On an agitating afternoon for the Yankees, Brett Gardner slammed down his helmet with two hands after grounding out with a runner on second to end the third. “And for us it’s all about the way we respond that matters”.
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Marco Estrada (10-6) allowed just three hits into the seventh inning against the suddenly slumping Yankees, outpitching Masahiro Tanaka (8-5) during Toronto’s second consecutive shutout.
Online ticket reseller StubHub is selling single game tickets for the sold-out weekend series against the New York Yankees for as much as $11,701.
“Everything seems more in reach”, added Bautista. But the rest of the rotation has been nearly as good, allowing two runs or fewer in six of their last eight games. It was the first time since May 2003 that Toronto swept New York in a series of at least three games.
“Look, you have to have some perspective”, Rodriguez said. If you’re a Yankee fan, this is not the time to panic. They’re still in first place, though it is by a smaller margin now. We like our team.
For us the team we are looking at is not the Astros or Angels but the Rangers.
But this day was no fun at all.
Even so, Gardner still said he didn’t have a problem with the tradition. “I got a hard head, so it’s all good”.
Estrada (10-6) kept New York’s risky lineup off balance all day, masterfully mixing his 77 miles per hour changeup with a 90 miles per hour fastball and slow curve. The right-hander next pitches at home against Washington. “It’s been a tough spot for us”. We did just enough to win.
The Cleveland Indians trounced the Minnesota Twins 8-1 after Corey Kluber pitched a three-hitter for his third complete game of the season, while Tampa Bay rookie Richie Shaffer hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning as the Rays again rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat the New York Mets 4-3. He was relieved after only 80 pitches.
Three days later, they leave town as winners of eight straight, a mere 1 1/2 games back in the AL East, having embarrassed the Yankees with three thumping victories in a statement-making sweep.
Chicago Tribune reporters covering Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants said they were ordered out of the press room because of a “safety issue” and made to leave the stadium around 6 p.m. Central time.
“Oh yeah, we got some good players out there”, Toronto manager John Gibbons said.
Will that become the norm?
I got home from my friend’s wedding on Sunday and went back to watch Girardi’s postgame press conference. The Yankees were shut out in two straight games for the first time since 1999, and the second-place Blue Jays cut their deficit in the American League East to just 1.5 games. “And we didn’t win a game”.
The New York leftfielder was hit in the back of the head but not hurt when a fan threw back a ball that Toronto slugger Jose Bautista had launched for a home run. He aggravated it on a swing Saturday.
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Taking the mound for the Blue Jays will be Drew Hutchison, who brings a 10-2 record into the game, despite a hefty 5.42 ERA in 118 innings pitched over 22 starts. Not to say the 29-year-old who has spent the majority of his professional career as a minor league belongs on the big league roster, he’s still very likely and deserving of being called up in September.
