The Yankees placed Schmidt (forearm) on the 15-day injured list Friday. The right-hander was removed from Thursday's start against the Blue Jays due to right forearm tightness, and the Yankees won't wait for the results of Friday's MRI to move him to the injured list.

Everything is going to be just fine, the Yankees keep saying. This is just a little lull that will end soon, they’ve been predicting. Oh, really? The losses still are piling up and the Yankees now are a second-place ballclub.

A year later, the same midsummer four-game series sat on the Blue Jays’ schedule. The same pinstripe jerseys descended on Toronto’s open dome. This year, however, there was no sinking season or lost hope.