Aaron Sanchez tried to slip one more fastball past Carlos Beltran in the eighth inning on Friday but the Toronto Blue Jays right-handed reliever did not get the four-seamer where he wanted it this time.
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“They’re out here to support the Blue Jays“, he said of the crowd’s reaction.
The challenge in baseball is in responding positively over and over after the repeated gut punches that are inevitably delivered. The Blue Jays have the most prolific offense in the entire AL, averaging 5.3 runs per game.
All that was left for the Yankees to stand up to the Blue Jays, who won three straight in The Bronx last weekend and moved into first place on Wednesday, was six outs.
They also dropped to second place in the American League East with Friday’s loss to the new division leaders. Mark Teixeira (.259, 55 Rs, 30 HRs, 77 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
The Jays repeatedly punished Twins starter Kyle Gibson, eventually chasing him after 4.2 innings, scoring eight earned runs on nine hits, successfully keeping their focus, even with the massive series with the Yankees looming.
Did Gibbons misjudge things in the decisive eighth? That was the end of Price’s night. He was really good. It didn’t work out.
“It was a tough decision, no question about it”, Gibbons said of sending Price out for the eighth. “Tonight it didn’t work”.
The Blue Jays added a pair of All-Stars – Price and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki- prior to Major League Baseball’s July 31 trade deadline.
Yet in the end it was Miller’s signature pitch that ended the long at-bat and gave the Yankees their biggest victory of the year.
“The at-bat to Tulowitzki, that’s all I’ve got”. I didn’t execute everything I wanted to, but I practically threw him a curveball on one pitch.
I got into writing back in 2007 because I had a little spare time on my hands and love to express myself through words. “This is just something we have to battle through”. You see so far the change in the ballclub and the way the players are now. “Fortunately, I figured out one that worked”. The timing couldn’t be better for the Yankees, who flew to Toronto following the game. We’ll never know. What happened next was unbelievable, and ultimately rendered those questions moot. “It’s a good feeling being able to come off the bench and come through and help the team win”.
The Blue Jays set themselves up in this one in the third, when Kevin Pillar opened the inning by getting hit on the arm.
Ivan Nova (5-4) wound up with the win. But he struck out six and kept the Yankees off the board until the eighth. About two dozen of us were crammed into the tiny room late Friday afternoon as the Blue Jays manager smiled wryly while leaning back on his chair and someone else joked about it being “an attendance record”.
Manager John Gibbons knows it’s a much better team than a few weeks ago before the trades.
Rookie Keyvius Sampson (2-1) allowed two runs and five hits in five innings.
“That was an unbelievable atmosphere”, Price said.
For most of the night he had good reason to, as the love-in for him and the revamped club continued. He could not have started CC Sabathia as he had pitched earlier in a game against the Boston Red Sox.
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On top of that, merchandise sales have spiked 40 percent, too, underlining the sudden surge in support. The win had the look and feel of an October moment. “Both times I’ve pitched here, it’s been unreal”. “Hopefully it gives us confidence”.
