PINEDA’S ROCKY ROAD

YANKS FALL AS RIGHTY’S WOES AWAY FROM BRONX CONTINUE

TORONTO — Driven into an early ditch by Michael Pineda, the Yankees had no choice but to take their chances in a slugfest with the muscle-bound Blue Jays, which isn’t good policy.

Thanks to two-run home runs by Aaron Judge and Starlin Castro it came close to working, but in the end Pineda’s woes were too much for the Yankees to overcome and led to a 7-5 Blue Jays victory Friday night that was witnessed by 44,261 at Rogers Centre.

“I didn’t have my best stuff, it happens,’’ said Pineda, who gave up the first of two Josh Donaldson homers in the opening inning and followed that three batters later by allowing a two-run blast to Justin Smoak. “I didn’t have control of my fastball command and missed with a couple of sliders.’’

There were other issues besides Pineda. Blue Jays left fielder Ezequiel Carrera dropped Brett Gardner’s fly ball leading off the game and Gardner reached third. Three batters later, Gardner remained 90 feet from home. Aaron Hicks doubled with one out in the second and never left the bag. The frigid Chris Carter led off the third with a double and two walks later, the Yankees had the bases loaded and one out, but Matt Holliday banged into a double play.

“We missed opportunities early and a defensive miscue cost us a run,’’ manager Joe Girardi said referencing Carter, at f irst base, misplaying Smoak’s ground ball to the right side leading off the seventh that led to a Yankees challenge being denied and the Blue Jays’ final run.

In their past 15 games, the AL Eastleading Yankees are 7-8, but here is the weird thing about that: The day before embarking on that stretch of mediocrity, the Yankees’ lead over the second-place Orioles was 1½ lengths. After Friday night’s loss the 31-21 Yankees have a 2 ¹/ 2-game advantage over the Birds.

Pineda’s road woes continued. In five innings he allowed five runs, 10 hits, walked three and fanned one. Pineda (6-3), who had a three-game winning streak halted, is 1-2 with a 5.96 ERA in five road games. At home he is 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA in six starts.

In his first start back from the disabled list (inflamed left shoulder) Jays starter Francisco Liriano (3-2) worked five-plus innings, allowing two runs and four hits.

With the Yankees down 5-0 entering the sixth, Judge’s MLB-leading 18th homer that landed deep in the second deck of the right-field seats cut the deficit to 5-2 and instilled hope.

“We were still in the game,’’ Girardi said.

Reliever Danny Barnes walked Holliday and Castro took a pitch the other way to right field to make it a one-run game.

Donaldson’s second homer off Jonathan Holder made it 6-4 in the sixth, but the Yankees answered with a Holliday double that scored Judge from first in the seventh. The unearned run on Smoak’s grounder, on which Carter broke the wrong way, was the final margin of victory.

Carter, who eventually got back to the bag to take a throw, was charged with an error on the play and contributed to what has been a long season already for the same guy who led the NL in homers with 41 a year ago but who is hitting .182 (20for-110) and has whiffed 47 times.

“It’s been a battle for him, no doubt about it,’’ Girardi said of Greg Bird’s fill-in, who could have helped the Yankees go chest to chest with the powerful Blue Jays, but didn’t.