Hisashi went just 3.1 innings giving up 6 runs on 8 hits (5 runs earned) while walking 1 and striking out 5 Jays on the night. As the season winds down, the Yankees will face off against the Blue Jays in Toronto, the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium and finally the Baltimore Orioles to close out the regular season.
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“You want to keep putting up zeroes and hopefully we’ll be able to break through”, Sabathia said. “We’re not out of it but we’re definitely not in a good position”.
Darvish allowed only Stephen Vogt’s two-out single in the first until Yonder Alonso singled with one out in the fifth.
Josh Donaldson singled with two outs in the eighth off Clippard (3-5), Edwin Encarnacion walked and Bautista reached 20 homers for the seventh straight season.
Oh, and so was Donaldson’s monster of a shot to left field off Ben Heller.
They also will be trying to end a seven-game losing streak at Rogers Centre when they send out right-hander Michael Pineda (6-11, 4.89 ERA) against Toronto right-hander Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.62). “We didn’t have too many opportunities today”.
The talent is there so if this team could just get on a serious roll then look out. In a loss against the Angels his last time out, Liriano gave up two earned on six hits in six innings. The inevitable, of course, happened in the eighth inning when Jose Bautista, held relatively in check all day, walloped a 2-0 Tyler Clippard fastball deep into the left-field seats with two on to provide all the scoring the Blue Jays needed.
“It’s a long season, and you have some ups and downs, but I feel good about the way I’ve been pitching lately”, Sabathia said. “It was a big moment”. I was behind in the count. Among the 10 ground balls he induced were two double plays. His ball has some run. “I just managed to get the head out and I connected”. But after a tough battle against reliever Evan Scribner, Kevin Pillar was robbed of a single on a diving grab by shortstop Mike Freeman.
“That’s the game right there, possibly”, Toronto manager John Gibbons said.
“We’ve still got a chance, ” he said.
Both starting pitchers were outstanding. Didi Gregorius holds 148 hits with 65 runs and 67 RBI. Both Duffy and Sanchez (and for that matter, so would Tanaka) would make deserving Cy Young choices.
The offence came to life Tuesday with a 10-spot, a common theme last season, and delivered six home runs in the series. “The more you’re in them, the more you usually get good at them”.
The veteran left-hander limited Toronto hitters to four hits over seven innings with three walks and two strikeouts.
It’s hard to imagine where the Toronto Blue Jays would be this season without J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez; they certainly wouldn’t be leading the American League Wild Card race by a game over the Detroit Tigers, that’s for sure. There has been much speculation and criticism around the bats and the rotation of the Blue Jays, however, if yesterdays game is the beginning of the team getting back on track, and back to being a dominant team in the AL, then Jays fans have a lot to look forward to, and faith in the Blue Jays team will be restored. Toronto has not announced a starter for the first game of the NY series.
So Wednesday’s matinee against the Mariners in Seattle? NY is also 2-6 in their last eight games against the American League East, and 2-6 in their last eight games on astroturf.
So that’s three games in a row, now, with a big hit.
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ROYALS 7, TIGERS 4: Paulo Orlando hit a tying, two-run double and Eric Hosmer followed with a three-run homer against Francisco Rodriguez (3-4), capping a comeback from a 4-2 deficit in the ninth. “We’re going to need some help and some other teams to help us along the way”.
