Blue Jays move within a half a game of Yankees after ninth straight win
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Within the last week, the American League East has turned into the most exciting division in baseball. That notion intensified Tuesday, as the Toronto Blue Jays picked up a 4-2 win over the Oakland Athletics. For Toronto, it was the club’s ninth straight victory.
While the team’s rotation has been much better since the trade deadline, Drew Hutchison has still experienced some struggles. Those issues were not apparent during Tuesday’s game.
Hutchison turned in a strong performance, giving up just two runs on four hits over seven innings. He struck out six and walked two during the contest.
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Hutchison actually pitched into the eighth inning, but was pulled after giving up a hit to Marcus Semien to lead things off. It was the first time Hutchison pitched that deep in a game since his complete-game shutout against the Chicago White Sox in May.
The performance earned Hutchison a standing ovation from the home crowd.
With the win, Toronto improved to 62-52 on the year. The club has gained five games on the New York Yankees during the recent win streak, and is now just half a game out of first place in the AL East.
YANKEES DROP TOUGH ONE IN EXTRAS
Things didn’t go so well for the team trying to fend off Toronto. The New York Yankees fought valiantly, but couldn’t overcome the Cleveland Indians during a 5-4 loss.
The contest featured a number of late comebacks. The Yankees struck first, Carlos Beltran lead off the eighth inning against Carlos Carrasco with a solo home run, tying the game 2-2.
The score held through the ninth, sending the game into extras. Again, the Yankees powered ahead. Chase Headley smashed a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning to put New York ahead. With closer Andrew Miller entering the game, a win seemed certain.
It wasn’t to be. Miller gave up a single and double to open the frame. Carlos Santana brought the lead down to one run with a sac fly, and Yan Gomes tied things up with a single. Miller was able to strike out the next two hitters, but the damage had been done.
The contest would be tied until the 16th when the game was finally decided. With men on first and second, Michael Brantley singled on a hard hit ball to first baseman Mark Teixeira. While the ball technically deflected off Teixeira’s glove, there was nothing the first baseman could really do to prevent the hit.
With the loss, New York dropped to 61-50 on the year.
MATT HARVEY LEADS METS TO VICTORY
The New York Mets pitching continues to carry the club. Matt Harvey was tremendous Tuesday, picking up a win during the team’s 4-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
The 26-year-old tossed eight scoreless frames against Colorado. Harvey allowed just four hits, striking out four. He did not issue any walks during the contest.
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It’s unclear how much longer Harvey will be able to do his thing during the regular season. Following the game, manager Terry Collins said Harvey was nearing his innings limit.
Harvey is pitching in his first full season after having Tommy John surgery, and the club doesn’t want to push him too hard. If Harvey is fatigued, he’s not showing it. The young ace has reeled off six straight quality starts.
With the win, the Mets improved to 61-52 on the year. They have a 2.5 game lead in the National League East.
RODON DOMINANT IN WIN
Chicago White Sox fans haven’t had much to look forward to this season. That wasn’t the case Tuesday, as rookie Carlos Rodon tossed possibly his best game in the majors during the team’s 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Rodon threw a career-high seven innings. He not only kept the Angels off the board over those innings, but he also struck out a career-high 11 batters. Rodon has had some issues with his control this season, but issued just one walk during the contest.
After the start, Rodon received some nice compliments from future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.
Rodon was also dominant against Pujols’ partner in crime, Mike Trout. Trout also struck out twice against the rookie.
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With the win, the White Sox improved to 53-58 on the year.
Want to see more from Tuesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
