Jays lose to Yanks in 10 to end disappointing road trip
The Toronto Blue Jays finished their road trip 1-6 after losing to the New York Yankees 7-6 in the 10th innings on Sunday. The Blue Jays fell victim to a single by Marcus Thames in the bottom of the innings that scored Robinson Cano, ending a game in which the Blue Jays had led and had many chances to put the game away, but came up short.
The game swung back and forth several times, providing plenty of drama for the sell-out crowd in New York celebrating July 4th. The Jays took an early lead in the third off of their 118th home run of the year, a solo shot by Lyle Overbay. But the Yankees scored in the bottom of the third with two runs, and then added another run in the fourth. But DeWayne Wise hit a three-run home run in the fifth, and Adam Lind added a solo shot in the sixth. The Blue Jays’ three home runs Sunday give them a league leading 120 on the season.
Wise then lost a ball in the sun in the bottom of the sixth to add to the craziness of the game, resulting in a rare two-run inside the park home run for the Yankees to tie it. After the Yankees scored again in the seventh, something almost equally rare happened - ageless closer Mariano Rivera blew a save in the 9th, allowing the Blue Jays to tie it before Thames finally put it away in the 11th.
For Toronto, disappointment
The loss closes out a disappointing 1-6 road trip for Toronto. After first arriving in New York, the Toronto team had high hopes by winning an 11th innings game against the Yankees 6-1. But they since fizzled, getting crushed 11-3 on Saturday before missing opportunities on Sunday. After the game, Jays’ manager Cito Gaston cited Wise’s inability to track down Brett Gardner’s ball as a reason for the loss.
"If Wise catches that ball, we could be landing in Toronto right now,” Gaston said.
For Wise’s part, he said there wasn’t much he could have done to find it.
"I did everything I could to catch that ball. It just never came out of the sun," Wise said. "At that point of the game, the sun was directly over my head, and the last 15 feet or so, I lost it."
It was a rare miscue for a fielder renowned for his defence and one of the most instantly famous catches in baseball history. Last year, playing for the Chicago White Sox, he came on in the ninth innings to help preserve Mark Buehrle’s perfect game. Almost immediately, Gabe Kapler hit what should have been a home run to ruin Buehrle’s game, but was robbed by Wise rising above the fence. But his not tracking the ball proved crucial on Monday.
Yankees get set for
For the Yankees though, the win was a satisfying end to a wild, back and forth game for both the U.S’ national holiday and owner George Steinbrenner’s 80th birthday.
"He probably would have been in and out of his seat a few times," Derek Jeter said of his team’s owner.
Alex Rodriguez, who made a crucial defensive play in the tenth, also spoke of the wild nature of the game.
"It was a crazy game and we had a lot of opportunities," Rodriguez said.
The Yankees will try and keep their two-game win streak going against the Oakland Athletics when they travel there Monday night. They currently sit 1.5 games above the Boston Red Sox atop the AL East division, and a strong road trip against Oakland will help cement their position.
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