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Yankees down Blue Jays; Rivera, Reyes reach milestones

May 25, 2011 - 10:05 PM Bronx, NY (Sports Network) - Andruw Jones hit a pair of two-run homers and Mark Teixeira added a two-run shot, as the Yankees earned a 7-3 win over Toronto in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Curtis Granderson doubled twice, drove in a run and scored one for the Yankees, who have won seven of their last nine games.

Freddy Garcia (3-4) threw 6 1/3 innings, yielding three runs on eight hits and struck out four without issuing a walk. The veteran right- hander had lost two straight and four of his previous five starts coming in.

"Beautiful, every time you pitch and the team is hitting for you, you got to go out there and shut it down every inning and I was able to do that," Garcia said. "

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera made his 1,000th career appearance, coming on in a non-save situation in the ninth and working a scoreless frame. He became the 15th pitcher in major league history to reach the plateau, and the first to reach that total with one team.

"It's uplifting. Being with the same team and able to do that," Rivera said about his milestone appearance. It's not too often you see that, but the most important thing is we won."

Juan Rivera, Eric Thames and Jayson Nix each had an RBI for Toronto, which has dropped four of six.

Jo-Jo Reyes (0-4) worked three innings, surrendering five runs on as many hits with two walks. The left-hander has not won a game since June, 2008, when he was with Atlanta. He is now 0-13 in 31 appearances and tied Matt Keough's major-league record of 28 winless starts. Keough set the mark for Oakland from September 6, 1978-August 8, 1979.

Consecutive doubles by Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson in the first gave New York the early 1-0 lead. The Yankees were bidding for more with runners on first and second with nobody out, but Alex Rodriguez flied out and Robinson Cano lined into a double play.

Then in the second, Russell Martin led off with a walk and crossed the plated on Jones' two-run homer over the left-center field fence.

Teixeira added a two-run shot into the left-field seats in the third to put the Yankees in front 5-0.

"We dug ourselves kind of a hole early on," Toronto manager John Farrell said. "To Garcia's credit he had us on our front foot most of the day with his offspeed stuff."

Toronto stranded a runner in scoring position in the fifth, but put a run up in the sixth when Corey Patterson doubled with one out and came home on Rivera's base hit.

Jones belted his second two-run shot of the game in the home sixth to make it a 7-1 game.

The Blue Jays got the runs back in the seventh on an RBI double by Thames and a run-scoring groundout from Nix.

Joba Chamberlain worked a scoreless eighth and Rivera took the hill for the ninth. The veteran closer surrendered a lead-off single to Thames, then retired Rajai Davis and pinch-hitter Edwin Encarnacion on fly balls before striking out pinch-hitter J.P. Arencibia to end the game.

Game Notes

Jeter went 1-for-3 and is now 24 hits shy of 3,000 for his career...Garcia improved to 7-6 lifetime against Toronto in 16 starts...The Blue Jays went 2- for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven, while New York finished 2-for-11 with RISP and left eight men on base.