TORONTO _ Sonny Gray is a mess.
And the most pertinent question facing the Yankees now is the best course of action for getting him back on track, which continues to become more and more difficult to envision.
Friday night brought another train wreck of an outing, one devoid of encouragement. Gray lasted only two innings and allowed five runs in a 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays in front of 37,254 at Rogers Centre.
Gray (5-7) excoriated himself after his previous outing last Saturday against Boston, when he was booed off the mound at the Stadium after allowing six runs in 21/3 innings of an 11-0 loss.
"I feel like we're the best team in baseball four out of five days and ... and then I come out and do that," he said. " ... If I was out there, I probably would have booed me harder."
Friday's outing was his shortest of his season, and he allowed five runs and six hits. Gray, whose ERA ticked upward to 5.85 from 5.44, has allowed at least four earned runs in eight of his 17 starts.
All five runs came in the second inning, which for the Blue Jays was highlighted by Justin Smoak's two-out, three-run homer that made it 5-0.
Right-hander David Hale pitched very well in relief, throwing five scoreless innings before allowing a run in the eighth that made it 6-2. He could be an option should the Yankees choose to skip Gray his next time through the rotation, though Hale also could be in line for a demotion should the Yankees feel the need for a fresh arm in the next few days.
Aaron Hicks hit his 16th homer (ninth in his last 16 games) and had two RBIs for the Yankees, who were unable to take advantage of a chance to get back in the game in the fifth. With one out and a run already in on a bases-loaded walk to Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton got ahead 3-and-0 but swung at two pitches that appeared to be out of the strike zone and then took a called third strike. Didi Gregorius lined out to left field to end the inning.
After retiring the first two Blue Jays to bat in the first inning, Gray allowed two walks and a single but struck out Russell Martin to get out of a 26-pitch inning. He wasn't as fortunate in the second. With the Blue Jays leading 2-0, two outs and a man on first, Yangervis Solarte singled and Smoak hit a three-run homer to give Toronto a 5-0 lead.
Randal Grichuk opened the inning with a double, yanking a 3-and-1 fastball down the left-field line. He went to third on Aledmys Diaz's groundout to second and scored when Devon Travis dumped a broken-bat single to center. Gray then hung a full-count curveball that Curtis Granderson ripped to right for an RBI single that made it 2-0.
Up stepped Smoak, who tattooed a hanging 0-and-1 slider that came in belt-high to right-center for his 12th homer.
The Yankees had missed an opportunity to take a quick lead in the first. Brett Gardner led off with a single and stole second as Aaron Judge struck out. Hicks followed with a sharp grounder that appeared headed for right field, but second baseman Travis made a diving stop to his left and threw him out. Stanton walked to put runners at the corners but Gregorius took a called third strike to end the threat.
