NEW YORK — Three walks and two singles already had southpaw Patrick Sandoval and the Angels in a 2-0 hole when Yankees catcher Jose Trevino stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning on Thursday.
Trevino, off to a quiet start this season, then drove a pitch to the bottom of Yankee Stadium’s left field wall. The two-out rope cleared the bases and capped a five-run first for the Bombers, which paved the way for a 9-3 rubber match win.
The clutch extra-base hit also handed Trevino’s battery mate, Nestor Cortes, an early lead to work with. The lefty fared better than his Angels counterpart, allowing four hits and three earned runs over six innings of work.
Cortes, who owns a 3.09 ERA after four starts, also walked two while tying his season-high for strikeouts with seven.
The Yankees’ bullpen flirted with some trouble after Cortes departed, but the team never lost its lead. DJ LeMahieu added an RBI double in the seventh inning, while Isiah Kiner-Falefa — who also made a few fun plays in center field — followed up with a two-run single.
Oswald Peraza drove in another run in the eighth. The Yankees’ first two runs came on an Anthony Rizzo single and a Peraza walk with the bases loaded. Sandoval settled in after the first, but he only went four innings and issued six walks.
Two of the Angels’ three runs were driven in by Long Island native Logan O’Hoppe, who went 3-for-4 on the day before exiting in the ninth inning with an injury. Taylor Ward plated the Halos’ other run.
With Shohei Ohtani and Los Angeles out of the way, the Yankees will turn their attention to a division rival when they begin a three-game set with the Blue Jays on Friday night. Toronto will throw left-hander Yusei Kikuchi in the opener, while Domingo German will pitch for the Yankees.
German is coming off what was easily his most successful — and controversial — start of the year, as he struck out 11 Twins while allowing one earned run over 6.1 innings on April 15 despite multiple checks for sticky stuff.
Saturday’s game features a matchup between two aces, as Alek Manoah is opposing Gerrit Cole. Cole is off to a sensational start with a 4-0 record, 0.95 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Manoah has struggled in a few starts, however. He brings an ERA just below 7.00 into the American League East showdown.
The Blue Jays have an edge on the mound Sunday, when Kevin Gausman is set to face Clarke Schmidt in the series finale.
