Caleb Gindl singled home the game's only run and Daniel Norris hurled 3 1/3 shutout innings Saturday as the split-squad Yankees fell to the Blue Jays, 1-0, in a pitching-dominated matinee in Dunedin.
Rogers Makes Strong Case for Starting Job: Yankees rotation candidate Esmil Rogers kept the Blue Jays off the board for three frames, striking out three while allowing four hits. He never managed to retire the Jays in order, but thanks to an outfield assist by Brett Gardner in the first, it didn't ultimately matter.
A-Rod's First Road Game: Alex Rodriguez's first appearance away from Steinbrenner Field went nicely -- with Rodriguez fielding two balls on defense and going 1-for-3 in 5 1/2 innings of play. His hit was a long single off the right-field wall in the top of the fourth -- an offensive turn in which the Yankees would eventually strand the bases loaded.
Martin Gets Out of Trouble: Yankees bullpen candiate Chris Martin surrendered a double to Dayan Viciedo in the Blue Jays' half of the fourth, but was otherwise solid in an inning of work. Martin struck out two and induced a Dalton Pompey groundout to leave Viciedo at second -- helping him rebound from a rough last outing against the Red Sox.
Gindl Breaks Scoreless Tie: The Yankees' pitchers refused to give up anything through the first five innings, but the weight of Toronto's numerous threats finally got to them in the bottom of the sixth. Indeed, the aforementioned Gindl drove in the Blue Jays' lone run with a single off Tyler Webb in that at-bat, a fly ball to center that plated Steve Tolleson from second.
Yankees' Late Rally Falls Short: After Eric Jagielo got hit by a pitch and Blue Jays catcher Josh Thole let a ball get passed him, the Yankees had the tying run at second with nobody out in the top of the ninth -- a seemingly-ideal situation to even it up. Following a pair of unproductive outs, however, they were put in a hit-or-lose situation, and once pinch runner Tyler Wade was easily thrown out at home trying to score on a bobbled grounder, their comeback attempt was officially failed.
Next Up: The Yankees will head back to Tampa Sunday for a 1:05 p.m. ET meeting with the Phillies -- airing only on WFAN radio. Nathan Eovaldi will get the nod for New York opposite Philadelphia's Sean O'Sullivan -- Eovaldi's first start since the Yanks' home opener March 4.