12 starts since the All-Star break, Schmidt has pitched to a 5.00 ERA.

“I think he’s in a good spot,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ll continue to pay attention to [the workload] and see where he’s at; see how he’s bouncing back and recovering. But I feel like he’s in a good spot in that regard.”

Gleyber Torres doubled home Aaron Judge in the first inning, accounting for the Yankees’ only run off Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi, who worked five-plus innings before exiting with a cramp in his left upper trapezius muscle.

“We didn’t have too many opportunities with guys on in scoring position,” Torres said.

The Yanks’ bats were otherwise quiet, including another frustrating night for designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who struck out twice and grounded into a pair of inning-ending double plays.

“It’s been a struggle,” Boone said. “He’s been having a hard time getting on one of those really hot grooves where he goes a month at a time and gets hot.”

Stanton is hitting .190 with 24 homers, and perhaps out of fear of injury, he appears unable to run at anything close to resembling top speed. His 24.4 feet/second sprint speed on the game-ending double play, for example, was below the Major League average of 27.

Asked if Stanton’s speed could improve with an offseason of rest, Boone responded: “We’ll see. We’ve got to look into it and try to get him in the best possible situation in the offseason and heading into Spring Training.”

Alejandro Kirk hit a late two-run homer off Zach McAllister as the Yankees took just their seventh loss in 21 games since the start of play on Aug. 28 -- a run that likely arrived too late to change the outcome of their season.

Torres understands that, but he also believes these last 11 games on the regular-season schedule should also carry meaning for next year.

“Since '18, we always made the playoffs. We always play really well,” Torres said. “This year, we’ve got to figure out a way to get better. Don’t put all the pressure on just one guy. Don’t say we didn’t win because we have too many guys on the injured list. Don’t [make] excuses. We just have to try to figure it out for the next [11] games, and if we don’t make anything special, we have to figure it out for next year.”