By Tiffany Williams –
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees turned a quiet spring afternoon into a batting-practice demolition Wednesday, crushing the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The game blew open in the bottom of the third inning, and the Yankees never looked back.
Trent Grisham started the avalanche, ripping a double to right that scored Jesús Sánchez to make it 1-0. Randal Grichuk followed immediately with another double to left, bringing Grisham home.
Then came the thunder.
Giancarlo Stanton launched a 411-foot missile to left center, a two-run blast that instantly stretched the lead to 4-0 and sent the Yankees dugout into celebration mode.
Toronto finally scratched across a run in the top of the fourth when Jesús Sánchez doubled to right, scoring Nathan Lukes. That made it 4-1.
That was the end of the Blue Jays’ resistance.
Giancarlo Stanton returned in the sixth inning and did it again — another towering shot, this one a 415-foot solo home run to center. Two swings, two homers, and the Yankees were now firmly in control at 5-1.
The seventh inning turned into another nightmare for Toronto pitching.
Jorge Ornelas hammered a 365-foot homer to right center to extend the lead to 6-1. Moments later Zach Short singled to right, bringing home Everson Martinez to make it 7-1.
By the eighth inning, the Yankees were simply piling on.
Luke Gabrielson crushed a 335-foot homer to right field, pushing the score to 8-1 and effectively slamming the door.
At the center of the Yankees’ offensive barrage was Giancarlo Stanton, who finished 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs, delivering the kind of raw power that changes games in seconds.
Randal Grichuk, Trent Grisham, Jorge Ornelas and Luke Gabrielson each added key hits as New York racked up 10 hits and four home runs.
On the mound, Cam Schlittler delivered a sharp performance for New York. The right-hander worked 3.2 innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out six to earn the win.
Kevin Castro followed with 1.1 scoreless innings before Carlos Lagrange slammed the door with four dominant shutout innings, allowing no hits and striking out three to record the save.
The Yankees’ pitching staff combined to allow just four hits while striking out ten.
For Toronto, the outing quickly spiraled out of control.
Eric Lauer took the loss after surrendering four runs in 3.1 innings, including the early Yankees power surge that cracked the game open.
By the time Luke Gabrielson’s eighth-inning homer disappeared into the Florida sky, the message from the Yankees was crystal clear: spring training or not, this lineup can still explode in a hurry.