TORONTO (AP) -Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui made a winning return to the New York Yankees’ lineup Thursday.
Jeter singled home the tying run in the seventh inning and Matsui gave New York the lead with a solo homer in the eighth, helping CC Sabathia beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2.
Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save in eight chances as the Yankees finished 4-2 road trip and return to the Bronx to begin a nine-game homestand at 17-17.
Jeter missed two games with a sore right oblique and Matsui left Tuesday’s game after one at-bat with a tight right hamstring.
“You know I don’t like watching so it was good to get back out there,” Jeter said. “It’s been a couple of days. It’s a big win for us. We needed that one.”
Matsui led off the eighth with his fourth home run, driving a slider from left-hander Jesse Carlson (0-2) over the wall in right-center.
“When he’s swinging the bat well he can hit lefties or righties, it doesn’t make a difference,” Jeter said. “That was the difference in the game.”
Jeter finished 1 for 5 with an RBI and Matsui went 1 for 3 with a walk.
Sabathia (3-3) allowed five hits in eight innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season. He walked four, one intentional, and struck out five as the Yankees took two of three from Toronto, the surprise leader in the AL East.
he strike zone, getting guys to swing early in the count, keeping the pitch count down and just trying to pick the team up,” Sabathia said.
Sabathia, who pitched a four-hit shutout at Baltimore last Friday, improved to 8-3 in 11 career games against the Blue Jays.
Nick Swisher gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead with a bases-loaded walk in the first but Toronto tied it in the fourth. Sabathia had retired eight in a row when Alex Rios homered to center.
With Toronto leading 2-1 in the fifth, John McDonald singled with Rod Barajas on second, but center fielder Brett Gardner threw out Barajas at the plate.
“That play at the plate was probably the biggest play of the game,” Sabathia said.
Brian Tallet allowed two runs and four hits with a season-high five walks in six-plus innings for Toronto.
“(Tallet) gives up a couple of runs against Sabathia and you figure you might have a chance to win that game,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. “But we didn’t. We move on.”
Angels 5, Red Sox 4, 12 innings
At Anaheim, Calif., Jeff Mathis hit an RBI single in the 12th inning and Torii Hunter drove in three runs to lead the Angels.
David Ortiz went 0 for 7 and stranded 12 runners. He struck out three times, once with the bases loaded in the fourth, and left the bases loaded again in the 12th as his average plummeted to .208.
last home run on Sept. 22 – one at-bat shy of tying his longest dry spell.
Jason Bulger (1-1) got two outs for the win.
Indians 11, Rays 7
At St. Petersburg, Fla., Victor Martinez had four hits and drove in four runs, raising his batting average to .400 to lead Cleveland.
Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera also had four hits apiece, with Choo driving in three runs in support of right-hander Fausto Carmona, who was staked to a nine-run lead.
Martinez hit a two-run double off James Shields (3-4) in the fifth, an RBI double off Joe Nelson in the sixth and a run-scoring single off Grant Balfour in the eighth.
Carmona (2-4) allowed five runs, four earned, and four hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Twins 6, Tigers 5
At Minneapolis, Joe Crede capped another comeback with a two-out, two-run single in a six-run seventh inning that ruined Justin Verlander’s strong start and helped the Twins finish a three-game sweep.
Crede’s blooper into shallow center against struggling reliever Zach Miner, who walked Michael Cuddyer to load the bases, put the Twins ahead about 14 1/2 hours after his grand slam in the 13th ended Wednesday night’s game.
After a five-run, two-out Tigers rally in the sixth, Craig Breslow (1-1) got five outs, Matt Guerrier one and Joe Nathan notched his sixth save with a perfect ninth.
) took the loss.
Orioles 9, Royals 5
At Kansas City, Mo., Cesar Izturis and Nick Markakis each drove in three runs and the Orioles won again in their favorite road ballpark.
Baltimore has won 15 of 18 against Kansas City and is 43-15 against the Royals since 2001, including 24-7 at Kauffman Stadium. The Orioles had 12 hits to back a just-good-enough start from Jeremy Guthrie (3-3).
Aubrey Huff homered for the Orioles, who won only their second in 11 road games.
Billy Butler homered and drove in three runs for Kansas City. Gil Meche (2-4) allowed five runs and six hits in 4 1-3 innings.
Rangers 3, Mariners 2
At Arlington, Texas, Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Rangers a three-game sweep and their 10th win in 12 games.
Hank Blalock led off the ninth against closer Brandon Morrow (0-3) with a home run to put the Rangers on the board.
Matt Harrison (4-2) threw a five-hitter for his second complete game in a row, though his consecutive scoreless innings streak ended at 22.
Felix Hernandez pitched seven shutout innings for Seattle.
Add A Comment