Sixth-inning rush spurs Blue Jays comeback over Yankees

Buffalo, New York – Chad Green and Adam Ottavino were routed during a 10-run sixth inning that included Danny Jansen’s grand slam, and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Yankees 12-7 Monday night and send skidding New York to its sixth loss in seven games.

New York has lost four straight and 14 of 19, dropping into third place in the AL East, two games behind second-place Toronto and 6½ back of Tampa Bay. At 21-20 overall following a 16-6 start, the Yankees have dropped into the AL’s eighth and final playoff position.

With general manager Brian Cashman making a rare road trip, New York led 6-2 when Green replaced Jonathan Holder going to the bottom of the sixth. Green, Ottavino and Luis Cessa needed 67 pitches and 43 minutes to get three outs.

“It’s the worst feeling in the world,” Ottavino said. “You let your team down. It’s always tough when you feel like you’re the reason why you lost the game.”

Toronto loaded the bases with a pair of walks and Randal Grichuk’s one-out single, and first baseman Luke Voit charged Rowdy Tellez’s two-hopper but allowed the ball to bounce off the palm of his glove and into foul territory for an error as a run scored.

Ottavino (2-3) relieved, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run, opposite-field single that bounced past Voit and down the right-field line. Guerrero stole second and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who had three hits, lined a fastball into left for a tying single.

Gurriel stole second, Jonathan Villar walked and Travis Shaw lined a fastball up the middle for a two-run single and an 8-6 lead after Ottavino shook off catcher Kyle Higashioka three times.

“He was just having a tough time seeing signs,” Higashioka said “It was pretty dark there.”

Joe Panik walked, and Jansen chased Ottavino when he drove a fastball to left-center for his first career slam for a 12-6 lead.

“The quality of at-bats, with the walks, is where it started,” Jansen said. “Ottavino has run, so I tried to get the ball in the air. I tried to simplify things as best as I can, and I happened to drive a ball. It just happened to work out.”

Green’s ERA jumped to 4.26, and Ottavino allowed six runs without getting any outs as his ERA rose to 7.82.

“It’s just bizarre,” Ottavino said. “Myself and Greeny didn’t get any swing and misses that whole inning. Not getting swing-and-misses is an indication of either my stuff wasn’t good, my location wasn’t good, or they had something on me, they had a great approach, or knew what was coming.”

New York had not allowed 10 runs in an inning since CC Sabathia and Esmil Rogers were hit hard in the third inning of a 15-4 loss to Texas on May 23, 2015.

Sean Reid-Foley (1-0) won despite a bases-loaded walk to Aaron Hicks in the sixth that extended the Yankees’ lead to four runs.

Voit and Hicks hit solo homers in the first off Hyun Jin Ryu, who allowed five runs and six hits in five innings.

Toronto tied the score against Jordan Montgomery on Tellez’s RBI double in the first and Santiago Espinal’s RBI single in the second.

Miguel Andujar put New York back ahead with his first home run since Sept. 27, 2018, and Clint Frazier hit a two-run double in the fifth. Andujar added an RBI grounder in the ninth.

The game was the first this season between the teams, who are scheduled to face each other nine more times over the final 19 games.

“It’s almost a playoff game every game,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. “The way we did it, down in the game, and facing their best relievers and coming back, that was a great win.”

Phillies 9, Mets 8 (10)

In New york Jean Segura hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and drove in a career-best five runs, bailing out Philadelphia’s abominable bullpen and helping the Phillies earn a split of the four-game series.

The Mets erased a 6-0 deficit against former teammate Zack Wheeler and baseball’s worst bullpen, taking a 7-6 lead on Jeff McNeil’s three-run homer in the seventh inning.

Segura hit his fifth homer of the season with two outs in the 10th, lining a pitch from Miguel Castro (1-1) over the wall in left-center. Brandon Workman (1-1) got the win.

Cubs 5, Cardinals 1

In Chicago, Kyle Hendricks went eight innings, helping the NL Central-leading Cubs to the victory.

The Cubs got just the sort of start they needed from Hendricks and closed out the five-game series on a winning note after losing three straight. They lead their longtime rivals by 2½ games.

Hendricks (5-4) gave up a run and seven hits in his second straight win.

Javier Baez had three singles, helping the Cubs earn a split of the 10-game season series against the Cardinals. Willson Contreras made it 5-0 with a two-run single against Johan Oviedo (0-2) in the fifth.

Nationals 6, Rays 1

In Washington, Washington ace Max Scherzer cooled off Tampa Bay with seven scoreless innings.

Kurt Suzuki had an RBI double among his three hits and Michael A. Taylor drove in two runs for the last-place Nationals, who were missing several regulars.

Scherzer (4-2) allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked one in his second-longest outing of the season. Daniel Hudson got one out for his eighth save in 11 chances.

The Rays came in with a season-best 5½-game lead in the AL East and had won 22 of 27.

Marlins 5, Braves 4 (10)

In Atlanta, Miguel Rojas had four hits for Miami, including a go-ahead double in the 10th inning.

Atlanta’s Adam Duvall led off the ninth with a tying pinch-hit homer off Brandon Kintzler (2-3), the closer’s second blown save in 11 chances.

Garrett Cooper opened the 10th as Miami’s designated runner at second and advanced on Jon Berti’s sacrifice. A.J. Minter (1-1) intentionally walked pinch-hitter Brian Anderson, and Rojas doubled to right-center.

Nick Vincent got three straight outs for his third save.

Atlanta’s NL East lead was cut to two games over second-place Philadelphia, while the third-place Marlins dropped 2½ games behind the Phillies.

Mariners 8, Rangers 4

In Seattle, Kyle Seager and Dylan Moore homered, and the Mariners beat the Rangers for their first six-game win streak since July 2019.

Moore also had a three-run double. Marco Gonzales (5-2) struck out seven while pitching seven innings of two-run ball.

Seattle completed a four-game sweep of Texas, which has lost six straight. The Mariners are 11-3 after an 8-19 start.

Twins 6, Tigers 2

In Minneapolis, Ryan Jeffers hit his first major league homer to spark Minnesota’s four-run third inning, and Michael Pineda stayed sharp in his return from suspension.

Pineda (1-0) pitched seven innings of two-run ball in his first victory since Sept. 1, 2019. After serving a 60-game penalty for taking a banned weight-loss drug, Pineda debuted last week with six innings and a no-decision as the Twins beat Chicago.

Indians 5, Royals 2

In Cleveland, Zach Plesac won his second straight start since returning to Cleveland’s rotation after a demotion for breaking team COVID-19 protocols, and the Indians handed the Royals their season-high seventh straight loss.

Plesac (3-1) permitted one run — Adalberto Mondesi’s 458-foot homer in the seventh — and seven hits in seven innings. Brad Hand struck out the side in the ninth for his 12th save.

Giants 4, Diamondbacks 2

Padres 1, Rockies 0

Athletics 6, Astros 0

Source : Baseball – The Japan Times