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Colon pitches into seventh as Yanks down Blue Jays

Apr 21, 2011 - 6:15 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Bartolo Colon struck out seven batters over 6 2/3 effective innings, and Alex Rodriguez knocked in a run in his return to the lineup, as the Yankees topped Toronto, 6-2, at Rogers Centre.

Colon (1-1), making his first regular season start since July 24, 2009, allowed five hits and two runs while walking a pair of batters. The portly right-hander, who missed a good portion of that season due to left knee inflammation and didn't pitch during the 2010 regular season, moved to 9-3 lifetime against the Blue Jays.

Colon is getting a shot in the rotation with Phil Hughes on the 15-day disabled list. On Wednesday, he threw 89 pitches, 56 for strikes.

"Colon located his fastball really well. It was tough getting anything going against him," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said.

Rodriguez, who missed the previous two games due to a sore left side, started at third base and hit cleanup. His sacrifice fly scored Nick Swisher in the fifth inning.

Mark Teixeira doubled three times and scored once for New York, which split this two-game series. Curtis Granderson had an RBI triple in the second inning and belted a solo homer in the ninth.

Brett Cecil (1-2) allowed six hits and five runs over five innings as the Blue Jays lost for the eighth time in 11 contests. J.P. Arencibia homered in defeat.

The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the opening inning on walks to Rodriguez and Swisher and a double by Teixeira. Robinson Cano's groundout to first made it 1-0.

Russell Martin singled ahead of Granderson's triple to the right field corner in the second. Granderson then scored on Derek Jeter's groundout.

Arencibia homered to left-center leading off the bottom of the second, but the Yankees tacked on two runs in the fifth for a 5-1 cushion. They put runners on second and third thanks to an infield single from Swisher and a double by Teixeira. Then came sacrifice flies from Rodriguez and Cano.

The Blue Jays got an RBI single from Jayson Nix in the bottom of the seventh, but could have had more runs if not for a base-running blunder. Edwin Encarnacion doubled with one out and Arencibia walked. Travis Snider then singled to right. Encarnacion stopped at third, but Arencibia kept going, putting two runners at third. Arencibia was out on the play, and then Nix doubled off David Robinson for a 5-2 contest.

Granderson led off the ninth by blasting a Frank Francisco offering over the right field wall.

Lance Pendleton started on the mound in the bottom of the ninth, but the Blue Jays put runners on second and third. Rafael Soriano then walked Nix, but John McDonald fouled out and Yunel Escobar flied out to center to end the game. Soriano picked up his first save of the year.

Game Notes

Cano has an 11-game hitting streak...The Yankees are the only major league team yet to lose two games in a row this season...Rodriguez has 1,841 career RBI. He needs three RBI to tie Carl Yastrzemski (1,844) for 10th place on baseball's all-time list...New York went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.