TORONTO — As the Yankees held their breath again on Juan Soto, they put together another uninspiring performance without him Saturday afternoon.
A night after scoring a season-high 16 runs, with Soto playing a starring role, the Yankees fell back to earth with a 9-3 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre while their right fielder underwent X-rays that were negative on his bruised right hand.
Soto, a late scratch from the lineup, returned to the dugout around midgame, but only could watch as the Yankees (53-32) were held in check by Chris Bassitt — even after being drilled on the forearm by Aaron Judge’s 101.6 mph line drive in the first inning — and the Blue Jays bullpen.
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“Just ballsy by [Bassitt] going out there and competing the way he did,” said Nestor Cortes, who was not as sharp while giving up three runs across 4 ¹/₃ inefficient innings.
Cortes left the game with the Yankees trailing, 3-1, before the Blue Jays (38-44) broke it open in the sixth inning against the bullpen.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3-for-5, six RBIs) was responsible for most of the damage while Isiah Kiner-Falefa (4-for-5, three runs) peppered his former team as the Yankees got smacked around again.
They had not allowed more than eight runs in any of their first 65 games but have done so seven times in their last 20 games, including four of their last five.
“They’re swinging hot bats right now, but I gotta do a better job of coming out in the first and putting pressure on,” Cortes said. “I feel like I could have picked up the intensity a little more. Just going out there a little flat, didn’t have my best stuff today. I felt like I could have done a better job of putting more intensity into it and having more sense of urgency.”
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Bassitt held the Yankees to just one unearned run across six innings before Austin Wells ripped a two-run home run in the ninth off reliever Jose Cuas.
The Yankees, who lost for the 10th time in their last 13 games, will try to earn a split of the four-game series Sunday to avoid dropping their fifth straight series.
For the 10th straight game, the Yankees fell behind first.
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They had a chance to score in the top of the first, which included Judge’s line drive that left Bassitt with a sizable welt on his right forearm.
But Ben Rice — batting second for Soto — was thrown out at third on a double-steal attempt with Gleyber Torres at the plate to end the inning.
In the bottom of the frame, Guerrero took Cortes deep for a two-run shot, his third home run in as many games this series.
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Rice doubled with two outs in the third inning — the first extra-base hit of his big-league career — but the Blue Jays responded by intentionally walking Judge.
The plan worked to perfection as Bassitt got Alex Verdugo to pop out to end the threat, stranding two of the six runners the Yankees left on base Saturday while going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
“At-bat-wise, we gave ourselves a chance tonight,” manager Aaron Boone said. “This wasn’t a shutdown. … Bassitt’s good on the fly of making a pitch when he needs to and he beat us in that regard today where we weren’t able to really break through.”
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The Yankees received another brief scare in the top of the fifth when Anthony Volpe was shaken up after jamming his right foot on first base trying to leg out a ground ball.
The throw was high, allowing Volpe to reach safely, and after being tended to by Boone and a trainer, he remained in the game.
“I think he’s fine,” Boone said.
Volpe eventually came around to score on Judge’s single up the middle that made it 3-1.
But that was as close as the Yankees got before the Blue Jays iced the game in the sixth, loading the bases off Phil Bickford before Guerrero cleared them with a three-run double off Caleb Ferguson to make it 8-1.
“When [Guerrero] is rolling, he’s one of the top hitters in the league,” Cortes said. “Just gotta do a better job of containing him.”
