The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 to open their three-game series at Yankee Stadium Friday. With Saturday’s afternoon matinee game, New York will look for its sixth straight win.
Before the game on Saturday, the Yankees announced a decision involving rookie outfielder Spencer Jones, as the team gets ready to face Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease.
Jones is batting fifth, a jump up the order that bumps Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Lombard back a spot and bets that his recent power carries over against one of the American League’s toughest right-handers.
Jones, the Yankees’ first-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2022, was recalled from Triple-A on July 26 for his latest extended big league look. Since then, he is batting .234 with five home runs and 14 RBI, numbers that pushed him from the bottom third of Aaron Boone’s lineup into a run-producing spot behind the top of the order.
| NEW YORK YANKEES STARTING LINEUP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Ryan Weathers (LHP, #40) • 5-7, 3.56 ERA, 140 K | ||||||||
| August 22, 2026 • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY • 1:35 PM EDT • Blue Jays at Yankees | ||||||||
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Trent Grisham | CF | L | 17 | 54 | 8 | .223 | .737 |
| 2 | Ben Rice | DH | L | 34 | 80 | 3 | .249 | .875 |
| 3 | Heliot Ramos | LF | R | 9 | 35 | 4 | .243 | .687 |
| 4 | Luis García Jr. | 1B | L | 25 | 80 | 4 | .278 | .849 |
| 5 | Spencer Jones | RF | L | 7 | 21 | 7 | .229 | .731 |
| 6 | George Lombard Jr. | SS | R | 2 | 5 | 1 | .288 | .768 |
| 7 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 2B | L | 17 | 49 | 33 | .214 | .680 |
| 8 | Austin Wells | C | L | 8 | 17 | 2 | .175 | .560 |
| 9 | José Caballero | 3B | R | 12 | 44 | 30 | .237 | .676 |
| Lineups subject to change. Blue Jays lineup not yet announced. | ||||||||
Spencer Jones’ Power Surge Behind Bump to Fifth
The last week and a half explains the promotion. Over his last seven games, Jones is 8-for-26 with two home runs, three RBI and two stolen bases, a .308 average that has reshaped his season line. He went deep in consecutive games August 20 at Baltimore and August 21 against Toronto, the second time this year he has gone back-to-back.
Jones enters Saturday hitting .229 with seven homers, 21 RBI, seven stolen bases and a .731 OPS in 55 games this season.
“He continues to kind of find his way,” Boone said of Jones, according to The Athletic, pointing to swing adjustments as the driver behind the recent surge.
Jones has faced Dylan Cease exactly twice, going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, according to Stathead, a sample too small to draw any real meaningful conclusions.
Dylan Cease Brings a Lefty Problem for Yankees
Jones bats left-handed, and Cease throws right-handed, the textbook favorable side of the platoon. But Cease has neutralized left-handed hitters all season, holding them to a .162 average and a .269 slugging mark, with a strikeout rate near 37%, according to FanGraphs.
Cease has been one of the American League’s best starters. The Blue Jays top offseason free agent signing carries a 7-5 record, 2.42 ERA and 201 strikeouts across 137 2/3 innings, with a 1.061 WHIP. His last three outings have been dominant, with 18 1/3 combined innings, nine hits, five earned runs and 27 strikeouts including a no-decision against these same Yankees on August 16, when he struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings in a game New York eventually won in extra innings.
The lineup construction reflects the same logic. Boone’s card stacks left-handed bats — Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Luis García Jr., Jones, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells — against the right-hander. Jones lands in the five-hole.
The lefty-heavy group that faced Cease last time is largely intact, with Jones simply climbing past Chisholm Jr. and Lombard. With so little history against Cease on record, the Yankees have little reason to abandon the hot hand.
Yankees Announce Spencer Jones Decision Before Facing Blue Jays Ace Dylan Cease