Kirk homers twice as Blue Jays end playoff skid by thumping Yankees 10-1 in Game 1 of ALDS

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TORONTO (AP) — Alejandro Kirk and Vladmir Guerrero Jr. powered the Toronto Blue Jays to yet another home win over the New York Yankees, snapping a postseason losing streak that stretched back almost a decade.

Kirk hit two solo home runs, Guerrero also connected and the Blue Jays won a playoff game for the first time since 2016 by thumping the New York Yankees 10-1 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.

Nathan Lukes had two hits, three RBIs and a diving catch, and Andrés Giménez added two hits and drove in a pair as the AL East champion Blue Jays used 14 hits to snap a seven-game postseason skid.

Toronto’s previous playoff win came in Game 4 of the 2016 American League Championship Series against Cleveland. The Blue Jays lost that series in five games.

Toronto was swept out of the wild-card round at Tampa Bay in 2020, at home against Seattle in 2022 and at Minnesota in 2023.

“To win one was nice,” Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman said. “To win one at home in front of our fans that have been awesome all season was really special."

Gausman allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the win.

Guerrero went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. He opened the scoring with a two-out drive in the first inning, the first postseason homer of his career, and added a sacrifice fly in Toronto’s four-run seventh.

“He always kind of raises his game when he plays the Yankees,” Gausman said. “What a night for him.”

Guerrero entered with three hits and one RBI in six previous playoff games.

“There was a little bit of a different feel about Vlad today,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.

Kirk hit a first-pitch homer in the second, his first in the postseason, then added a second shot off Paul Blackburn to begin a four-run eighth. He’s the first Mexican-born player to homer twice in a postseason game.

“It feels amazing to me, but it’s work paying off,” Kirk said through a translator.

Kirk has homered five times in his past three games dating to the final weekend of the regular season.

Toronto won for the seventh time in eight home games against New York this year. The Blue Jays went an AL-best 54-27 at home in the regular season.

The Blue Jays won eight of 13 regular-season meetings with the Yankees overall, giving them the tiebreaker for the AL East title after both teams finished 94-68. That gave Toronto a first-round playoff bye while it awaited the winner of the Wild Card Series between New York and Boston.

Making his third career postseason start, Yankees right-hander Luis Gil allowed two runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year took the loss.

“They were hunting the top of the zone a little bit and, I thought, put a lot of good swings on them,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.

The Yankees didn’t put a runner in scoring position until Anthony Volpe doubled to begin the sixth. Austin Wells singled Volpe to third and Trent Grisham walked to load the bases. Gausman struck out Aaron Judge but walked Cody Bellinger to bring home a run.

After Ben Rice popped out, Louis Varland came on and struck out Giancarlo Stanton, ending the at-bat with a 101 mph fastball.

Luke Weaver didn’t retire any of the three batters he faced in the seventh and has not retired any of the six batters he's faced this postseason.

Guerrero turned an unassisted double play at first base to end the second, diving to snare Ryan McMahon’s liner and beating Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to the bag.

“I’m trying to play the best defense I can for our pitcher to throw the least pitches,” Guerrero said through a translator.

Chisholm was retired by another great play in the fifth when Lukes made a diving catch on a line drive to right field.

Judge went 2 for 4 with a single and a double, making him the only Yankees player to reach base more than once.

Blue Jays rookie RHP Trey Yesavage is expected to start against Yankees LHP Max Fried in Game 2 of the best-of-five series Sunday. Yesavage, who rose through four minor league levels this season, went 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three September starts. Fried, a three-time All-Star, went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in the regular season. He pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against Boston.

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