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Matsui, Posada power Yankees past Blue Jays

Aug 12, 2009 - 3:48 AM By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK(AP) -- Jorge Posada conducted his own video replay about the same time the umpires retreated to take a look at his eighth-inning shot Tuesday night.

The catcher and the crew came to the same conclusion - home run.

Posada followed Hideki Matsui's leadoff homer with a tiebreaking drive that just got over the glove of leaping right fielder Joe Inglett, helping the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 for their eighth win in nine games.

"You look at the video but still, it's whatever they think and whatever they see," said Posada, admitting to some nerves while the umpires examined his 15th homer of the season.

Matsui hit a full-count pitch from Jesse Carlson (1-5) deep to right to tie it at 4, sending a previously quiet Yankee Stadium crowd into a frenzy. Posada then connected on a 2-1 offering, lofting a fly ball toward the inviting right-field wall.

"I saw it off the bat good, went back good," Inglett said. "I felt I had a real good bead on it and it just went over my glove."

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston bolted out of the dugout after Posada rounded the bases, and the umpires decided to take another look. After a short delay, the call was upheld.

"It was a popup," Carlson said. "What are you going to do? It wasn't really a bad pitch - down and away. I thought it was a routine fly ball."

New York has hit consecutive homers in three straight games for the first time since 1983, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau, and has gone back-to-back 13 times this season.

Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon added RBI singles off Josh Roenicke to extend the lead to 7-4.

Posada also had a homer to right upheld by replay at New York's plush new ballpark in a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on April 19.

"Both times they did the right thing, going and checking it," Posada said.

David Robertson (2-1) retired the only batter he faced to get the win and Mariano Rivera allowed Edwin Encarnacion's first homer with Toronto before finishing for his 33rd save in 34 opportunities.

Encarnacion's one-out drive snapped Rivera's scoreless streak at 22 1-3 innings. Rod Barajas followed with a single before Rivera struck out Inglett and Marco Scutaro to end the game.

Local product Randy Ruiz homered in his return to the Bronx and Lyle Overbay had a three-run double for Toronto, which had won three straight. Scott Richmond allowed three runs - all in the first two innings - and eight hits in his second start since he was sidelined for a month with biceps tendinitis.

"It was nice to see him come back as well as he did," Gaston said of Richmond. "He did a great job after the second inning."

Derek Jeter and Damon each had three hits for the AL East-leading Yankees, who improved to 5-1 on their seven-game homestand. Cabrera drove in two runs on his 25th birthday.

Joba Chamberlain allowed four runs and five hits in six innings, and was in line for his first loss since June 18 before New York scored four times in the eighth.

"I'm just not trusting myself enough," he said. "That's probably the biggest thing."

The Yankees are closely watching the 23-year-old right-hander's innings, and manager Joe Girardi hasn't revealed yet when he will make his next start.

"I mean this game is full of adjustments, whether it's on the mound or off the mound, so you've just got to take what they give you and try to make the best of those days off," Chamberlain said.

Ruiz, who graduated from nearby James Monroe H.S., hit an 0-1 pitch from Chamberlain off the right-field foul pole in the fourth to give Toronto a 4-3 lead. The opposite-field shot was his second career homer and first since last Aug. 26 for Minnesota at Seattle.

"When the ball hit the pole I said 'All right!"' Ruiz said. "It's amazing. It's awesome."

Ruiz, a former Yankees farmhand, appeared in 22 games with the Twins last year - none in New York - in his first big league action after parts of 10 seasons in the minors. Toronto became his 10th major league organization when it signed him in December.

Ruiz, a career .302 hitter in the minors before this year, batted .320 with 25 homers and 106 RBIs in 114 games with Triple-A Las Vegas to earn Tuesday's promotion. He got the call after two-time All-Star outfielder Alex Rios was claimed off waivers by the White Sox on Monday.

The Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Richmond, who was hit hard in the first two innings. Mark Teixeira's smash skipped past second baseman Aaron Hill for an RBI single in the first and Posada added a run-scoring double. Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly in the second.

New York had a chance for more in each inning but Teixeira was thrown out at home trying to score from first on Posada's two-out drive and Alex Rodriguez flied out to center with the bases loaded to end the second.

NOTES: The Blue Jays have homered in six consecutive games and 10 of 11. ... The Yankees held their second Kangaroo Court before the game with Rivera serving as judge, complete with a gavel and robe. "It was great and everything was perfect," a grinning Rivera said, while refusing to get into any specifics. ... New York RF Nick Swisher rested and Girardi said Rodriguez, Jeter and Teixeira could get a day off soon.