Blue Jays 5 - 4 Yankees
Final
  for this game

Blue Jays, Yanks play rubber match at Yankee Stadium

Jul 27, 2014 - 2:18 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - With a 17-game losing streak in the Bronx a thing of the past, the Toronto Blue Jays now set their sights on taking the rubber match of a three-game series against the New York Yankees this afternoon.

In the midst of a nine-game road trip that has them making stops in Boston and Houston coming up, the Jays had been ineffective at Yankee Stadium since September 2012, but that ineptitude finally went away on Saturday thanks to a 6-4 victory.

Closing the book on the second-longest road losing streak against a single opponent in franchise history, Toronto now finds itself three games out of first place in the American League East, trailing only the surprising Baltimore Orioles.

Similarly, New York is also three games behind the O's entering play on Sunday.

Dan Johnson was responsible for four RBI on Saturday, thanks in part to a three-run home run in the top of the ninth in order to give Toronto some breathing room in the victory. Dioner Navarro generated three hits and Melky Cabrera scored twice for the visitors.

Drew Hutchison picked up the win for the Jays yesterday as he permitted two runs on five hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. Now 7-9 on the campaign, Hutchison also struck out seven in the appearance.

"Big, big day, Hutch was outstanding," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons commented. "I've never felt so excited about winning a ballgame."

"Things that have happened previously, there's nothing you can do about them once they happen," Hutchison noted. "It's a fresh game, go out there and do everything you can do to give your team a chance to win."

Taking the loss for the Yankees was Shawn Kelley who came on in relief of Chris Capuano. Kelley recorded just one out as he surrendered one run on a hit and a walk. Capuano, a recent pickup by New York, was touched for two runs on five hits and four walks, fanning four over six innings.

"Good job. He did a really good job, gave us six good innings," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Capuano, the 11th different starter used by New York this season. "I said we'd use him around 100 pitches and that's what he gave us and he did a nice job."

Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann both went deep for the hosts, bringing in two runs apiece, while Derek Jeter logged two hits and a walk in his four official at-bats.

Aiming for back-to-back wins for the first time in two months, J.A. Happ readies himself to take the mound this afternoon for the Jays. The left-hander was last in action on Tuesday when he scattered seven hits over six shutout innings versus Boston at home. Happ issued just a single walk and struck out four as he won for the first time in nearly a month.

The Northwestern product is 2-2 with a 5.22 ERA in seven all-time appearances versus the Yankees.

As for the hosts, they originally had Shawn Greene penciled in for the start on Saturday, but he has instead been moved to Sunday. The rookie right-hander is making just his fifth appearance at the major league level and is hoping to bounce back from his first loss earlier this week versus Texas at home.

Against the Rangers, Greene was charged with four runs on five hits and a walk, striking out five over 5 2/3 innings.

Greene and the rest of the Yankee hurlers will have to be at the top of their game today as they take on the top home run hitting team in all of baseball. Through 105 games, the Jays have 126 home runs, boosting their slugging to .428 which is third in the majors.

Unfortunately for the hosts, they have issued the most home runs in the AL from a pitching standpoint, permitting 113 to this point in the campaign.






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