Cole takes added pride in shutting out Jays amid their playoff hunt

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays' offence has gone quiet at the worst possible time.

The Blue Jays have been blanked in two straight games by the already-eliminated Yankees, with New York ace Gerrit Cole taking extra pride in shutting down the Blue Jays Wednesday.

“Knowing that this is back-to-back outings against a club that’s fighting for a playoff position and obviously a formidable offence with a lot of All-Stars, I wasn’t going to come in here and not be on it,” Cole said.

Cole allowed one run and two hits in eight innings of work against the Blue Jays in a 5-3 win last week. 

After back-to-back shutout losses, the team will try to finally put some runs on the scoreboard and move closer to securing a playoff spot tonight against New York.

Chris Bassitt (15-8) is scheduled to start for Toronto in the finale of the three-game series at Rogers Centre. The Yankees will counter with Luke Weaver (3-5).

Toronto still controls its post-season fate with four games left in the regular season. The Blue Jays hold the second of three American League wild-card spots.

Toronto is just a half a game ahead of the Houston Astros and two games ahead of the Seattle Mariners.

The Blue Jays, who were swept in the wild-card round last year, will cap their regular-season schedule with a weekend series against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

Toronto's last playoff victory came in 2016 when the Blue Jays reached the AL Championship Series for a second straight year.

Toronto won the World Series in 1992 and 1993.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2023.