Yankees have a duty to bury Blue Jays and Friday's loss was everything that is wrong

They said the expanded playoff field would be fun. Fans somewhat agreed. But here we are in 2026 and there are SIX sub-.500 teams contending for the final spot in the postseason in the American League. It is Aug. 15. Most of those teams should be dead in the water, one of whom is the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Yankees lost the series opener at the Rogers Centre on Friday night in disappointing fashion (which honestly feels like all of their losses this year with how all of their games transpire). The Jays just took three out of four from the Red Sox and then had Shane Bieber erroneously out-duel Gerrit Cole.

The win over New York brought the Blue Jays to 60-64. Again, most teams with that record should have next to no chance at October, but that has Toronto just one game out. Now, more than ever, it's the Yankees' job to kick them further down the ladder.

Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman are surely sick of hearing how their team doesn't step up against division opponents and how they can't bury a team on its last breath. Well, now's the time to chip away at that narrative.

Yankees can't let Blue Jays improve their AL playoff standing

The Jays have less talent and more injuries. Their best player (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) might as well be on the IL like Aaron Judge. He's pretty much been a non-factor. The Yankees can't be making multiple errors and logging only five hits and one walk against a starting pitcher whose ERA is above 5.00. Enough is enough. The Blue Jays are not a team 15 games above .500 that completely outmatches them. Toronto is going with a bullpen game against Cam Schlittler on Saturday. Win that, put the pressure on Dylan Cease to beat Ryan Weathers on Sunday, and the Yankees could gain the advantage.

We can't ignore how poor of a start this was to kick off the series, though. The Yankees were leading 1-0 in the sixth as Trent Grisham continued his torrid run. He hit a solo shot to break the tie as Cole was cruising on the mound.

Then, with runners on first and second and one out in the bottom half of the frame, Cole induced a double-play ball. Ryan McMahon fielded it, stepped on third, and threw a tough one-hopper to first baseman Luis García Jr., who couldn't handle it. Ok, that's fine, just let Cole handle the final batter with the Yankees still leading.

Except García Jr. thought it'd be a brilliant idea to throw a 100 MPH dart across the diamond with nobody at third. The ball rocketed into left field, the trailing runner came around to score (after a wild collision), and the game was tied. In classic fashion, Cole then surrendered the game-sealing RBI double to Alejandro Kirk in the next at-bat. The Blue Jays won 3-1 after Kirk added an insurance solo homer in the eighth.

Not to mention, the umpires were baiting Aaron Boone in this one, which led to the manager's ejection after the Yankees took the lead in the top of the sixth. This was never going to be easy. It was never going to be a smooth-sailing mission. But it's about time the Yankees prove they're better and more disciplined instead of leaving the game up for grabs, unraveling the moment they gain some momentum, and falling victim to try-hard behavior from the umpires.

Yankees Twitter will tell you it was the "softest" ejection you'll ever see, and they're probably right. Now is not the time to let the moment overtake you or let the little things throw you off course.

Believe it or not, the Yankees are a comeback team this year. One of the best in the league. Couldn't think of a better way to drive that point home than winning the next two, dropping the Jays to 60-66, and putting their backs against the wall for another three-game set at Yankee Stadium next week.

Time to be done with this clown team, who couldn't shut the door on the Dodgers in the World Series and now have no business being in the 2026 playoffs.

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