Blue Jays beat up by Bronx Bombers
Yankees score 12-2 victory over Toronto in series opener
TORONTO — Marco Estrada left two specific pitches up in the zone and Gary Sanchez made him pay for both.
The Yankees’ catcher has developed a habit of doing that to the Toronto right-hander.
Sanchez hit two home runs off Estrada change-ups on Thursday — the same pitches he hit out twice in a game last August at Yankee Stadium — as New York pummelled the Blue Jays 12-2, snapping Toronto’s hope of starting June on a winning note.
Estrada (4-3) allowed seven runs total on nine hits. He also walked two and struck out four while snapping his own string of three straight wins.
But the 33-year-old, who lasted just 3 2/3 innings, was more frustrated over when he left the game rather than how he left it.
“Obviously it’s a tough outing — I got hit around a bunch, I didn’t make any good pitches, it just wasn’t there — but I’m more upset about having the bullpen pick up all those innings,” Estrada said. “It’s my job to go deep in these games regardless of how many runs I give up.”
The last-place Blue Jays (26-28) looked to have turned a corner in May, going 18-10 after an 8-17 April. They finished the month with a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds and hoped to continue that streak into June.
But the AL East leading Yankees (31-20) wouldn’t allow it, attacking Estrada right from the start.
He needed 29 pitches to get out of a disastrous first inning that saw New York send eight men to the plate and score four runs. Aaron Judge started it off by plating Brett Gardner from second base with a single — his 38th RBI of the season — before a bases-clearing double from Aaron Hicks, his first of three on the night, added three more runs.
Hicks had a banner night, driving in six runs on four hits and Chase Headley had two RBIs. Gardner had a milestone night, reaching 1,000 career hits as the Yankees piled on 15 hits in all.
CC Sabathia (6-2) struck out seven and allowed five hits and one run through 6 1/3 to improve to 8-3 at Rogers Centre.
Kendrys Morales and Ezequiel Carrera hit solo homers late for Toronto.
Francisco Liriano (2-2, 6.35 earned-run average) is expected to return off the disabled list (shoulder) to start for Toronto against the Yankees today. New York counters with Michael Pineda (6-2, 3.32 ERA).
ROCKIES 6, MARINERS 3
SEATTLE — Mark Reynolds and Nolan Arenado homered to back Kyle Freeland, and the Colorado Rockies stopped a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.
Colorado closed out four straight games against the Mariners in interleague play by jumping on Yovani Gallardo (2-6) with four runs in the second inning. Reynolds provided the big blow with a two-run homer, his 14th.