The Toronto Blue Jays are heading to the American League Championship Series.
Toronto completed a 3-1 series win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday, taking a 5-2 victory in Game 4 on the road.
Using a bullpen game, the Blue Jays silenced New York’s lineup with eight different pitchers, as the Yankees’ lone run came on Ryan McMahon’s solo homer in the third inning.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continued his big series in the win, opening the scoring with an RBI single in the first.
The big swing for the Blue Jays came in the seventh, when Nathan Lukes stepped to the plate with two on and two outs against Yankees reliever Devin Williams. Toronto’s left-fielder lined a 1-0 fastball into left field, bringing both runs in to score for a 4-1 lead.
Both runs were unearned after Jazz Chisholm Jr. booted a ground ball earlier in the inning.
Myles Straw added on some insurance in the eighth inning, when he poked a two-strike single to right field, scoring Alejandro Kirk.
Louis Varland, who got the start for the bullpen game, worked 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out two.
Jeff Hoffman earned a four-out save, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth before finishing the job in the ninth.
It marks the first time that the Blue Jays have won a post-season series since 2016, when they advanced to the ALCS. They will await the winner of the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers, who will play a winner-take-all Game 5 on Friday.
As the top seed in the American League, Toronto will host Games 1 and 2 of the series, with the first game set to take place on Sunday.
More to come.
