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Blue Jays rout Yankees; Bautista hurts ankle

Jul 15, 2011 - 6:01 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Edwin Encarnacion and Eric Thames knocked in three runs apiece as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the New York Yankees, 16-7, in an offensive showcase to open a four-game series.

The Blue Jays set a season-high in runs despite having All-Star third baseman Jose Bautista leave the game in the fourth inning with a twisted right ankle. He was replaced by John McDonald and is day-to-day.

Aaron Hill, Travis Snider, J.P. Arencibia and Rajai Davis each had two RBI as part of a 20-hit attack, as Toronto won its fourth straight game.

Jo-Jo Reyes (5-7) allowed seven runs on 10 hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings for the win.

Bartolo Colon (6-5) lasted just two-thirds of an inning, yielding eight runs -- three earned -- on six hits and two walks.

"It's hard to figure what to make of that start because we didn't play that good of a defense behind him," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "You don't make too much of one game, but it wasn't a good game on our part."

Andruw Jones had two home runs and four RBI for the Yankees, losers in three of their last five.

Toronto started the second half of the season by jumping all over New York in the first inning, bringing 12 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs.

Thames doubled with one out on a sinking liner that bounced under the glove of a diving Brett Gardner in left field. Bautista followed with a walk and the runners moved up to second and third on a groundout by Adam Lind. Hill came up next and slapped a ball up the middle, scoring Thames and Bautista.

After an Encarnacion walk, Snider singled in Hill. Arencibia reached on an Eduardo Nunez fielding error to load the bases, and back-to-back run-scoring infield singles on dribblers to the left of the mound by Davis and Yunel Escobar brought home Encarnacion and Snider.

Thames then smacked his second double of the inning, this one a ground-rule shot that bounced over the left-center field wall, to score Arencibia and Davis to knock Colon out of the game.

Luis Ayala took the mound next and was called for a balk, scoring Escobar. Bautista's pop up to short finally ended the inning.

The Jays added another run in the second when Lind led off with a high pop up into shallow left field that Nunez got turned around on and the ball fell just out his reach. Lind took second on the play and came home on an Encarnacion liner to right.

The Yankees started to rally in the third. Jones started the frame with a leadoff home run. Gardner followed with a base hit and Derek Jeter then walked. Curtis Granderson smoked a liner into right field that bounced over the head of Thames, resulting in a two-run triple. Granderson crossed the plate on a Mark Teixeira groundout to make it a 9-4 contest.

Jones added his second homer of the game in the sixth, this one a three-run shot to make it a two-run game. Gardner then singled and Reyes was replaced by Luis Perez on the mound.

Jeter greeted Perez with a single up the middle, putting the tying runs on the bases. But a Granderson strikeout and a Teixeira groundout ended the inning.

That would be the extent of the Yankees offense and the Jays would add to their lead in every inning for the rest of the game.

Yankee pitcher Boone Logan entered in the bottom of the sixth with runners on first and second and one out. After a Lind pop up, Hill reached base on an infield hit to load the bases and Encarnacion's base hit to left made it 11-7.

Snider led off the seventh with a single, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Russell Martin's throwing error before scoring on a double by Arencibia, who later came home on a single by Thames.

Snider's RBI double, Jeter's fielding error that scored Encarnacion and Davis' RBI fielder's choice in the eighth accounted for the final score.

"It was an outstanding effort by our lineup top to bottom," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "A lot of production up and down the lineup."

Game Notes

New York placed third baseman Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list, recalled outfielder Greg Golson from Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and signed pitcher J.C. Romero to a minor-league contract Thursday...The Yankees fell to 23-17 on the road this season...Toronto improved to 4-5 against New York this year...Home Run Derby champion Robinson Cano went 3-for-5 with three singles in the game.