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 On Monday, however, the Blue Jays rookie right-hander bounced
back with a career-best, eight-inning outing in which he allowed
three hits and one run. Stroman led Toronto to an 8-3 win over the
New York Yankees.
The difference for Stroman (4-2) was keeping the ball down.
"Better overall command," he said. "Throwing the ball in the strike
zone more and making better pitches."
He also had help from an offense that gave him a 7-0 lead after two
innings.
Designated hitter Adam Lind led the way with a three-run homer and
an RBI single. He was making his first start since June 14, when he
sustained a deep bone bruise after he fouled a ball off his right
foot in Baltimore.
"Lindy is a big part of this offense," Blue Jays manager John
Gibbons said. "He kills right-handers. He's a good hitter. You take
him out of our lineup, and that's a big hole. The home run was
huge."
Catcher Dioner Navarro went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs for the
Blue Jays, who handed the Yankees their third loss in a row. The Blue Jays put up 11 hits and eight runs in 3 1/3 innings against
Yankees right-hander Chase Whitley (3-1), who had his three-game
winning streak snapped.
"It seemed like when he made a mistake, they hit it hard," Yankees
manager Joe Girardi said. "And when he made a good pitch, they
seemed to find a hole with it. It was the combination of that. It
was a tough start for him."
Whitley said, "I couldn't command the ball at all, like I have been
in the past. I got away from the game plan. I couldn't execute the
pitches I wanted to throw."
Toronto (43-35) earned a needed win. The Blue Jays extended their
lead over the Yankees (39-36) in the American League East to 2 1/2
games, while the Baltimore Orioles (40-35) remained 1 1/2 games
back.
Since winning their first five games in June, the Blue Jays are
5-11. They were coming off a 3-7 trip that included being swept in a
three-game series at Yankee Stadium last week.
They also are dealing with injuries to right fielder Jose Bautista
and third baseman Brett Lawrie
"We play as a team and do our jobs in certain situations," Lind said
on how the team can cope. "Hopefully we can maintain where we are."
The Yankees scored twice in the ninth against Chad Jenkins on an RBI
single by third baseman Yangervis Solarte, who snapped a 0-for-28
drought, and an RBI double by left fielder Kelly Johnson.
Aaron Loup came in to get the final out of the game.
The Blue Jays scored once in the first inning when Lind followed
left fielder Melky Cabrera's one-out double with a single.
The lead increased to 7-0 with a six-run second inning.
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The Blue Jays loaded the bases on singles by third baseman Juan
Francisco, second baseman Munenori Kawasaki and right fielder
Anthony Gose. Francisco scored when shortstop Jose Reyes forced Gose
at second. Cabrera singled home another run, and Lind doubled the
lead with his fourth homer of the season, a three-run drive to
center.
First baseman Edwin Encarnacion singled and scored on a two-out
double by catcher Dioner Navarro.
Teixeira hit his 13th homer of the season to center with two outs in
the fourth. Whitley walked Lind and Encarnacion to open the home
fourth, and Navarro restored the seven-run lead with a single.
Stroman handled the rest, equaling his career high with seven
strikeouts.
"He did a fantastic job," Gibbons said. "We needed that. We needed
some shut-down innings early on to give ourselves a chance to get on
the board. Pretty impressive."
Stroman said, "The changeup was a good pitch today. It was pretty
crucial. I was just down in the zone today, and that allowed me to
get on a pretty good roll. Then the defense behind me was
unbelievable. Eddie (Encarnacion) made two great plays, Gose with an
unbelievable play (a catch at the wall on shortstop Brendan Ryan's
fly to right). That kind of picks you up and gives you more
confidence."
On June 17 in New York, Stroman allowed four hits, three walks and
two runs in 3 2/3 innings and had only two strikeouts.
"He threw more strikes," Girardi said. "That was the biggest
difference for him tonight. And when we hit a ball hard, they caught
it."
NOTES: The Blue Jays put 3B Brett Lawrie (right index finger
fracture) on the 15-day disabled list. He left Toronto's 4-3 loss at
Cincinnati on Sunday after RHP Johnny Cueto hit him on the hand with
a pitch in the second inning. ... RF Jose Bautista, who left
Sunday's game with a right hamstring injury after beating out a bunt
in the third inning, had an MRI exam Monday that revealed a mild
strain. He didn't play Monday, and he is likely to sit out Tuesday,
too. ... The Blue Jays recalled OF Anthony Gose and OF Kevin Pillar
from Triple-A Buffalo to fill in for Bautista as a right field
platoon, and C Erik Kratz was returned to Buffalo on option. ...
Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira (sore left foot) was back in the lineup
Monday. He left Sunday's game after being hit by a pitch in the
eighth inning. ... RHP David Phelps (3-4, 3.86 ERA) will start
Tuesday for the Yankees against Blue Jays LHP Mark Buehrle (10-4,
2.32 ERA).
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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