Toronto 7, NY Yankees 1
When: 7:05 PM ET, Monday, May 1, 2017
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Temperature:
63°
Umpires:
Home -
Jordan Baker, 1B -
Mike Everitt, 2B -
Bill Welke, 3B -
Bruce Dreckman
Attendance:
25566
By The Sports Xchange
NEW YORK -- The Toronto Blue Jays experienced major disappointment in the first month of the season because of injuries and subpar hitting.
On Monday night, they were able to experience some fun, not due to power but because of a rare play in the sixth inning.
Ryan Goins highlighted his third career night with at least four RBIs by lifting the first two-run sacrifice fly in Toronto Blue Jays history during a 7-1 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
"I heard that," Goins said. "That's pretty cool. I can put that in my back pocket."
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said, "That's a very rare play. Kind of exciting, fun to watch."
The shortstop snapped a 0-for-15 skid with a two-run homer off Luis Severino (2-2) in the second inning.
With Justin Smoak on third and Devon Travis on second in the sixth, Goins lifted a high fly ball to the deepest part of the ballpark. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury made the catch as he landed face-first into the center field wall.
"I felt good on the two runs, but that was probably the 10th time he's robbed me of a hit," Goins said.
Smoak immediately tagged up, and Travis raced in from second when Ellsbury was unable to make a good throw after struggling to regain his footing from the catch.
Goins became the first major-leaguer to get a two-run sacrifice fly since Wil Myers did it for the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 14, 2014, against the Yankees.
"It was a quite a play," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's unfortunate that they scored two runs on it, but it was a great play."
Goins' rare feat along with a solo home run by Chris Coghlan and a two-run shot by Jose Bautista gave Toronto three straight wins for the first time this season.
It also left Gibbons feeling even more jovial than usual as he called into the team's postgame show with the media watching and identified himself as "first-time caller" while not giving his name and joking he should have said he was "John from the Bronx."
Marco Estrada (1-1) enjoyed the two-run sacrifice fly on a night when he allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings. He matched his longest start of the season, a day after Toronto needed eight innings from its bullpen after Aaron Sanchez lasted one inning in his return from the disabled list.
"I don't know if I've ever seen that before, but it was great," Estrada said of the two-run sac fly. "We needed it at the time, and I'm glad it happened."
The Yankees lost to the Blue Jays for the 11th time in the last 16 meetings and also for only the fifth time in their last 19 games since April 8.
Aaron Judge's RBI single accounted for the only run as New York went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and did not get an extra-base hit for the third time this season.
"We started to get some things going later in the game, but we weren't able to get a big hit," Girardi said.
Severino experienced a disappointing follow-up to his seven shutout innings in Boston on Wednesday. Struggling with fastball command at times and frequently falling behind hitters, he allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
"I thought he just a little off," Girardi said. "He was behind in some counts. It looked like he was just missing."
Severino also stumbled on the mound after throwing a pitch to Luke Maile in the sixth. A trainer briefly looked at him, but Girardi said Severino was not injured.
After Toronto stranded two in the first inning, Goins made it 2-0 in the second when he sent a 3-1 fastball into the right-field bleachers for a two-run homer.
The Yankees stranded two in the third but put together three straight singles and scored their first run when Judge lined Estrada's first pitch into right field for an RBI single. Estrada kept the Yankees to one run by getting Greg Bird to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Severino worked out of a jam in the fifth as he stranded runners at second and third. He struck out Bautista on a breaking ball in the dirt and Kendrys Morales flied out to the warning track in left field.
Two batters after the historic sacrifice fly, Coghlan drove a breaking ball into the right field seats to chase Severino. The Blue Jays extended the lead to 7-1 when Bautista drove a 1-0 pitch from Luis Cessa over the left field wall.
NOTES: Toronto RHP Aaron Sanchez (right middle finger blister) was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season. Manager John Gibbons does not think it will be a long absence and said Sanchez could pitch in a rehab appearance in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League this weekend. ... The Yankees optioned RHP Bryan Mitchell to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalled RHP Luis Cessa. ... Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier attended the game and sat four rows behind Toronto's dugout. ... The announced crowd of 25,566 was the smallest at the current Yankee Stadium.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Toronto
|
12 |
3 |
22 |
.343 |
13 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
NY Yankees
|
7 |
0 |
7 |
.206 |
17 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |