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TORONTO — Woe, Canada.
In front of a sold-out Canada Day crowd waiting to erupt at Rogers Centre, the Yankees served as fodder with a second straight late-game implosion on Tuesday.
This one came in a five-run seventh inning and again included a critical catcher’s interference, with George Springer delivering the decisive blow on a grand slam off Luke Weaver as the Yankees got walloped by the Blue Jays 12-5 in a holiday matinee.
Springer, who homered twice on the day and finished with seven RBIs, may never have to pay for Tim Horton’s the rest of his career.
With the win, the Blue Jays (47-38) inched within one game of the Yankees (48-37), who lost for the 12th time in their past 18 games, while the Rays had a chance to move within a half-game when they played on Tuesday night.
After a sloppy, four-run bottom of the sixth cost the Yankees on Monday night, the Blue Jays returned the favor on Tuesday with a pair of errors in the top of the seventh that tied the game at 4-4.
But Mark Leiter Jr., who took the loss on Monday (though he received little help behind him), relieved Max Fried (at 99 pitches) in the bottom of the seventh and put a pair of runners on with one out.
Aaron Boone got aggressive and called in Luke Weaver, who appeared to get pinch hitter Addison Barger looking at Strike 3 on a full count. But Barger contested that he hit catcher J.C. Escarra’s glove on his check swing, so the Blue Jays challenged, with replay review confirming Escarra’s second catcher’s interference in as many days, both times loading the bases.
This time, it was followed by Ernie Clement roping a ground ball into the shortstop hole, past the dive of Anthony Volpe, to put the Blue Jays up 5-4.
The roof was open on Tuesday, but if it had been closed, Springer would have popped it off as he came up next and crushed a grand slam that blew the game open, 9-4.
It marked Springer’s second home run of the day, the first coming in the fourth inning off Fried, which was the Blue Jays’ first hit of the day and cut the Yankees lead to 2-1.
Two outs later, Davis Schneider hit a weak chopper to third base that Jazz Chisholm Jr. did not play overly aggressive. He had to wait for a hop and then did not unleash his strongest throw, allowing Schneider to reach on an infield single.
That ended up proving costly. Fried walked the next batter, Myles Straw, on five pitches and then Andrés Giménez got just enough of a sinker down the middle to sneak a three-run homer over the fence in center field for the 4-2 lead.
It marked only the second time this season (in 18 starts) that Fried has given up two home runs in a game, never mind the same inning.
Jasson Domínguez had put the Yankees up 2-0 in the top of the first inning on a two-run single off Kevin Gausman.
The Yankees had more chances to get to Gausman after that — including runners on first and second with one out in the third inning and first and second with no outs in the fifth — but could not convert.
Both times, Giancarlo Stanton struck out in big spots as the DH has yet to take off since returning from the IL.
The Blue Jays helped the Yankees tie it in the top of the seventh. Stanton hit a tailor-made double play ball, but Clement whiffed on it at third base, allowing one run to score.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then botched Domínguez’s chopper, which tied the game 4-4.
