Happ, Blue Jays control Yankees

[May 27, 2016]  NEW YORK -- For the Toronto Blue Jays, enough things clicked Thursday from J.A. Happ delivering a strong showing on the mound to Devon Travis getting a run-scoring hit on a 102 mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman.

For the Yankees, other than another strong showing from CC Sabathia, little went right, especially in the middle of their lineup.

Happ outdueled Sabathia by pitching seven innings while Toronto's pitchers struck out Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez a combined six times during a 3-1 victory over the Yankees.

The Blue Jays capped a 5-2 road trip in their first seven road games since the May 15 brawl in Texas. They won mostly because of a pitching staff, who held teams to four hits or fewer four times and held opponents to a .176 average.

"It turned out to be a great road trip," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "It's been kind of a battle for us but the guys are still competing out there, feeling good. We haven't got the results we expected at this point but we're due to get hot."

The finale for the Blue Jays came with two on in the ninth and holding a 2-1 lead. They put two on against Chapman and Travis made enough contact with the fastball for an insurance run.

"I think pretty similar nerves, your heart's beating through your chest, Travis said. "The guy's throwing 102, you better do your best to slow it down. I just did my best to fight and put it into play and thankfully it found a hole.

Happ (6-2) allowed a solo home run to Starlin Castro with two outs in the first but held the Yankees to two other hits. The left-hander became the third Toronto pitcher since the start of last season to allow three hits or less in seven innings during consecutive starts.

"We want to score runs, we don't wanna waste performances like that," Yankees catcher Brian McCann said. "Happ threw the ball great today."

Toronto needed Happ to be effective since its offense managed little off Sabathia (3-3) The Blue Jays' first two runs came on a two-run single bases-loaded single by Edwin Encarnacion with two outs in the third. Toronto had one other baserunner against Sabathia and didn't score until Travis got enough of a pitch from Chapman in the ninth.

The Yankees lost their second straight following a season-high six-game winning streak.

Beltran returned to right field after being the DH in Rodriguez's absence and struck out four times. Rodriguez struck out once against Happ, who retired him on a groundout and fly out. He also struck out for the second out in the ninth when Roberto Osuna recorded his 10th save.

Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ (33) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

"I know he didn't get any hits," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "We had a lot of guys that didn't get hits today."

The Yankees had four base runners off Happ after Castro's sixth home run. The left-hander's biggest challenges occurred in the fifth and seventh.

In the fifth, he gave up consecutive one-out singles to Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius but quickly got Austin Romine on a double play. In the seventh, Happ walked Headley with two outs and fell behind Gregorius but ended the at-bat with a groundout to second.

Sabathia lasted seven innings during his second start back from the DL and allowed two hits.

"We missed an opportunity today, CC pitched great," Girardi said. "He pitched extremely well and we weren't able to get him any runs."

NOTES: Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira had a second round of cortisone shots to treat his neck spasms and did not play for the second straight game and fourth time overall because of the neck injury. He is expected to miss the next few days when the Yankees are in Tampa Bay. ... Toronto SS Troy Tulowitzki (right quad) missed his second straight game. Manager John Gibbons said Tulowitzki is feeling a little better but wanted to be cautious. ... Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista had his appeal hearing for his one-game suspension and was in the lineup. Bautista was suspended for his role in the May 15 fight at Texas. ... Besides activating DH Alex Rodriguez from the disabled list, the Yankees made three other transactions. They placed LHP Chasen Shreve (shoulder) on the 15-day disabled list, recalled LHP Richard Bleier from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre and optioned IF/OF Rob Refsnyder there.

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.