Trey Yesavage carved up the Yankees lineup Wednesday night, and that included making Aaron Judge look ordinary at the plate.
The Blue Jays right-hander struck out the 6-foot-7 superstar three times as part of a dominant performance in Toronto’s 2-1 win over New York.
Yesavage was locked in from the first pitch. Six shutout innings, two hits allowed, eight strikeouts. He lowered his season ERA to a microscopic 1.07.
But when reporters asked about shutting down Judge three times, Yesavage wasn’t about to start celebrating.
“He’s a good player. I try to strike out everybody. I guess it’s an accomplishment to strike him out three times, but I try to do that to everybody.”
That’s about as confident as you can sound without actually sounding confident. Yesavage acknowledged Judge’s talent but made it clear he’s not intimidated by anyone stepping into the box.
The thing is, he’s got the stuff to back up that attitude. Almost no one’s touching him right now.
Yesavage missed the start of the season recovering from injury, but he hasn’t missed a beat since returning to Toronto’s rotation. The Blue Jays are still dealing with a bunch of injuries that are hurting their playoff chances, but at least Yesavage is doing everything he can to keep them competitive.
Even if the young pitcher won’t make a big deal about it, striking out Judge three times in one game is the kind of performance that announces you’ve arrived. That’s especially true when you’re doing it as part of a gem like Wednesday night’s outing.
The way I see it, Yesavage’s approach is exactly right. Treat every hitter the same, attack the zone, and let your stuff do the talking. So far, it’s working pretty well for him.
