Inside The Pinstripes

Opening Day Live Updates: New York Yankees vs. Blue Jays

The New York Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays on Opening Day. Follow along for live updates and analysis from Yankee Stadium with Gerrit Cole on the mound
Max Goodman|
Opening Day Live Updates: New York Yankees vs. Blue Jays
Opening Day Live Updates: New York Yankees vs. Blue Jays

NEW YORK — Opening Day is special, but Thursday in the Bronx will take those festivities to another level. 

Fans are back in the Bronx for the first time in over a year, set to witness Gerrit Cole and the Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays as both teams kick off the 2021 regular season.

Pregame festivities are schedule to begin around 12:30 p.m. ET with first pitch following shortly after 1:00 p.m. ET.

Before this game—and the regular season—get underway, here are Thursday's starting lineups, scheduled pitchers and some related reading.

New York Yankees

DJ LeMahieu 2B

Aaron Judge RF

Aaron Hicks CF

Giancarlo Stanton DH

Gleyber Torres SS

Gio Urshela 3B

Gary Sánchez C

Jay Bruce 1B

Clint Frazier LF

Gerrit Cole SP

No surprises here. Jay Bruce gets the start at first base for the injured Luke Voit while Clint Frazier takes the field for the first time as New York's full-time starting left fielder. Top to bottom, this group will look to set the tone early, taking on a talented club from Toronto.

Toronto Blue Jays

Semien 2B

Biggio 3B

Bichette SS

Hernández RF

Guerrero Jr. 1B

Gurriel Jr. LF

Tellez DH

Grichuk CF

Jansen C

Ryu SP

New York's righty-heavy lineup will look to take advantage of the matchup with southpaw Hyun Jin Ryu. That said, Ryu has finished second and third in the race a Cy Young Award in each of the last two seasons. He'll look to open the year with a strong start as well.

George Springer isn't available for the Blue Jays since he's starting the season on the injured list with an oblique strain. He was on the field during Wednesday's workout with his teammates, though. 

RELATED READING:

Check back right here as Opening Day gets started in the Bronx (fingers crossed the weather holds up!) for live updates, run-scoring plays, some video, analysis and more. Plus, make sure to follow @MaxTGoodman on Twitter for more as the regular season begins!

LIVE UPDATES

First inning

Talk about setting the tone, Gerrit Cole was magnificent in the first. Needed just 12 pitches to get through a perfect first frame with one strikeout.

Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks both strikeout as New York goes quietly in the bottom half of the first.

Second inning

There goes the shutout for Gerrit Cole. Three hits in a row to start the inning (and an RBI single from Lourdes Gurriel Jr.) gives the Jays a 1-0 lead. Cole settled down and retired the next three batters, however, to get out of the inning.

New York responds with two runs in the bottom of the second, both coming on one swing. Gary Sánchez goes yard in his first at-bat of the season, setting the tone for what could be a bounce back year.

Sixth inning

No runs have come across since the second for either team. Gerrit Cole is coming out to pitch the sixth as Chad Green begins warming in the Yankees' bullpen.

Just like that, this game is tied at two. Teoscar Hernández crushes a no-doubter to deep left field off Cole. After walking the next batter he faced, Aaron Boone pulls the ace. He threw 97 pitches, but won't be in line for the win after the solo shot. 

Chad Green comes in and only needed one pitch to get out of the inning. It's 2-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth.

Ninth inning

After Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a scoreless eighth, Darren O'Day came in and got New York through a scoreless top of the ninth. If New York wins this game, it'll be on a walk-off.

New York came oh so close to winning this game in the ninth, getting a runner to third base with one out in the frame. Mike Tauchman (who came in as a pinch-runner) was mowed down at home plate, attempting to score on a ground ball in the infield. 

We're going to extra innings at Yankee Stadium.

Tenth inning

That was quick. Right-hander Nick Nelson allows a double to right off the bat of Randal Grichuk on the second pitch he threw. With the automatic runner starting at second base in extras, Toronto is able to take a 3-2 lead. 

FINAL: Yankees 2, Blue Jays 3 

Yankees go down quietly in the 10th as New York falls on Opening Day, 3-2. The Yankees left 10 runners on base in the loss, striking out 13 times.

Friday is an off day for New York, but the Yankees will look to even their record and bounce back with a win in Game 2 on Saturday. 

Published
Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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