Yankees 8, Blue Jays 3: Rice, Chisholm, and Grisham Pull Away in the Bronx

Bases loaded in the sixth, then the Bronx pulled away

August 23, 2026 - New York - Jazz Chisholm Jr. bunted for a single that loaded the bases. Two outs later, Trent Grisham walked on a 3-2 slider that stayed low and inside. Then Ben Rice lined another full-count slider to right.

Two runs scored. 5-2 Yankees. The sixth inning that knocked José Soriano out of the game also ended any idea that Saturday's near no-hitter would define the series.

The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 and won for the sixth time in seven games. New York finished with double-digit hits for the third time in five contests after Dylan Cease had no-hit them for 6 2/3 the night before.

Early doubles, then late power

Spencer Jones doubled home a run in the second. Austin Wells added an RBI double in the same inning. 2-0. Toronto answered with sacrifice flies from Brett Bateman and Daz Cameron, and for a stretch the afternoon looked like another tight East scrap.

Soriano (10-7) opened the sixth with three straight singles against him, including Chisholm's bunt. Braydon Fisher got two outs. Grisham's walk and Rice's single flipped the lead for good. Chisholm's two-run homer in the seventh made it 7-2. Grisham went deep in the eighth. New York has now won by at least five runs three times since the All-Star break.

Jones also made a diving catch in right on Alejandro Kirk's sinking liner in the sixth. The glove work mattered as much as the double. Kirk later singled home a run in the eighth. That was Toronto's last noise.

Rodón short, Blackburn got the win

Carlos Rodón worked four innings on a pitch count in his second start off the injured list. Two runs, one earned, two hits, 76 pitches. A George Lombard Jr. error in the fourth kept him on the mound longer than the outing wanted.

Paul Blackburn (5-2) threw two innings for the win. The bullpen held the rest. Soriano allowed five runs and seven hits in five-plus with seven strikeouts and three walks. He had the early outs. He did not have the sixth.

AthX Engine graded New York fourth on the team board

AthX Engine put the Yankees at 16 team fantasy points. That sat behind only Chicago's 39 and the 18s from San Diego and Kansas City. Fantasy points measure Sunday's production. They are not a share-price forecast for Tuesday's Houston series.

What's next

New York hosts Houston with Will Warren. Toronto hosts Kansas City. A five-run win after a near no-hit night is the kind of series split that keeps August from turning into a slide. The East race still has Tampa Bay ahead. Nights like this are how New York stays close enough to matter.

Marketplace

*Sources: ESPN recap, ESPN box score, MLB schedule, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*