New York Yankees defeat Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 to tie the series 2-all – MLB Update
The American League’s New York Yankees romped to a 7-2 triumph in the rubber game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the four-game series at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sunday July 17, to tie the series 2-all.
The Yankees took the game into their hands, right from the first inning with an RBI single by Nick Swisher off the Blue Jays’ starter Carlos Villanueva. After a delay of two innings and receiving a single by the Blue Jays’ Trevor Snider in the second inning,
the Yankees’ Russell Martin and Ramiro Pena added an RBI single and Curtis Granderson touched an RBI double in the fourth inning for a 5-1 lead.
Blue Jays’ Aaron Hill drove in an RBI single to reduce the margin by one run. After the fourth inning, starters from both side made little comeback and held the game scoreless until the seventh inning when Robinson Cano hit a sacrifice fly for the sixth
run. Then in the ninth inning, Curtis Granderson contributed a single to elevate the lead to 7-2.
The Yankees’ starter Phil Hughes managed to win his first game of the season, allowing two runs on four hits and walking two along with five strike-outs over six innings. He not only snatched his maiden win of the season, but also slowed down the deal negotiations
by taking an important jump on Sunday.
"It's really important, especially in our race and with what we're trying to do, to be able to come back and tie this series," Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi said. "Four-game series are tough and the way we got started off, it wasn't pretty."
After missing 84 games due to sore right shoulder, Hughes was making only his fifth start to add little improvement in his record. However, 1-2 with 8.44 is quite a high average for a starter but looking at his condition, this can be regarded a positive
step.
According to Girardi, Hughes has taken a huge step.
"I knew right out of the chute it was going to be a good pitch for me," Hughes said. "I struggled a little bit locating it, got a little lazy with it in the middle innings but overall I felt like there was some improvement there."
Cory Wade, David Robertson, and closer Boone Logan carried Hughes momentum and tossed scoreless innings to finalise the Yankees’ 55th win of the season.
Carlos Villanueva, on the other hand, failed to shatter his two-game losing streak. Allowing five runs on eight hits and walking one on six innings, he lost his third consecutive game of the season. His record has declined to 5-2 with a 3.31 ERA.
His reliever Luis Perez and closer Jason Frasor each allowed one run over short spells.
After coming from behind and tying this series, the Yankees’ moral has come back and now they will take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Tags: