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 The Toronto Blue Jays manager watched his star right-hander induce
17 ground-ball outs and hold the New York Yankees to three hits and
two runs in eight innings Thursday night.
Josh Donaldson took care of the rest, hitting a three-run homer in
the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and bring
the Blue Jays from behind on their way to a 4-2 victory.
It was the second win in a row for the Blue Jays (5-5) after they
dropped the opener of the three-game series against the Yankees
(4-4). Toronto finished its homestand against the Boston Red Sox and
New York at 3-3.
"We salvaged a pretty good homestand the way it started against two
pretty good teams," Gibbons said. "Donaldson, that's why you call
him the MVP, I guess."
The Blue Jays third baseman was the 2015 American League Most
Valuable Player.
Stroman (2-0) is 5-1 in his career against the Yankees. He allowed
two walks, hit a batter and struck out three.
"I found a better feel for my spinning pitches," Stroman said. "My
curveball and slider were very good, and so was my sinker. I thought
I was locating my sinker. I felt like I was down more than in my
last game, and the results showed."
Right-hander Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn
his fourth save of the season.
Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (0-1) allowed seven hits --
including two home runs -- and four runs in 6 2/3 innings. He walked
two and struck out eight in his second start of the season
"They're a real aggressive team," Eovaldi said. "They all swing
early in the count. I've just got to do a better job of locating,
especially my off-speed pitches earlier in counts."
After Donaldson gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead with his home run,
Troy Tulowitzki hit his second homer of the season with one out in
the sixth on the first pitch.
Eovaldi was replaced by right-hander Johnny Barbato in the seventh
after Donaldson doubled with two outs.
With one out in the fourth, Stroman hit Alex Rodriguez with a
two-strike pitch, and Mark Teixeira followed with a single.
The Yankees loaded the bases when Brian McCann was given an infield
single on a grounder up the middle that might have been a double
play had second baseman Ryan Goins been able to control the ball.
The Yankees scored a run when Carlos Beltran forced McCann at second
with a grounder to Goins and barely beat shortstop Tulowitzki's
throw to first.
After a walk to Chase Headley loaded the bases, a wild pitch scored
the second run of the inning.
"That was really the only good chance that we had to get some runs,"
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We had the bases loaded with one
out and ended up with two runs. He didn't give us many
opportunities."
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Rodriguez said, "We felt like we let one get away tonight. (Stroman)
keeps the ball down, he doesn't give you too many pitches over the
middle of the plate. A lot of hitters just pound the ball right into
the ground, right into the turf."
Stroman said of his fourth inning, "I felt like my pitches were
doing exactly what I needed them to do. I felt like I let up a
couple of balls that weren't necessarily well hit but just in the
right area. Just a matter of being able to battle and stay in it
there, and after that inning, I felt like I was really locked in."
Gibbons added, "The key is he bounced back and settled down against
a good lineup that's not easy to face. His stuff was good, the rest
of the night his stuff never dropped off.
"Eovaldi was great, too. He's got one of the best arms in baseball.
It was one of those games where you had to battle because the
pitching was great on both sides. One big home run like we got made
the difference."
Donaldson's fifth homer of the season with two outs in the fifth
scored Russell Martin, who walked, and Kevin Pillar, who doubled.
"A walk, a double and then a quick three-run homer," Girardi said.
"That's who they are. They hit the ball out of the ballpark, and
they're dangerous."
NOTES: Yankees C Brian McCann returned to the lineup Thursday,
wearing some extra padding on his shoe. He took a foul tip off his
big toe Tuesday, missed the ninth inning of that game and did not
play at all Wednesday. ... The Yankees officially announced Thursday
that OF/1B Nick Swisher signed a minor league contract and was
assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... After completing a
six-game homestand Thursday, the Blue Jays go on the road for seven
games at Boston and Baltimore. Toronto RHP R.A. Dickey (1-1, 8.10
ERA) will start Friday against Boston RHP Rick Porcello (1-0, 6.00)
in the opener of a four-game series at Fenway Park. ... The Yankees
will start RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 5.40 ERA) against Seattle
Mariners RHP Nathan Karns (0-1, 7.20 ERA) on Friday to begin a
three-game series that kicks off a nine-game homestand at Yankee
Stadium.
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