Ichiro Suzuki goes deep with three
After a quiet four games when the Yankee bats were largely silent against the last-place Rangers, the Bombers bats awoke in a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays in front of 44,237 in the Bronx.
The game got off to a rough start for starter Hiroki Kuroda, who allowed singles to Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera and then a three-run homer to Jose Bautista in the first inning. Kuroda fell behind 3-0 in the count and the Toronto slugger was given the green light on a pitch that caught too much of the plate. The result was a blast over the left-center field wall.
The Bombers got two runs back in the bottom of the second with a bases-loaded infield single by Brian Roberts and a sacrifice fly by Brett Gardner.
Bautista homered again in the top of the third, his 20th round-tripper of the season, to extend the Toronto lead to 4-2. But the Bombers would strike back in the bottom half of the inning with a solo shot from Carlos Beltran - his 11th of the year - and a three-run jack from Ichiro Suzuki to give the Yankees their first lead, 6-4. Suzuki's first four-bagger of the season broke a homerless streak of 294 at-bats.
Kuroda (7-6, 3.99) settled down after the second Bautista homer and allowed just three more base runners. The righty was relieved after 5.2 innings pitched, allowing eight hits and one walk while striking out three. David Robertson nailed down his 26th save of the season.
Chase Headley, who joined the Yankees via trade on Tuesday night, finished 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored in the victory. The new third baseman is now 6-for-14 in his first four games in pinstripes.
The Yankees emerged from Friday a game up on the Blue Jays in the AL East standings with two games remaining in the weekend series against Toronto and two more winnable road series ahead against the Rangers and Red Sox. Before the game, the former San Diego Padre admitted he's excited to be in a pennant race.
'I want that opportunity, that's what we live for,' Headley said. 'I think sometimes early in your career, sometimes you live with making it to the big leagues or just being there. But after you've been there for a few years you kind of establish yourself as a player and that's what it's about, that's what it becomes: winning and giving yourself a chance to win a championship. If I have one regret thus far in my career, that's obviously it.'
At 54-48, the Yankees have hardly looked unbeatable. But here near the end of July, they are very much alive in the division race and began the day tied for the Wild Card lead. According to Headley, it's all about being there at the end.
'I wouldn't say that the best team wins the World Series ever year. It's the team that gets hot at the right time,' Headley said. 'That's what you do, you play all season to give yourself a chance to be hot come October. Obviously the ability, the good teams, that's part of it. But a lot of times it's just the team that gets hot at the right time.'
Post a Comment for "Ichiro Suzuki goes deep with three"