New York Yankees drop 5-4 against Toronto Blue Jays – MLB Update
The New York Yankees dropped an important outing against the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in the first competition of the three-game series at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Friday, September 16.
Charles Carsten Sabathia failed to defend an important lead in the bottom of the fifth while Mariano Rivera will still have to wait for his record balancing 601st save.
Yankees’ batting piled three runs to grab the game back with a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Sabathia being in good form, defended it in the bottom but failed to maintain his momentum in the bottom of the fifth. He gave away a single to Kelly
Johnson in the start of the fifth and struck two out before allowing a walk to Jose Bautista and then Edwin Encarnacion. Sabathia succumbed under pressure and gave away a double to Adam Lind, permitting Johnson, Bautista and Encarnacion to score.
"My arm feels good, my body feels good," Sabathia said. "It's just been not executing pitches when I need to."
A winless game has recorded Sabathia’s only second occasion that he has gone two starts without a win in this season.
"Command has been a big issue, but my stuff has been there," he said. "That's what's so frustrating."
After looking at this performance, New York Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi called him off and sent Luis Ayala to complete the inning. It was the one of the worst performances from Sabathia in this season.
Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano joined again to score a game tier single in the sixth and the relief pitchers defended it perfectly but Boone Logan gave away a single causing the Yankees their 59th loss of the 2011 regular season.
Rivera, who is just one save shy of Trevor Hoffman’s 601 record saves in MLB. Rivera was not given a chance in this game and Manager Joe Girardi received criticism over his decision. However, Rivera is likely to make his appearance in the next outing.
Yankees have 90 wins in this season and are one of the confirmed postseason candidates. However, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels may surpass them if they do not regain their perfect impetus.
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