Sabathia stumbles in return, as Happ hot in Jays’ 4-1 win

NEW YORK — CC Sabathia was chased during a four-run third inning in his return from the disabled list, with Kendrys Morales hitting a two-run single that helped the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees, 4-1, on Tuesday afternoon and stop a five-game losing streak in a battle between AL East rivals.

Aaron Judge dented a metal casement above a door behind the left-centre field wall with his major league-leading 28th home run, a drive that would have travelled 456 feet had it landed unimpeded, according to Major League Baseball’s Statcast. The liner rose only 59 feet above the field and was the fourth-hardest-hit homer of the season at 118.4 m.p.h. Judge has the hardest at 121.1 m.p.h. and all of the top four.

That was the only run off J.A. Happ (3-5), who allowed four hits in six innings. A 20game winner last year, Happ has won three of his past four decisions after losing his first four.

Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth to convert his 19th consecutive save chance and 20th overall this season, completing a fourhitter and giving the Jays just their third win in a dozen tries. Judge, who needs one home run to tie Joe DiMaggio’s Yankees rookie record, set in 1939, struck out in his other three at-bats, stranding a pair of runners in the fifth.

Sabathia retired his first eight batters before walking Darwin Barney, who took second on a wild pitch and scored on Jose Bautista’s single. Russell Martin singled, consecutive walks to Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak on full counts forced in a run, and Morales’ single finished Sabathia. Donaldson went 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts, extending his slide to 1 for 26.