Front Desk
DETROIT—The last time the Blue Jays were at Yankee Stadium, they doused each other with champagne to celebrate winning the American League division series.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made national headlines south of the border when he joined Hall of Famer David Ortiz on the Fox broadcast in shouting “Daaaaaaaaaa Yankees lose!” over and over, mocking the famous call made by now-deceased Yankees radio legend John Sterling after New York victories.
The Jays went on to defeat the Seattle Mariners in a thrilling American League championship series, capped by George Springer’s iconic Game 7 home run before falling in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in what may well have been the greatest World Series ever played.
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On Monday, the Jays will pay their first visit to the Bronx since October, scuffling along at 21-25 albeit with three wins in their last four games. The Yankees have had no such issues: 28-19, second in the American League East and 6 1/2 games ahead of the Jays.
The Jays insist October won’t be a factor in this series.
“It’s in the past,” Guerrero said after Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. “As a team, we’re very focused to go to New York and just try to win the series. That’s all we have in mind right now.”
Teammate Andrés Giménez agreed.
“It’s one more series,” said Giménez, who filled in for the injured Bo Bichette back then and is now the full-time shortstop. “What happened last year happened last year. We’re focused on this year.”
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Skipper John Schneider provided some R-rated bulletin-board material while celebrating that playoff win, but acknowledged that “going back there will be nice” before the platitudes came.
“They’re playing really well there,” said Schneider. “They’re having a good season, they’re a good team. I feel like we bring the best out of each other a little bit. Guys like playing there and it should be an eventful series.”
One of the younger Jays didn’t get the “past is the past” memo.
Mason Fluharty, who pitched in both division series games in the Bronx and allowed just one hit over three appearances in the series, can’t wait to get to Yankee Stadium.
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“It’s super exciting to go back to New York,” said the 24-year-old left-hander. “I think the atmosphere there is going to be electric. The fans are going to be way into it because they know what happened the last time they played us and they’re going to let us know.”
Fluharty asked a trainer what hotel the team would be staying at, and was told the same one as in the playoffs. But the reliever couldn’t remember where they had stayed.
“It’s because the playoffs are such a dream,” he said. “It was such a blur. The whole thing was a blur.”
Including the post-season, the Jays went 11-6 against the Yankees last year. Monday’s opener will be a battle of lefties with Patrick Corbin starting for the Jays and Ryan Weathers (whose father David played for the Jays and Yankees in the 1990s) taking the ball for the home side.
