Drury, Tanaka lead Yankees to 4-2 victory over Blue Jays

The Yankees, fresh off their impressive Opening Day victory, returned to Rogers Centre for the second of four games against the division rival Blue Jays. Behind a solid outing from Masahiro Tanaka and timely hitting from the bottom of the lineup, the Yankees prevailed 4-2 to win back-to-back games to start the season.

Photo Credit: AP

The Bombers got the scoring started in the top half of the second inning. Didi Gregorius led off with a triple to dead center but was later thrown out at home on a Gary Sanchez ground ball. Two batters later, rookie Billy McKinney ripped a base hit in his first MLB at-bat. That set the stage for Brandon Drury, who hit a line drive off the very top of the right field wall. Sanchez scored, giving the Yankees the early 1-0 lead.

After Toronto tied the game a half inning later, the Yanks were again threatening in the fourth. With two on and two out, Drury once again stepped to the plate. Looking to do more damage against Toronto starter Aaron Sanchez, he lined a 1-0 pitch into left field, scoring Gregorius and putting New York back on top.

In the sixth, the Yankees gave themselves a bit of breathing room. Still up by a run, Tyler Wade came up to bat with two outs and runners on second and third. After leaving four runners on base in his previous two at-bats, Wade wouldn’t squander a third opportunity. He laced a double into the right-center gap, scoring Didi and Neil Walker. That proved to be all the runs the offense would score.

Photo Credit: AP

Four runs, however, are all the run support Masahiro Tanaka needed on this night. Making his first start of the season, he showed flashes of the dominant pitcher he was when he first joined the Yankees. Aside from a few hard hits balls early on, Tanaka controlled the Blue Jays during his strong showing. The only blemish during the game was a second inning home run allowed to Randal Grichuk. In his six innings of work, Masahiro allowed one run on three hits. He didn’t issue a walk, while striking out eight Blue Jays. This is only one start, but it was an encouraging one for Tanaka and the Yankees.

Aroldis Chapman came into the game in the ninth inning and was looking for his first save of the year. After striking out the first two batters he faced, he ran into a bit of trouble. He surrendered consecutive two-strike doubles to Steve Pearce and Yangervis Solarte, bringing the Jays within 4-2 and sending the tying run to the plate in Grichuk. After a seven pitch battle, Chapman got a called third strike to end the game and earn the save.

Winning Pitcher: Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 1.50 ERA) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

Losing Pitcher: Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 6.35 ERA) 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 K

Save: Aroldis Chapman (1)

Notable Players

Tyler Wade- 1-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Didi Gregorius- 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 R, BB

Brandon Drury- 2-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI

What’s Next?

The Yankees play the third game of this season-opening four game set tomorrow afternoon. Veteran southpaw CC Sabathia will take the hill against Toronto righty Marco Estrada. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 PM ET.

Article by: Dan DeGregorio
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