ESPN drops Yankees' July 8 night game vs. Jays after schedule complaints

The New York Yankees fought the Worldwide Leader - and the Yankees won.

Just a few days after the team complained about being scheduled to play a game at Toronto on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball the night before a doubleheader in Baltimore, the network has elected to forgo the contest, according to the New York Daily News.

The Yankees-Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre will now return to its original start time of 1:07 p.m. ET, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels will be moved into to the ESPN Sunday night slot for July 8.

The Yankees had complained about the game in question being moved to accommodate SNB due to a hectic travel schedule. Following the July 8 game, they are scheduled to fly from Canada to Baltimore, where they'll take part in a traditional doubleheader on the following day with first pitch at Camden Yards scheduled for 4:05 p.m. That twin bill was added to make up the May 31 Yankees-Orioles game that got rained out.

In response, the Yankees reportedly threatened a total boycott of ESPN for the remainder of the season unless the July 8 game was returned to the daytime.

"Hopefully there is some pressure being applied because that is not good for the product on the field or the safety of our guys, having go from night game, flight and right into a doubleheader," manager Aaron Boone said this week after the change had been announced. "Anybody who would argue with that is not being truthful."

The Yankees were already scheduled to be on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball twice next month, on July 1 against the Red Sox and July 22 versus the Mets.

As for their opponents from Toronto, the schedule switch means that the Blue Jays will once again be shut out by SNB. MLB's lone Canadian team hasn't been selected to appear on the league's Sunday evening showcase game since July 18, 2004, representing the longest active stretch without a SNB appearance among all 30 teams.