Blue Jays notebook: It's the Bronx West in Buffalo with Yankees in town

About 2 1/2 hours before the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays in Sahlen Field, the Yankees' social media account tweeted the batting order like it does every day – but with one different notation.

"Let's get BuffaLOUD as we go for the sweep."

Let's get BuffaLOUD as we go for the sweep. #SquadUp pic.twitter.com/ZvPcAqFIJT

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 17, 2021

It's been loud at all kinds of odd times the last three days, as virtually the entire crowd has been rooting for the Yankees in what are Toronto home games. The Yankees always have fans in the house, and big numbers of them in Toronto's Rogers Centre as well as Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Anaheim. But the whole stadium?

"It has been definitely unique," manager Aaron Boone admitted prior to the game. "This is a different setting, being a Triple-A setting, a little different than being in a major league, three-tiered stadium, but you can definitely feel their presence and feel the excitement. I'm sure obviously a lot of upstate and Buffalo and Western New York Yankee fans all came out.

"It's been nice from our standpoint to hear them behind us and to know how excited they are to see us come in. That's been pretty cool to witness."

Slugger Aaron Judge said he was skeptical Tuesday when a couple cameramen told him it might be an 80-20 split in the crowd for the Yankees, a figure they clearly underestimated.

"Then we come out in the first inning and they're doing a (Yankee Stadium bleacher-style) roll call over that hill (in the right-field party deck). That was pretty cool. Even last night when Gary (Sanchez) hit the big two-run pinch homer, I was just looking at the sea of arms, hands and high-fives. It was pretty special."

Of course, it's pretty odd for the Blue Jays. They had roaring crowds here last week against Houston and Miami and will probably have all the support on the next homestand when Baltimore, Seattle and Tampa Bay are here. Not this week. A Toronto rally brings mostly silence. A Yankees strikeout gets the crowd buzzing. 

In the ninth inning Wednesday, the place should have been rocking with the Blue Jays putting runners on second and third against Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. Crickets. And Jays manager Charlie Montoyo got booed pretty lustily when arguing for a call on a foul ball during that rally.

"I'm trying to talk to (the umpires), trying to get a call for the home team and you're getting booed. Funny," Montoyo said. "It's funny how that works. When the game is on the line, normally you have your fans."

Montoyo wasn't complaining. Far from it. The Blue Jays knew to expect this when the Yankees hit Buffalo.

"The first week here, it was really cool the support we had," he said. "But that's what's really good about these kids. They play hard and they don't make excuses. They're like, 'All right, it is what it is and we're gonna deal with it.' But of course, it felt weird."

Pitcher Patrick Murphy arrived on the scene Wednesday after leaving the Bisons behind in Rochester. His bullpen mates told him what Tuesday was like prior to when he made his season debut.

"I was telling guys this is the most fans I probably ever pitched in front of. It was a loud crowd," Murphy said. "A lot of them were Yankees fans, but it was still pretty cool to pitch in front of them. I kind of expected it once I got down to the bullpen. And then to see it, I was like, 'Wow, it's pretty crazy.' "

Springer update

Blue Jays center fielder George Springer went 1 for 4 with an RBI double on his injury rehab assignment to help the Buffalo Bisons to a 5-2 win over the Rochester Red Wings in a matinee Thursday in Frontier Field.

Springer is 2 for 12 in three games for the Bisons, who have won two of them. Christian Colon homered and Nick Allgeyer pitched four innings of relief to get the win for the Bisons (18-17). The teams meet again at 7 p.m. Friday.

Diamond dust

• The Yankees traded first baseman Mike Ford to Tampa Bay for cash considerations. He hit just .133 in the majors, was only 2 for 24 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and had lost his job in New York to Chris Gittens.

• Blue Jays outfielder OF Teoscar Hernández was placed on the paternity list and Jared Hoying was called up from the Bisons. Pitcher T.J. Zeuch also came up from Buffalo/Trenton to start Thursday. Reliever Rafael Dolis, who left Wednesday's game, went on the 10-day IL with a right middle finger strain and reliever CJ Edwards, who left Tuesday, was transferred to the 60-day IL due to an oblique issue.

• The Blue Jays open a five-game road trip Friday in Baltimore and then head to Miami before returning to Sahlen Field to start a four-game set with the Orioles next Thursday. That opens a 10-game homestand that also features three games against Seattle and three against Tampa Bay. The stadium will be sold to 80% of capacity and tickets remain available for all games.