Blue Jays down Yankees 4-2
Donaldson goes deep twice to supply offence
TORONTO — Josh Donaldson hit a pair of two-run home runs off CC Sabathia to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees on Tuesday at Rogers Centre.
Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ (5-8) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out five and walking four to improve to 8-2 in 16 career starts against the Yankees.
Closer Roberto Osuna, who had blown three of his previous five save attempts, picked up his 29th save of the season in the win.
The win improves the Blue Jays (53-59) to 4-3 in their last seven after going .500 on their recent sixgame road trip through Chicago and Houston. New York (59-52) meanwhile has dropped five of its last seven games.
Donaldson got the Blue Jays on the board with one out in the first, taking Sabathia’s 2-0 pitch over the wall in centre field for his 14th homer of the season. It was Donaldson’s first career home run off the Yankees starter in 36 career at-bats.
The Yankees responded in the second when Garrett Cooper’s RBI single scored Chase Headley from third.
With the Blue Jays leading 2-1 in the third, Donaldson put Sabathia’s slider into the second deck for another two-run home run. It marked the 12th career multi-homer game for the Toronto third baseman and second this season (June 2).
Sabathia (9-5), who entered the night with an 8-2 record to go along with a 2.80 ERA in 13 career starts at the Rogers Centre, lasted just three innings allowing four earned runs on six hits.
Donaldson then showed off his defensive skills in the bottom half of the third, leaping to snare a Todd Frazier line drive and robbing the Yankees third baseman of a hit.
With his sixth-inning strike out, Yankees rookie Aaron Judge has now struck out in a franchisehigh 25 consecutive games.
New York threatened in the eighth after Blue Jays reliever Ryan Tepera hit Gary Sanchez and Headley, and walked Frazier to load the bases. Cooper’s sacfly scored Sanchez, but that’s as close as the Yankees would get as Osuna tossed a scoreless ninth.
Notes: Prior to Tuesday’s game the Blue Jays placed RHP Cesar Valdez (right shoulder impingement) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled RHP Leonel Campos. b & RHP Nick Tepesch will reportedly be recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to make Wednesday’s start against the Yankees.