New York Yankees Take Series From Toronto Blue Jays With 7—3 Win

The New York Yankees took the series against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 7–3 victory on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon. The rubber-match victory was one of special celebration for closer Mariano Rivera who recorded his 1,00th career regular season appearance. He is the first Yankee and only the 15th pitcher in MLB history to achieve this feat.  

Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth inning to close out the game, walking from the bullpen with his signature “Enter Sandman” blasting over the stadium PA. It was only fitting that he struck out the final batter of the game, giving up one hit and no runs, securing yet another Yankee victory.

The Yankees came out of the gate hot, with leadoff hitter Derek Jeter hitting a double to start the game. He scored on a Curtis Granderson double, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The leadoff double was the only hit for Jeter on the day; he also had two walks. He is now 24 hits from 3,000.

The Yankees continued to add points in the second when Andruw Jones belted a two-run homer into the Toronto bullpen, his first of two home runs on the afternoon. His two-run shot extended the Yankee lead 3–0. Jones, who has not played in three games, went 3-3 on the afternoon, with four RBI.

Mark Teixeira joined the home-run parade in the third, driving a two-run shot into the left field seats, increasing the lead to 5–0. The blast was Teixeira’s only hit on the night.

Yankee Starter Freddy Garcia pitched a scoreless game into the top of the sixth. Juan Rivera’s RBI single to left broke up the shutout, scoring left-fielder Corey Patterson, who had doubled to right field two batters earlier. Garcia struck out catcher Jose Molina to end the inning.

The Yankees answered back in the bottom of the sixth with the mighty bat of Andruw Jones. Jones belted his second home run of the game, another two-run shot, deep to center field. This doubled his home run total for the year from two to four.

The game got a little interesting in the top of the seventh, as the Blue Jays tried to come back, down 7–1. Designated hitter Eric Thames doubled to right center field, scoring Aaron Hill. Two batters later, Jayson Nix grounded out to third, scoring Thames and cutting the deficit to 3-7.

Manager Joe Girardi had seen enough and pulled starter Freddy Garcia. Garcia left the game having given up three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks after 6.1 innings of work. The 43,201 Yankee faithful gave Garcia a standing ovation as he walked back to the dugout. David Robertson came in relief, getting out the remaining two batters, ending the Blue Jay threat.

The Yankees will enjoy an off day on Thursday before hitting the road for nine games in 10 days on the West Coast. Friday they will open up a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners, followed by three games in Oakland. They will conclude their road trip in Anaheim for a three game series with the Angels.