For three, that was only the second pinch-hit homer of Beltran’s 18-year career. New York was trying to go 12 games over.
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Regardless of how unlikely that homer was, it definitely happened. Andrew Miller came in for the ninth and once again made things interesting.
The surging Blue Jays have that in abundance right now. Estrada blanked New York over 6 1-3 innings last Sunday as Toronto capped a three-game sweep in the Bronx. And maybe it will be.
To fully appreciate the comeback the Yankees pulled off, we need to understand just how doomed they seemed to be. “The way they hit the ball is just unbelievable”. They were getting beat by an opponent whom they knew all too well to be formidable.
The 11-game win streak is no more!
Oh, and there was also the fact that David Price was on the mound.
ORIOLES 8, ATHLETICS 6: Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the 13th inning to give Baltimore a walk-off win at home.
As the first ovation faded, David Price set to work against the Yankees. As expected, Price and Donaldson shared AL Player of the Week.
Triple-Oh, there was also how the setting the Yankees were attempting to wake up in was no normal setting.
Social media has been abuzz with Blue Jays posts, and much of the chatter is coming from some unlikely quarters. That’s a big number, to be sure. “I’m not even anxious about numbers no more“. But though that was surprising in the moment, should we be so surprised in retrospect?
The Yankees knocked the new team ace around for eight hits through the first seven innings without any payback. But before that, they had won 19 out of 27.
Blue Jays starters have permitted three earned runs or fewer in 17 straight games, one shy of the club record. Then in the eighth came three straight hits, all scorched, and Price left to a huge ovation, tapping his heart and touching his cap.
The calendar says it’s only August 14th, but this game felt like late September.
Get this: In 107 innings entering the eighth inning Friday, the Blue Jays trailed in exactly two of them.
Both teams sit in second place in their respective divisions looking to make a move over the final eight weeks.
A series many thought might be the beginning of the end for the Yankees has been something entirely different.
With the Yankees lineup, Betances and Miller still at full strength, that’s as good a bet as any to continue.
Before the game, Gibbons was relaxed and jovial as usual, but turned serious when someone mentioned the fact that his team had finally reached the top of the standings, half a game ahead of the Yankees.
Mind you, none of this is to suggest that the Blue Jays should be shaking in their boots after losing Friday’s game. The win had the look and feel of an October moment.
But make no mistake: The picture has changed.
“The at-bat to Tulowitzki was all I got, ” said Miller, who sealed a 4-3 Yankees win by ending a 12-pitch at-bat with a slider Tulowitzki missed, sending the crowd of 47,689 home disappointed. If there’s any sports franchise on the face of the Earth that takes happiness and joy out of crushing the hopes and dreams of franchises like the Blue Jays, it’s the Yankees.
In other words: Buckle up. If last night’s contest is any indicator, then we’re going to have an absolute dogfight for the AL East crown on our hands. And with a little under two months to go, it figures to stay that way.
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“I think guys live for this time of the year”.
