Yankees fall to Blue Jays, 6-1
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, right, reacts after striking out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. (July 2, 2010) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
Getting the good A.J. and the good Joba on the same day was probably a bit too much to ask.
A.J. Burnett, coming in with a five-game losing streak, pitched one of his best games of the season, but Joba Chamberlain couldn’t hold the one-run leaded handed to him in the eighth.
David Robertson and Chan Ho Park then combined to allow five runs in the 11th, leading to a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays in front of 45,792 at the Stadium.
But while Chamberlain left to a shower of boos after the eighth, and Park, charged with run of the runs, did as well, it was the Yankees offense that deserved that treatment as it continued its recent slumber.
The Yankees (48-31) left eight on base and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and are now zero for their last 19 with RISP. Burnett, shut out the Blue Jays (41-40), the team against whom his five-game skid started June 4 – the same date pitching coach Dave Eiland took his leave of absence – over 6 2/3 innings, leaving to a standing ovation.
Burnett, who struck out six and walked three, left after allowing a two-out single to the Blue Jays No. 9 hitter, Jarrett Hoffpauir, in the seventh, replaced by lefty Damaso Marte. A passed ball sent Hoffpauir to second, but Marte got the lefthanded-hitting Fred Lewis to pop out to end the inning. Chamberlain, however, couldn’t hand the lead to Mariano Rivera as Aaron Hill’s two-out single brought in Jose Bautista, who had walked with one out, to tie it at 1.
Chamberlain was fortunate as the inning could have been worse had it not been for Brett Gardner’s catch up against the wall in left of Alex Gonzalez’s drive that started the inning, his catch likely saving an extra base hit.
Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth and Robertson did so in the 10th before loading the bases in the 11th and being charged with four runs in the inning as Park issued a bases-loaded walk and allowed a three-run triple.
The Yankees got their lone run off Blue Jays’ starter Brett Cecil in the first, as Derek Jeter led off with a walk and eventually scored on Alex Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly to center.
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