The Yankees sent the Blue Jays down as quietly as possible on Monday afternoon, but Tuesday night was a whole different story.
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Pillar was one-man wrecking crew for the Jays in a losing effort, recording three hits, including a two-run double in the eighth inning to lift Toronto to a 4-3 lead.
The Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning on Jose Bautista’s RBI single.
Luis Cessa allowed two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out three in 5 1/3 innings.
Brett Gardner celebrates his outstanding catch with Yankees teammate Jacoby Ellsbury. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, then Edwin Encarnacion capped a 10-pitch at-bat with an infield single, cutting the lead to two runs while putting runners at the corners.
The Toronto Blue Jays look to hold on to the East lead by beating the New York Yankees Wednesday. “Because I’m not too tall, and I wasn’t going to be able to jump a whole lot higher”.
A scrambling September game with October implications seesawed to the last swing, and turned at the end in favor of the Yankees.
St. Louis pounded out 14 hits against five Pirates pitchers to win its second consecutive game and hand Pittsburgh its season-worst seventh loss in a row.
With only six outs remaining – but Betances only available for three of them after the closer pitched the past two games – Girardi kept Warren in the game after he had already recorded five outs.
Smoak was up next in August 2015, he became the first Toronto player ever to hit a grand slam in the Bronx.
“I barrelled it, thought it might have a chance and Gardner made a great play on it”, said Smoak.
The ball, a few inches short of clearing the wall entirely, almost popped out of Gardner’s glove before settling, as a joyous Yankees’ celebration in the infield contrasted the Blue Jays’ utter disbelief. “I didn’t know if he had thrown it up to himself in kind of astonishment that he caught it or what, but I saw it pop out and I saw it go back into his glove”.
“The bottom line is when you don’t play up to your capabilities, because we feel that we underperformed, it can bite you in the [butt]”, Cashman said of the uphill run. A few minutes later, a replay of the catch drew another ovation from the fans.
The 29-year-old Smoak and 33-year-old Gardner know each other from growing up in SC.
“It shifts the game quick”, Smoak said of failing to put up add-on runs. Sanchez, who starts on Tuesday night in NY against the Yankees, is 6-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 10 starts against AL East competition this season. Grilli’s night ended when he gave up a two-run homer to Headley putting NY ahead.
Didi Gregorius rocked the tying triple to left-center in the eighth against Jason Grilli. Those extra runs proved important as the Jays fought back in the ninth – displaying how relentless their offence can be at times – to plate a pair against Yankees’ usually surefire closer Dellin Betances.
Kole Calhoun smacked his 16th home run and Albert Pujols had a two-run double, helping the Angels win for the eighth time in nine games overall and seventh time in their past nine road outings.
Playing on his 25th birthday and batting ninth, Austin sliced a two-out drive to right-center.
Brian McCann’s home run in the fourth inning tied things, 1-1. But Brett Gardner, the Yankees’ veteran outfielder, took a near-perfect route to the ball and made a leaping grab against the wall squeezing the ball in a game-saving, snow-cone catch to snuff out the Jays’ rally. The team sits two games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. Rookie Gary Sanchez has reached base in 21 straight games.
Yankees: RHP Bryan Mitchell was promoted from Triple-A before the game and is likely to make his Yankees debut this year. He injured a toe in spring training and missed most of this season.
NEW YORK-These rebuilding Yankees, who were uncharacteristic sellers at the trade deadline, were not supposed to be a factor in the season’s home stretch.
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