Yanks fall to Jays
TORONTO — Two hits over seven dominating innings by David Price, throwing 87 of his 114 pitches for strikes, as the Blue Jays scored an early advantage in their pivotal series against the Yankees with a 4-2 victory on Monday night at Rogers Centre.
The win increased the Blue Jays’ lead over New York to 3 1/2 games for first place in the American League East. Toronto also moved within 1 1/2 games of the Royals for the top record in the AL after Kansas City enjoyed a night off. The Blue Jays’ lead the division can largely be attributed to their 12-5 record against New York with two games remaining between the two clubs.
Price struck out seven and retired 14 consecutive batters from the third inning until he left after seven. The AL Cy Young Award candidate improved to 8-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 10 starts with Toronto, which includes three victories over the Yankees. He lowered his overall ERA to a league-best 2.34 in 31 starts.
“That’s a very good team, we all know that,” Price said (Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com) “That’s the most storied franchise in all of sports, so beating those guys is always fun, it’s always tough. They always put together quality at-bats, they never give at-bats away, they’re tough to pitch against. So beating them is always fun.”
