German helps Yankees shut down Blue Jays
Domingo German cruised through six innings of threehit ball, Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run double and the host New York Yankees kicked off the second half with a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
New York has won 17 of 21 and boasts the American League’s best record at 58-31.
German (11-2) threw just 78 pitches, 54 for strikes, and retired 15 in a row following Eric Sogard’s leadoff hit. The team leader in wins, he limited Toronto to three singles and did not walk a batter.
Pitching on eight days’ rest, the slender right-hander featured a biting curve that led to six of his seven strikeouts, all swinging.
Playing in front of the largest crowd at Yankee Stadium this season, both starters traded zeroes until the bottom of the fifth, when Brett Gardner tripled against Aaron Sanchez to lead off the inning. All-Star DJ LeMahieu’s groundout scored the speedy veteran to break the tie.
New York then loaded the bases on two hits and a hit batter before Encarnacion lined a hard-hit double off the visiting bullpen wall, plating three for a 4-0 lead. Rays 16, Orioles 4:
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Tampa Bay emerged from the All-Star break by scoring seven runs in the first inning, and the visiting Rays got homers from Tommy Pham and Nate Lowe in a rout of the errorprone Baltimore.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Nationals 4, Phillies 0: ●
Stephen Strasburg struck out six in six innings, Victor Robles hit a two-run single and Washington continued its mastery of host Philadelphia. Strasburg (11-4) allowed seven hits and walked one, continuing his dominance over the Phillies. He’s 13-2 against them, 6-0 in Philadelphia. The secondplace Nationals have won 16 of 20 and moved 1 1⁄2 games ahead of the struggling Phillies, who are 14-22 since leading the NL East by 3 1⁄2 games on May 29.
Cubs 4, Pirates 3: Jason ●
Heyward hit a tiebreaking RBI single with two out in the eighth inning, and host Chicago edged Pittsburgh in both teams’ first game after the All-Star break.
ELSEWHERE
Police report: Former
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New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden, 54, was arrested in early June in New Jersey and charged with cocaine possession and driving under the influence. Gooden faces up to five years in prison on the charge of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, a third-degree felony in New Jersey.
Nationals: Washington
● is pushing back Max Scherzer’s next start because the ace right-hander is dealing with back soreness. Scherzer experienced soreness in his middle back after his last start.
Cardinals: St. Louis
● placed catcher Yadier Molina on the injured list with a strained right thumb and activated infielder Matt Carpenter who had been sidelined since June 29 with a lower back strain.
Indians: Starter Corey
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Kluber’s broken right arm is healing as hoped, and he could begin throwing bullpen sessions within weeks, manager Terry Francona said.