1660895715 Frankie Montas flops as the Yankees fall to the Blue

Frankie Montas flops as the Yankees fall to the Blue Jays

So much for momentum.

If the Yankees’ dramatic extra-inning win over the Rays on Wednesday was any spark, another hard pitching performance from Frankie Montas promptly threw cold water on Thursday.

Montas was marked for six runs over six innings — including a five-run second inning — as the Yankees fell flat in a 9-2 loss to the Blue Jays to open a four-game streak in the Bronx.

The offense, which 24 hours earlier had shown signs of breaking out of its recent spark, wasn’t much help either, as Jose Berrios kept the Yankees at bay for 6 ²/₃ innings. The Yankees went 1-for-10 with runners in goal position, leaving eight men on base.

Pitching Coach Matt Blake talks to Frankie Montas during the second inning of the Yankees' 9-2 loss to the Blue Jays.Pitching Coach Matt Blake talks to Frankie Montas during the second inning of the Yankees’ 9-2 loss to the Blue Jays.NY Post: Charles Wenzelberg

With their 13th loss in their last 17 games, the Yankees (73-46) saw their lead over the AL East drop to nine games ahead of the Blue Jays (63-54) and Rays.

“The point here is that we play well – if we play well, it comes naturally,” said manager Aaron Boone. “Obviously we haven’t played well enough in the last 10 days. So I think it’s more of a rough phase where we don’t play well. We have to play better. I don’t sit and think about this lead. It’s about us doing our business.”

During the Yankees’ recent offensive malaise, their starting pitching had been quietly strong — with a 3.07 ERA allowing three runs or fewer in each of the last nine games leading up to Thursday. That all changed Thursday, however, when Montas struggled early on his debut at Yankee Stadium, putting his team in the hole 5-0 in the second inning.

In three starts since joining the Yankees from track at close, Montas has given up 14 earned runs with 18 hits and six walks over 14 innings.

“I want to go out there and do my best,” said Montas. “It’s not my best.”

Blue Jays leadoff man George Springer was a thorn in the side of the Yankees as he went 5-on-5 with two runs and an RBI.

“He was in a different world tonight,” Montas said.

Montas bypassed Springer’s leadoff double in the first inning but ran into trouble in the second. Teoscar Hernandez hit a single and Matt Chapman doubled before Santiago Espinal hit a fielder choice that gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.

With two outs, Montas made his costliest mistakes when he walked No. 9 hitter Whit Merrifield in four places. The line-up then switched to Springer, who hit a bloop single in midfield to make it 2-0.

A dejected Aaron Judge walks to the dugout after slamming the Yankees' loss in the seventh inning.A dejected Aaron Judge walks to the dugout after slamming the Yankees’ loss in the seventh inning. NY Post: Charles Wenzelberg

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then visited the short porch and secured a triple home run to cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 5-0.

The Yankees went the distance in the third inning, with Berrios’ throwing error on DJ LeMahieu’s infield single earning a run and Aaron Judge driving another after picking a fielder to make it 5-2.

A dejected Frankie Montas exits the mound at the bottom of the second inning in which he gave up five runs.A dejected Frankie Montas exits the mound at the bottom of the second inning in which he gave up five runs. NY Post: Charles Wenzelberg

Oswaldo Cabrera later added two hits, including a double for his first major league hit, but the Yankees let them squander.

“I’m still looking for that traction to really get it rolling,” Boone said. “The long ball wasn’t there and that’s a big goal-scoring component. I thought tonight was better than what we saw in that seven game stretch where it was really tough. But we have to get better.”

The Blue Jays came to Montas for another run in the sixth inning to put it 6-2 before opening the game in the seventh with three runs from Albert Abreu, who had seven earned runs in his last 10²/₃ innings had given up.