Yankees edge Blue Jays 3-1 on rare miscue by closer Varland

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays were quick to forgive closer Louis Varland’s ninth-inning mistake on Saturday.

With the game tied at 1-1, Varland tossed a 0-1 knuckle curve down the heart of the plate and then watched Paul Goldschmidt sail a two-run shot 400 feet into the left-field seats that sealed a 3-1 win for the New York Yankees (42-27).

Goldschmidt’s ninth round-tripper was the first homer allowed by Varland this season. Until that moment before 42,364 at Rogers Centre, he has been golden since replacing Jeff Hoffman as the Blue Jays’ (34-37) closer in late April.

Varland has gone a perfect 12 for 12 in save opportunities.

“First pitch slider, he misses,” Toronto manager John Schneider said, referring to Goldschmidt’s swinging strike. “(The second pitch) was in the zone, a breaking ball to Goldschmidt, which he can handle.

“I’m not going to second-guess Louis. His stuff’s ridiculous. It was just in the zone, and you want that out of the zone a little bit. The guy has hit as many homers as (Goldschmidt) has in his career, there is a reason.”

Varland’s slip-up wasted one of Kevin Gausman’s best starts in 2026. He threw a season-high 105 pitches, seven innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts and two walks.

The one hit, however, was a fourth-inning homer from Jasson Dominguez after Toronto’s Kazuma Okamoto smacked his team-leading 15th in the bottom of the third inning.

“My first two starts were pretty good, too,” the 35-year-old Gausman said. “I would put this one in the same category.”

Gausman pitched on an extra day’s rest, but credited his strong outing to a change in grip pressure.

The Blue Jays veteran faced the American League’s ERA leader in 25-year-old Cam Schlittler at 1.82. Like Gausman, Schlittler also surrendered a homer to Okamoto.

Schlittler wasn’t as sharp as Gausman, walking a season-high four batters. But he was able to pitch out of jam after jam as the Blue Jays left 10 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the second inning and again in the eighth.

“Cam’s good, you know,” Schneider said. “I thought we did a really good job of generating traffic with the bases loaded, second and third (in the fourth), and just couldn’t get the big hit. I thought we grinded him well.”

Okamoto also hit into a double play with runners on first and second and none out in the fifth.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had the day off. His back tightened up through the series opener on Friday. In his place, rookie Charles McAdoo started at first base. He fouled out in front of the Yankees’ dugout to end the bases-loaded situation.

Schneider considered pinch-hitting Alejandro Kirk for the youngster, but McAdoo hit the ball hard in the fourth inning, and New York second baseman Jazz Chisholm made a diving catch.

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“I think he swung the bat well against a good pitcher today,” Schneider said. “But I think overall you’re just trusting him.”

Another Blue Jays mistake was in the eighth inning when Ernie Clement’s bunt was popped up with runners on first and second and nobody out.

Schneider was hopeful that Guerrero would recover in time to play in the rubber match against the Yankees on Sunday.

“I’m hoping tomorrow (Sunday) will be better,” Schneider said. “He was still sore today. He’s way too valuable to lose, and we’ll know more later tonight.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2026.