2 K's, a few laughs in Dellin's dominant return

TORONTO -- Ending an arduous road trip on a losing note wasn’t what the Yankees were looking for on Sunday, but they came away with something that might be better in the long run than a win.

In a 6-4 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, four-time All-Star Dellin Betances made his 2019 debut in convincing fashion, striking out both batters he faced on just eight pitches.

Betances was back on a Major League mound in the fourth inning for the first time since last October, after working back from a right shoulder impingement and right lat strain. He made just three rehab appearances before Sunday, but the Yankees believed he was ready to return to big league action.

They were right.

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Betances sat down Reese McGuire and Brandon Drury with ease, mixing knuckle curves in with a fastball that averaged 94.4 mph.

Fastball velocity has been a hot topic for Betances, since the lanky right-hander is accustomed to pitching in the upper-90s. He sat in the 92-94 range during his rehab outings and has acknowledged that he will need some time to build up his arm strength.

He may also need a quick re-introduction to some of baseball’s fundamental rules.

After freezing Drury on a knuckle curve at the bottom of the zone, Betances gleefully skipped off the mound and headed toward the dugout. There was just one problem -- that was only the second out of the inning.

He quickly realized his mistake and turned around smiling, while signaling the number “two” with his fingers to correct his mistake.

“I knew I only had a couple outs, a couple hitters,” said Betances, as another smile crept onto his face. “That’s why I probably got a little excited out there and kind of ran off prematurely.”

As it turned out, Yankees manager Aaron Boone came out to get him after that second out anyway. Afterward, Boone spoke glowingly about Betances' strengths in addition to his heater.

“It’s his size, his presence out there that create a different angle and a different look,” Boone said. “The slider and curveball are elite pitches. And again, hopefully we continue to see the tick up on the fastball.”

The Yankees returned another pitcher to action on Sunday, but with less success. Jordan Montgomery, coming back from Tommy John surgery that kept him out of the Majors for almost a year and a half, allowed three runs on four hits in two innings.

Three of the hits went for extra bases, including a solo shot by Randal Grichuk, one of his pair of homers on the day. The Blue Jays posted a 96 mph average exit velocity on the eight balls they put in play against Montgomery.

“I was a little nervous,” Montgomery said about making his first Major League appearance since May 2018. “It’s always after that first out that I usually settle in.”

On the bright side, Montgomery struck out two batters and maintained a low-90s fastball velocity, which is his norm.

There was no guarantee that Montgomery, 26, would get back to the Majors this season, so being able to do that with a couple weeks to go is a feat in itself. He’ll likely have another outing or two this month with an opportunity to build momentum for the offseason.

“That’s a long, long road back,” Boone said of Montgomery. “This is a young man and a guy that’s already had success at the big league level. When you have a major injury [and have] all the hard work that goes into getting back, for him to put himself in this position to get out there this final month, a lot of credit goes to Monty.”

The Yankees have a much-deserved day off on Monday, following a stretch of 10 games played in the past 10 days. Their magic number to clinch the American League East remains at four games.