Barstool Bush
Predictions

Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees

By Bush StaffUpdated 14h ago·2 min read
Toronto Blue JaysTOR(63-66)
New York YankeesNYY(72-55)
1—3
FINAL
123456789RHE
TOR
000010000190
NYY
02010000—341

Cam Schlittler took a strong track record into Friday's series opener at Yankee Stadium, and Toronto answered with an unconventional plan: Mason Fluharty opened rather than started, part of a bullpen day meant to stretch a rotation that's already down three arms. First pitch went off at 7:05 PM ET under mostly cloudy skies, with the Blue Jays hoping to steal a game on matchups instead of a traditional workhorse.

Show fees
FINAL
Spread
ML
Total
Blue Jays(63-66)
WLWLW
1
Yankees(72-55)
WWWWL
3
Best BetYankees -212
Postgame

Schlittler was exactly what the case needed, working 6 innings and turning it over to a bullpen that's been airtight, while Toronto's bullpen day never found its footing early. Spencer Jones' second-inning blast was the swing that decided it, and the Yankees never trailed. The moneyline cashes clean.

Pregame

New York is the more complete team right now, and Schlittler gives them a real mound presence to lean on. Toronto is trotting out a pitcher it's never trusted with a full turn through the rotation, and that talent gap should show up on the scoreboard. Backing the Yankees here is paying for quality, not just betting the streak.

New York enters this stretch without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger, and Ryan McMahon joined that group this week with a thumb issue — a lineup that's had to lean on names further down the order to keep scoring. Toronto, meanwhile, is still without Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who's working his way back through a rehab assignment, and lost Andres Gimenez to a hamstring issue that kept him out of Friday's lineup. Both clubs are shorthanded walking into this one, just in different ways.

Mason Fluharty
Mason Fluharty
(5-1)·3.66 ERA
Jun 4 @ Braves
ND
1.1IP
0ER
1K
1BB
25P
08/21 Lineup
Cam Schlittler
Cam Schlittler
(11-6)·2.16 ERA
Aug 15 @ Blue Jays
ND
5.1IP
1ER
7K
3BB
97P
08/21 Lineup

None of that stopped New York from doing what it's done for most of August. The Yankees carried a 4-game winning streak into Friday, and this one extended it behind another quality start and a lineup that's found its power in unexpected places.

Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
(63-66)
Aug 20W@ Rays5-1
Aug 19L@ Rays6-7
Aug 18W@ Rays10-5
Aug 16Lvs Yankees3-4
Aug 15Wvs Yankees4-1
New York Yankees
New York Yankees
(72-55)
Aug 20W@ Orioles6-1
Aug 19W@ Orioles5-3
Aug 18W@ Orioles3-1
Aug 16W@ Blue Jays4-3
Aug 15L@ Blue Jays1-4

Toronto wasn't walking in cold, either — the Blue Jays had won their last game before this series, and had taken 2 of 3 from Tampa Bay behind Josh Smith's two-run homer, before Smith himself landed on the 10-day IL. That kind of thin margin for error is the story of Toronto's season: any spark tends to get offset by the next man going down.

Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
(16)
  • Day-To-DayAndres Gimenez (SS) — Gimenez (hamstring) is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Yankees.08/21
  • 7-Day ILVladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B) — Guerrero has cleared concussion protocol and will play a rehab game with Single-A Dunedin on Thursday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.08/20
  • 10-Day-ILJosh Smith (2B) — Smith went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer during the Blue Jays' 10-5 win over the Rays on Tuesday.08/21
  • 10-Day-ILLuis Urias (2B) — The Blue Jays announced Monday that Urias (quadriceps) will be shut down for the next two weeks, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.08/10
  • 10-Day-ILJonatan Clase (LF) — Clase (foot) isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.07/22
  • 15-Day-ILTrey Yesavage (SP) — Yesavage (knee) resumed throwing from flat ground Tuesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.08/18
  • 15-Day-ILJameson Taillon (SP) — Taillon (forearm) resumed a throwing program with some flat-ground work Tuesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.08/18
  • 60-Day-ILJoe Mantiply (RP) — Mantiply (knee) began a rehab assignment with Single-A Dunedin on Wednesday, striking out one in a perfect inning.08/20
  • 60-Day-ILJake Bloss (SP) — The Blue Jays recalled Bloss from Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday and placed him on the 60-day injured list while he recovers from a right teres major strain, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.08/12
  • 60-Day-ILYimi Garcia (RP) — Garcia (elbow/neck/biceps) has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2026 season, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.08/07
  • 60-Day-ILPatrick Corbin (SP) — Toronto transferred Corbin (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.08/05
  • 60-Day-ILAddison Barger (RF) — Barger is expected to be sidelined six months following surgery Monday to repair his right elbow UCL, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/27
  • 60-Day-ILAnthony Santander (RF) — Santander is still dealing with discomfort in his surgically repaired left shoulder and recently received another cortisone shot, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.07/17
  • 60-Day-ILJose Berrios (SP) — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Berrios underwent full Tommy John surgery Wednesday in addition to having a stress fracture repaired, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.05/27
  • 60-Day-ILCody Ponce (SP) — Ponce underwent surgery Friday to repair the ACL in his right knee, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.05/08
  • 60-Day-ILBowden Francis (SP) — The Blue Jays placed Francis (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08
New York Yankees
New York Yankees
(7)
  • 10-Day-ILRyan McMahon (3B) — McMahon (thumb) is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest in Baltimore.08/21
  • 10-Day-ILCody Bellinger (LF) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday on the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast by Jomboy Media that Bellinger (hamstring) could be activated from the 10-day injured list as soon as Sunday.08/19
  • 10-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton (DH) — Manager Aaron Boone said that Stanton (calf) did some baserunning Saturday, but the Yankees remain uncertain when the five-time All-Star will be ready to begin a rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.08/18
  • 15-Day-ILMax Fried (SP) — Fried (elbow) will throw a bullpen session Saturday, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.08/21
  • 15-Day-ILKervin Castro (RP) — The Yankees placed Castro on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Monday, with right elbow neuritis.08/11
  • 60-Day-ILAaron Judge (RF) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that Judge (ribs) will begin a hitting progression this week, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.08/18
  • 60-Day-ILClarke Schmidt (SP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Schmidt (elbow) will be preparing to return from the 60-day injured list as a reliever, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports. "That can always change as the weeks and month unfolds, just depending," Boone said, regarding Schmidt's potential role. "But that's kind of how we're looking at."08/18

The game turned in the second inning, when Spencer Jones — up from the minors and mashing all month — turned on a Spencer Arrighetti cutter and sent it 394 feet to right for a two-run shot that held up on replay review. Jerar Encarnacion added a sacrifice fly for New York's third run, and Alejandro Kirk's single in the fifth was the only dent Toronto could make against Schlittler and the bullpen behind him.

Schlittler worked 6 innings and turned it over to a Yankees bullpen that's been about as reliable as any in the league this month, while Toronto's relief corps — everyone not named Fluharty — actually settled in and threw 3 scoreless innings once the damage was already done. It wasn't enough. New York's fifth straight win keeps the pressure on in the AL East race, and Toronto heads into the rest of the series still searching for saves it can bank.

Sources

MLBToronto Blue JaysNew York YankeesPolymarketKalshiMason FluhartyCam Schlittler