He saw his record slip to 2-6. On Thursday in his most recent start, Nova logged six innings with just one run and four hits.
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Toronto led the majors in runs previous year, totaling 127 more than any other team, and returned three of the top-10 MLB’s top-three home run hitters – including AL MVP Josh Donaldson. Despite being able to get the first out, he issued a walk Didi Gregorius and Yankee catcher Austin Romine dropped in a bloop ground rule double to cash in a run, and end Dickey’s evening. Jacoby Ellsbury lined a Dickey fastball to right-centre field. The right-hander has yielded 16 earned runs and 31 hits over his last three outings. Bautista merely compounded the damage, missing as he laid out on the dive by a wide margin, playing a single into a leadoff triple.
Even more encouraging is that the Yankees have done this without significant contributions from Teixeira, who did go 1-for-4 but struck out twice and is hitting.195 with three home runs and 12 RBI, and Alex Rodriguez, still on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring but who went 2-for-4 for Class AA Trenton on Tuesday night.
“Well, you know what, it’s good after the way we started the season”, Carlos Beltran said after hitting his 10th homer. At the time the score was only 2-0, so Girardi went to his formula and brought on Dellin Betances who retired the next three batters, two of which were by strikeout. It has been 26 years since the Yankees finished in last place but that’s where they have spent the majority of days here early in 2016. Toronto has been shut out two times this season. NY only had to use Betances as it added two runs apiece in the seventh and eighth. In the last eight games in which other relievers work without two of the big three, they are 4-4. Beltran bagged a homer in Tuesday’s game.
Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon hit successive solo shots to put Washington ahead in the fourth inning, and Daniel Murphy added a two-run drive off his former teammate in the fifth for a 5-1 lead. Time to save ace bullets.
Mark is also joined by WFAN’s Sweeny Murti and Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog/Journal News as they open the show with a beat writers roundtable.
After failing to capitalize on these chances, Toronto failed to generate another base runner until the seventh. Instead of heading to first base for the throw, Edwin Encarnacion dove in a vain attempt to make the catch, forcing R.A. Dickey to sprint from the mound, taking a late throw and falling hard.
I like both Estrada and Nova here, but something’s got to give. This allowed Girardi to interrupt his prepared script of three aces to end it.
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Nathan Eovaldi’s dominant last start provided the spark for the New York Yankees’ longest winning streak – and best run of starting pitching – of the season. He gave up two hits over six-plus innings in this one, escaping trouble in the second when, with two on, Kevin Pillar hit into a forceout and Darwin Barney struck out. That was about all she wrote. Two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth salted away the victory.
