The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Yankees hand Blue Jays second straight defeat
Masahiro Tanaka pitched a complete game five-hitter for the New York Yankees in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, giving the Yankees a 1 1⁄2-game lead in the American League East.
TORONTO >> Masahiro Tanaka pitched a five-hitter for his first complete game in more than a year, leading the New York Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 Saturday.
The Yankees won their third straight following a five-game skid and extended their AL East lead over Toronto to 1 ½ games. The Blue Jays, coming off an 11-game winning streak, lost for the second day in a row to New York.
Carlos Beltran, who hit a big home run Friday night at Rogers Centre, and Mark Teixeira connected for solo shots to back Tanaka (9-5).
Pitching in Toronto for the first time since his big league debut in April 2014, Tanaka struck out eight and walked three while helping the Yankees’ taxed bullpen.
Marco Estrada (10-7) lost for the first time in four starts, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings. Blue Jays starting pitchers have given up three earned runs or fewer in 19 consecutive starts, eclipsing the team record set in May 1991.
Toronto hadn’t dropped back-to-back games since losing at Seattle on July 26 and at home to Philadelphia on July 28.
Beltran, whose pinchhit, three-run drive in the eighth inning Friday night gave the Yankees a 4-3 win, homered for the second straight at-bat when he connected in the first.
After Toronto tied it in the fifth, Teixeira hit a goahead homer with two outs in the sixth, his 31st.
New York made it 3-1 against LaTroy Hawkins in the seventh. Beltran doubled off the right field wall and Teixeira lined an RBI single to left.
Jacoby Ellsbury’s RBI single off Aaron Loup in the ninth gave the Yankees a three-run cushion.
Toronto loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth but only managed to score one run on Josh Donaldson’s sacrifice fly. Tanaka escaped by striking out Jose Bautista and getting Edwin Encarnacion to pop up.
Trainer’s room
Yankees: Struggling DH Alex Rodriguez, who has two hits in his past 19 atbats, got the day off. ... RHP Ivan Nova, who was hit on the right ring finger by an infield chopper Friday, is expected to make his next start.
Up next
Yankees: RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 2.45 ERA) will make his third career start Sunday. The rookie has received just one run of support in his two starts so far.
Blue Jays: RHP Drew Hutchison (11-2, 5.26 ERA) looks to win his fourth straight decision when he faces the Yankees Sunday. Hutchison pitched seven innings to beat Oakland on Tuesday, his longest outing since a complete game on May 25.