Yankees reclaim first place, end Blue Jays 11-game win streak
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
The race in the AL East isn’t heating up, it’s officially on fire after the New York Yankees rallied late and reclaimed first place with a 4-3 victory over the sizzling Toronto Blue Jays.
As has been the recipe over the past two weeks, Toronto took control of the action, scoring three runs in the third inning. They then hitched their wagon to David Price, who bulldogged his way into the later innings. Though New York threatened Price several times, racking up eight hits in the first seven innings, they weren’t able to breakthrough until the eighth on Chase Headley’s ground-rule double.
That spelled the end for Price, and ultimately doom for Toronto. After Joe Girardi called for pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran, John Gibbons countered with left-handed reliever Aaron Sanchez. The advantage in that matchup went to Beltran, who connected for a three-run go-ahead home run, and the Yankees were on their way.
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Of course, that doesn’t mean Toronto went down without a fight. The Blue Jays made Yankees closer Andrew Miller work, placing runners on second and third with one out. Miller was able to strike out Ben Revere in short order, and then won a thrilling 12-pitch battle with Troy Tulowitzki, striking him out to end the game.
The at-bat highlighted the fight the Blue Jays have shown since taking off on their current steak. But the resilience of the Yankees can’t be overlooked either. We have a fun weekend ahead and several fun weeks left to decide this exciting race.
CUBS NOTCH 8TH STRAIGHT WIN
Just like that, the longest winning streak in baseball belongs to the Chicago Cubs. The northsiders ran their streak to eight with a 6-5 victory against the crosstown rival White Sox on Friday afternoon.
The game was a back-and-forth battle, with the lead changing hands four times before the sixth inning. The Cubs struck last, claiming the lead on back-to-back home runs from Chris Coghlan and Anthony Rizzo. Coghlan’s homer was his second of the game. Rizzo’s was his seventh in two weeks after going three weeks without a homer.
The Cubs also got big games from Dexter Fowler, who had two hits and scored twice, and Starlin Castro, who finished with three singles. All of the Cubs runs were scored against former ace Jeff Samardzija.
As for the White Sox, they received a two-run home run from Adam Eaton and a two-run double from Avisail Garcia. Taylor Saladino chipped in two hits, but his day will be better remembered as Pedro Strop’s eighth-inning strikeout victim.
PIRATES WIN BATTLE OF NL CONTENDERS
If the postseason started today, the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets would both be in, which made Friday’s battle at Citi Field a potential October preview.
The Pirates, though, are looking to secure their spot in the NLDS and to do so they must catch the St. Louis Cardinals. They took a good step in that direction on Friday, topping the NL East-leading Mets 3-2 in 10 innings.
Not surprisingly, Friday’s game came down to situational hitting and was ultimately low scoring. The only runs in regulation came on solo homers from Neil Walker and Yoenis Cespedes. Business did pick up in the 10th, however, as Pittsburgh rallied and broke through. Gregory Polanco delivered the key hit for Pittsburgh, singling home Starling Marte. Aramis Ramirez immediately followed with a sacrifice fly, which would prove important after New York added one in their half.
The Pirates bullpen deserves a lot of credit. Starter JA Happ lasted just 5 1/3, despite allowing just the one run. Jared Hughes, Antonio Bastardo, Arquímedes Caminero and Mark Melancon combined to throw 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits. Caminero picked up the win, his third. Melancon earned save No. 36.
With the win, Pittsburgh remained six games behind. The Cardinals were victorious 3-1 against Miami. Pittsburgh also holds a 1 1/2 game lead over the Cubs for the top wild-card spot.
COREY KLUBER ONE-HITS THE TWINS
After flirting with a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins last Sunday in Cleveland, Corey Kluber overpowered them again on Friday, tossing a complete-game one-hitter in the Indians’ 6-1 victory.
The drama didn’t drag as long this time around. While Minnesota managed its first hit in the seventh inning last weekend, Joe Mauer would broke things up with a solo home run in the fourth. Of course, from that point on, things were very similar as Minnesota’s bats were completely silenced.
Kluber struck out seven, running his two-game total to 17. He walked one, matching Sunday’s total. And, as noted, he went the distance for the second straight game and third time in four starts.
Offensively, Giovanny Urshela had two hits, including a two-run homer for Cleveland. Francisco Lindor, Lonnie Chisenhall and Mike Aviles each had three hits, with Aviles driving in two.
The Indians have now won five of six, while the Twins continue to fade, falling to 57-58.
Want to see more from Friday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
