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Ichiro Suzuki homered for the first time since last August, prolonging extended slumps against the New York Yankees for Mark Buehrle and the Toronto Blue Jays. |
Suzuki hit a go-ahead, three-run shot in the third inning, and the Yankees overcame an early deficit to beat the Blue Jays 6-4 Friday night for their 17th straight home win against Toronto. Jose Bautista hit two homers to reach 20 for the fifth straight season. He also doubled and drove in four runs, but Buehrle couldn’t hold leads of 3-0 and 4-2.
The All-Star left-hander dropped to 1-12 against the Yankees, including 10 straight losses over the past decade.
New York won for the seventh time in eight games since the All-Star break and moved one game in front of the third-place Blue Jays in the AL East. The Yankees are 26-10 against Toronto since September 2012.
Hiroki Kuroda (7-6) shrugged off a shaky start and allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. David Robertson pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 28 chances.
Buehrle (10-7) started the season 10-1 but dropped to 0-6 with a 4.83 ERA in nine starts since beating Kansas City on June 1. He gave up six runs and nine hits in three innings, his shortest outing since June 6, 2010, for the Chicago White Sox against Cleveland.
Ichiro, however, may not be the Yankees’ starting right fielder for long. If there is one position the club will most likely reinforce before this time next week, it is probably right field. They need more power than what Ichiro -- who has a .327 slugging percentage and 14 RBIs in 89 games -- can provide.
“Every game from now on is going to be very important,” Ichiro said through an interpreter. “Tonight was great, but we’ve got to go get them tomorrow. It’s going to be a lot of tough games coming up.”
Ichiro said that he was well aware of the stats; the zero in the homer column had made him a popular target for Derek Jeter, who may need to find another outlet for his pregame ribbing. “He always tells me, ‘Can’t leave, can’t leave,’ during batting practice,” Ichiro said, with a laugh. “Which means the ball doesn’t leave the ballpark.”
Toronto manager John Gibbons called off pregame batting practice, hoping to change his team’s luck in the Bronx. And it seemed to work at first when Bautista hit a three-run homer over the left-field scoreboard on a 3-0 pitch in the first.
But New York closed in the second on Brian Robert’s bases-loaded infield hit on a bouncer to third and Brett Gardner’s sacrifice fly. Bautista hit a solo drive in the third - he’s 4 for 16 against Kuroda with four home runs. Carlos Beltran’s solo drive and Suzuki’s first home run since August 30 off Baltimore’s Miguel Gonzalez put the Yankees ahead.
The homerless streak of 294 at-bats was the third-longest of Suzuki’s major league career. The 40-year-old entered in a 6-for-41 (.146) slide overall but is hitting .431 in his career against Buehrle (25 for 58).
Right-hander Tanner Roark pitched seven strong innings and center fielder Denard Span had four hits and an RBI, lifting the Washington Nationals to a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Roark (10-6) allowed one earned run and three hits, walked one and struck out six to become the Nationals’ first 10-game winner.
Span continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-5 for Washington (56-44) which maintained first place in the National League East.
Left-hander David Price pitched eight strong innings and third baseman Evan Longoria hit a three-run double in the decisive seventh inning, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-4 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Dueling against Red Sox ace Jon Lester in front of a crowded section of scouts preparing for the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, Price (11-7, 3.08 ERA) struck out 10 and allowed only three runs as he picked up his sixth win in his last six starts.
But it was Longoria who delivered in the biggest moment, clearing the bases and breaking a 3-3 tie in the seventh with a double down the left-field line.
