'Bad News Bears' ball not the Yankees' brand

Catch the Yankees at the right moment during this unpredictable season and you may glimpse the building blocks of an October juggernaut, one engineered to hit, pitch and field with excellence. Wednesday was not one of those nights.

The Yankees produced one of their sloppiest performances of the 60-game sprint, committing four errors and enduring a nightmarish eight-run inning in a 14-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y.

• Box score

“That was not Yankee baseball at all,” said first baseman Luke Voit. “Everything was bad tonight. It’s almost like we were the Bad News Bears.”

It was a drubbing that came as the Yankees (32-24) officially conceded the American League East to the Rays (37-20), nixing one of their primary goals. Their pursuit of the No. 4 playoff seed is alive, though they trail the White Sox (34-22) by two games with four games remaining.

“The goal at the end of the year is to win the championship, and I guess the division as well,” said outfielder Clint Frazier. “We didn’t accomplish that, but we still have the ability to accomplish the other one.”

Thursday marks the Yankees’ final regular-season game on the road, and they will not wax nostalgic for Sahlen Field. New York has lost four of the six games played at the Jays’ temporary home, permitting 11 or more runs in three of those losses.

“I don’t think that necessarily had anything to do with Buffalo,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re a better team than we showed out there tonight. We’ve got to move past this one and understand we’ve got another important one tomorrow. But we need to play better than that.”

Gary Sánchez committed two errors, making an errant throw to third base and committing a catcher’s interference that sparked the eight-run sixth inning. Gleyber Torres and Voit also flubbed plays that led to runs: Torres booted a third-inning grounder and Voit whiffed on a fourth-inning pickoff throw.

“We need to be better, myself included,” Voit said. “But I’m not worried about this team at all. It’s one of those games you’ve just got to throw out the window and put in the rearview mirror.”

The Yankees finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, their only run coming home on a passed ball, the result of a second-inning cross-up between starter Robbie Ray and catcher Danny Jansen.

New York’s most glaring opportunity came in the fifth, when they loaded the bases with no outs against Ray and right-hander A.J. Cole. Giancarlo Stanton fanned, Voit popped out and Torres skied to right.

“Cole made some good pitches to wiggle out of an inning where we had a chance to get back into it,” Boone said.

Making his final tune-up before the playoffs, right-hander Masahiro Tanaka was knocked for five runs (three earned) and eight hits over four innings, including Jansen’s first homer of the game. Tanaka concluded the regular season with a 3-3 record and 3.56 ERA in 10 starts.

Tanaka said that he experienced heightened emotions during his warmups, recognizing that it could be his final regular-season outing with the club. Tanaka’s seven-year, $155 million pact is set to expire after this season.

“It was a tough season, to say the least,” Tanaka said through a translator. “It was a short season with the pandemic, and for me, this was the last season of my seven-year contract with the Yankees. It’s kind of frustrating to have to end the last regular season this way.”

Luis Cessa and Tyler Lyons were each charged with four runs in the sixth inning, as Toronto sent 12 men to the plate. Jansen mashed his second homer in the eighth off backup catcher Erik Kratz, who showcased his knuckleball for the second time in four games.

“We need to lock it in,” Voit said. “We’ve got four games to get locked and loaded for whoever we’re playing next Tuesday.”