The wins have come as the Yankees have shed veterans Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. He was summarily sent back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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The Yankees (61-57) again matched their high-water mark at four games over.500 and remained 4 1⁄2 games behind Boston for the second AL wild-card spot. If merely getting into the playoffs is fine, NY fans should root for the Orioles since the Yankees are 4 1/2 games out of the second wild-card spot.
The last meeting against Toronto was June 1 and 10 players on New York’s 25-man roster are now not on the active roster. Green also was pitching to catcher Gary Sanchez, who is hitting.302 in 11 games since joining the Yankees on August 3.
He walked Thole to open the frame – triggering a “Let’s go, Blue Jays” chant from the hosers in a crowd of 36,015 – and Josh Donaldson followed with a one-out single before Encarnacion’s grounder was gobbled up cleverly by Headley.
Sanchez is batting.275 (11-for-40) in 10 games while splitting time between catcher and designated hitter.
They were part of a lineup with eight players under 27, marking the first time since October 1, 1967, that the Yankees fielded a lineup that young. NY sold several veterans at the trade deadline and is turning to youngsters such as hulking outfielder Aaron Judge, who joined Joe Lefebvre (1980) on Sunday as the only Yankees to homer in their first two major league games.
“I felt if you keep putting them on, we’re gonna break through and you know, we didn’t”, manager Joe Girardi said. “I was comfortable Day One”. “And then it made his fastball that much better, and he’s got a good fastball”.
It was Green’s first win since July 3, his second start for the Yankees, when he won in San Diego. The Blue Jays have had a winning record since they were 40-25 after Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and Edwin Encarnacion homered in a 9-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
“His key is going to be his command”, Girardi said before the game. “That’s what we do best. I just stress that it’s a matter of time”.
Pineda has made pitches when he has to at times against the Blue Jays, going 2-3 with a 3.54 ERA in nine starts. One-out walks by Brian McCann and Sanchez set up Judge, who belted a run-scoring double to right-center for the only run of the game – as Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury whiffed to end the inning. Since its sweep against the Yankees last August, Toronto’s power has not hit a lull as it has 28 home runs in the last 22 games against the Yankees.
Green went six innings, giving up no runs on two hits while striking out 11. Dickey had a 4.60 ERA after falling to 7-5 lifetime against the Yankees.
Estrada was outstanding August 3 in Houston when he allowed one run and four hits in seven innings.
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Rodriguez spokesman Ron Berkowitz said in a statement Monday: “I want to put all this talk to rest about Alex playing for any team this season”. Through his first eight outings, righties posted a.653 OPS against the 25-year-old, while lefties clubbed him at a 1.138 clip. “But one thing I think part of our focus has to be is helping those kids get through those bumps because you don’t get here unless you’re talented enough”. In the minors this season, Green is 7-6 with a 1.52 ERA.
