Yankees-Blue Jays Preview By SCOTT GARBARINI STATS Writer
The New York Yankees made the most of limited opportunities in their last game, and they may not have many in their next. Coming off their first victory in over a century in which they were held to one hit, the Yankees now face one of the AL's stingiest pitchers in Monday night's opener of a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees managed only one baserunner off Tampa Bay's Jake Odorizzi before Brett Gardner walked with one out in the seventh inning. Starlin Castro followed with a home run to spoil the no-hit bid and lift New York to a 2-1 victory for its eighth win in 11 games. New York's lone other win with a single hit occurred in a six-inning game against Cleveland on July 10, 1914. ''We really weren't doing much,'' manager Joe Girardi said. ''We get a huge hit from Starlin.'' The Yankees (24-25) recorded just four hits in a 4-1 win over the Rays on Friday, scoring three runs on homers from Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran. They're batting .170 but have homered eight times over their last six. New York homered twice off Marco Estrada (2-2, 2.76 ERA) in Wednesday's home matchup with Toronto, but registered just two other hits during the right-hander's seven innings in the Blue Jays' 8-4 victory. Estrada hasn't permitted more than five hits while working at least six innings in each of his last six starts, and his .184 batting average against is the lowest among AL hurlers. He hadn't won since April 13, however, receiving 10 runs of support over a seven-start drought. The 32-year-old is 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA in six starts against New York since the start of last season, though he's 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA in three at Rogers Centre. Estrada faces a Yankee lineup that's hoping to have both Beltran and Mark Teixeira back in it. Teixeira hasn't started the last five games due to recurring neck soreness, though he entered Sunday's contest as a defensive replacement after Dustin Ackley exited with a shoulder injury that's likely to send him to the disabled list. Beltran, batting .333 with four homers and 12 RBIs over his last nine, was held out of Sunday's game with a sore back. Toronto (26-26) won the final two of last week's three-game set at Yankee Stadium, the beginning of a season-high four-game streak that ended with Sunday's 5-3, 11-inning loss to Boston. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion each homered but the Blue Jays finished 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. "I don't think anybody in here is discouraged," said R.A. Dickey, who didn't allow a hit through five innings but gave up three runs in the sixth. "We had a chance at another great win, just couldn't push one across when we had to." Bautista is batting .308 with four homers and nine RBIs over a nine-game hitting streak since being inserted into the leadoff spot May 19. Toronto amassed 28 runs during the winning streak and reached Ivan Nova (3-2, 3.65) for four in 6 2/3 innings in Wednesday's victory. The right-hander had yielded three over 16 1/3 innings in his first three starts since returning to the rotation and entered off consecutive wins over the White Sox and Oakland. The Blue Jays have posed problems for Nova of late, as he's 1-4 with a 7.24 ERA in six appearances against them since the start of last season. Toronto took two of three from New York at home from April 12-14 and has won 10 of the last 14 meetings. |