The Yankees’ first win Sunday was all about patience.

Their second victory was a mix of pitching and power.

The Yankees (17-11) flexed their versatility in a doubleheader sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays (13-15) in the Bronx, giving them a series victory over their American League East rival.

They won the first game, 11-2, on the strength of a six-run third inning in which the Yankees grinded out five walks against Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman.

Gausman labored through 53 pitches during that high-stress inning and at one point issued three consecutive walks with two outs.

The final two walks — to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe — came with the bases loaded, forcing in a pair of runs that put the Yankees up, 3-1.

Austin Wells then broke the game open with a three-run double on Gausman’s 53rd pitch of the inning — and the ninth of that at-bat — to put the Yankees up, 6-1.

“It’s just the momentum and the confidence,” Wells said. “Guys are taking close pitches, taking really good swings. Whether they’re just missing or not, it still gives you confidence.”

Wells fouled off four two-strike pitches before he lined a 3-2 fastball off the wall in right-center. His at-bat was one of six in the inning to last at least six pitches.

“Just a number of really, really good, disciplined at-bats,” manager Aaron Boone said. “If you start chasing Gausman at all with the split [fastball] and stuff, he’s too good. You’ve got to be disciplined, and that inning was phenomenal.”

Gausman exited after Wells’ double, then punctuated his disastrous day by shouting at home-plate umpire Chris Conroy from the dugout, leading to his ejection. The Yankees added a sixth walk in the inning when reliever Paxton Schultz issued a free pass to Jasson Domínguez.

Volpe tacked on another run in the fifth when he struck an opposite-field solo shot against Schultz.

The homer — Volpe’s fifth of the season and first since April 2 — came on a high fastball, a pitch that gave him trouble in recent series against the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians.

That was more than enough support for Yankees ace Max Fried, who held Toronto to one run on six hits in six innings.

Pitching for the first time in a week, Fried shook off some early command issues — which contributed to four hits, two walks and a run through two innings — to retire his final nine batters.

“You’re not going to feel your best every time that you take the ball,” Fried said. “The most important thing for me is to be able to give us a chance to win. Keeping it close, knowing that these guys are grinding and that they’re a really good lineup, and at any time, they can put up five or six runs in an inning.”

Fried improved to 5-0 with 1.43 ERA and has won each of his last five starts.

SCHMIDT STARS

The Yankees’ received another stellar start in Sunday’s nightcap.

Clarke Schmidt delivered his best performance of the young season in the Yankees’ 5-1 win in game two, limiting Toronto to one run on one hit over five innings.

Schmidt leaned on his cutter, sweeper and knuckle curve to strike out six and elicit a season-best 14 swings and misses. Seven of those whiffs came against the knuckle curve.

He worked around four walks over a season-high 90 pitches to collect a no-decision.

It was a positive step for Schmidt, who missed the first three weeks of the season with right rotator cuff tendinitis and entered Sunday with a 7.45 ERA through two starts.

The Yankees spotted Schmidt an early lead when Trent Grisham struck a leadoff home run against Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt. The solo shot was Grisham’s seventh of the year, briefly tying him with Aaron Judge and Chisholm for the team lead.

Toronto tied the game, 1-1, in the third when Anthony Santander clubbed a solo home run on a sinker that Schmidt left up the zone.

But Judge broke the tie — and reclaimed the team lead in homers — in the sixth inning when he lined a solo shot against Bassitt.

Judge, who turned 33 on Saturday, went 2-for-8 with a walk in Sunday’s doubleheader and leads MLB hitters with a .406 average.

The Yankees tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning on Jasson Domínguez’s RBI double and J.C. Escarra‘s run-scoring single to go up, 4-1.

Escarra added a solo home run in the ninth — the first homer of the rookie catcher’s career — to cap the scoring.

The Yankees received four shutout innings from their bullpen, with Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., Fernando Cruz and Luke Weaver each firing one frame apiece.

It had been a save situation when Weaver began warming up.

Before Sunday’s games, Boone announced he was removing Devin Williams from the closer role as the right-hander works through his early-season struggles. Williams blew a save in Friday’s 4-2 loss to Toronto and fell to 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA.

Saturday’s game was rained out, prompting Sunday’s single-admission doubleheader.

Next up for the Yankees is a three-game series in Baltimore, where they are set to face the last-place Orioles. Baltimore finished second in the division after a back-and-forth battle with the Yankees last season but are off to a surprising 10-17 start this year.

Will Warren (1-0, 4.79 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night’s series opener for the Yankees, while Tomoyuki Sugano (2-1, 3.54) is set to pitch for Baltimore.

Originally Published: April 27, 2025 at 4:55 PM EDT