1 | TORONTO (AP) -- Carlos Beltran came off the bench and did something no Yankees player had done in more than 20 years. |
2 | Pretty timely, too. |
3 | Beltran hit a huge three-run homer in the eighth inning, Andrew Miller escaped a big jam in the ninth and New York stopped Toronto's 11-game winning streak, beating the Blue Jays 4-3 Friday night. |
4 | It was New York's first go-ahead, pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning or later of a road game since Don Mattingly did it against the Angels in July 1994. |
5 | ''As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to leave the ballpark,'' Beltran said. |
6 | Miller struck out Ben Revere and Troy Tulowitzki with runners on second and third to close out the victory. |
7 | The win moved the Yankees a half-game ahead of Toronto and back into first place in the AL East. |
8 | David Price took a 3-0 lead into the eighth before New York rallied. |
9 | He left after Chase Headley's RBI double and Beltran then greeted reliever Aaron Sanchez (6-5) with a pinch-hit, three-run homer. |
10 | ''I didn't get my job done and it cost us a win,'' Sanchez said. |
11 | Ivan Nova (5-4) wound up with the win. |
12 | Dellin Betances pitched the eighth and Miller finished for his 26th save, fanning Tulowitzki to end a 12-pitch sequence. |
13 | ''I was running out of gas there,'' Miller said. |
14 | A one-out walk and single, plus a wild pitch by Miller with one out put the Blue Jays in position in the ninth. |
15 | Tulowitzki kept fouling off pitches during the tense at-bat, which included several mound meetings between Miller and catcher Brian McCann. |
16 | Tulowitzki swung and missed at a full-count pitch, silencing a sellout crowd at Rogers Centre. |
17 | ''Two of the best players in baseball,'' Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. |
18 | ''That's what people want to see, pay to see. |
19 | Toronto lost for the first time in 14 games with Tulowitzki in the starting lineup. |
20 | The Blue Jays, who swept a three-game series in the Bronx last weekend while giving up a total of one run, had gone 33 innings without allowing a run to the Yankees until they broke through. |
21 | ''Hopefully its gives us confidence,' manager Joe Girardi said. |
22 | That shutout streak is the longest the Yankees have gone without scoring against a single opponent, eclipsing 31-inning streaks against Detroit in 1934 and the Washington Senators in 1913. |
23 | The Blue Jays failed to win a franchise-best 12th game for the fifth time in team history. |
24 | Toronto has won 11 straight twice this season, also doing it in June. |
25 | Price won with seven shutout innings at Yankee Stadium last weekend. |
26 | He was in control this time, too, in the opener of a three-game set before the Yankees scored four times. |
27 | ''I thought we did a pretty good job against a really good pitcher,'' Girardi said. |
28 | Beltran's homer stopped a 25-inning scoreless streak by Toronto's bullpen. |
29 | Blue Jays relievers hadn't allowed a run since the ninth inning of an Aug. 2 win over Kansas City. |
30 | All three Blue Jays runs came in the third. |
31 | Tulowitzki hit an RBI grounder, Jose Bautista doubled home a run and Edwin Encarnacion hit a sacrifice fly. |
32 | New York's Alex Rodriguez came in hitless in 11 at-bats but doubled in the first, his first extra-base hit since Aug. 6. |
33 | Former Yankees RHP Joba Chamberlain exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and was granted his release by Toronto's Triple-A team in Buffalo. |
34 | Yankees: Girardi said DH Alex Rodriguez will likely sit out either Saturday or Sunday. |
35 | Blue Jays: Encarnacion returned at DH after missing the previous four games with a sore left middle finger. |
36 | Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (8-5, 3.79 ERA) will have had five days of rest when he faces Toronto for the second straight start. |
37 | Tanaka allowed solo home runs to Donaldson and Bautista in Sunday's 2-0 defeat. |
38 | Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (10-6, 3.21 ERA) seeks to win his fourth straight start when he faces the Yankees on Saturday. |
39 | Estrada blanked New York over 6 1-3 innings last Sunday as Toronto capped a three-game sweep in the Bronx. |
40 | He has allowed only one home run in his past seven outings. |