Yanks fall, 16-7, as Colon allows 8 in 1st

TORONTO -- The All-Star break was supposed to give the Yankees' pitching staff a chance to recharge, but those three days seemed only to derail their first-half momentum.

Bartolo Colon single-handedly sunk the Yankees Thursday night, giving up eight runs (three earned) in two-thirds of an inning in a 16-7 loss to the Blue Jays. It began an eight-game trip for the Yankees, who fell 11/2 games behind first-place Boston.

The Yankees rallied against starter Jo-Jo Reyes (5-7) to get within 9-7 in the sixth after Andruw Jones' two home runs and four RBIs and a two-run triple by Curtis Granderson. But the damage created by Colon and fill-in third baseman Eduardo Nuñez was too much to overcome.

Colon, who has allowed 13 runs in his last 61/3 innings, never looked right. His troubles began when he gave up a one-out double to Eric Thames and walked major-league home run leader Jose Bautista. A torrent of runs ensued as the Blue Jays littered the Rogers Centre turf with one well-placed ball after another.

Colon (6-5) said he's still tentative because of his injured left hamstring. "It feels good, but sometimes I feel a little bit nervous or afraid to push," he said through his interpreter. "I don't want to get hurt again."

With the score 3-0, Nuñez misplayed a grounder by J.P. Arencibia, putting men at first and third. The lumbering Colon couldn't do anything with back-to-back rollers down the third-base line, and the hits by Rajai Davis and Yunel Escobar made it 5-0. Thames' second double, a liner that bounced over the centerfield wall, made it 7-0.

It was the shortest outing in Colon's 14-year career. Though charged with only three earned runs because of Nuñez's error, Colon gave up six hits and walked two. Joe Girardi had hoped Colon would bounce back from his rocky start against Tampa Bay July 7, in which he allowed five runs and a season-high 10 hits in his first loss since May 23.

But the manager refused to make too much out of two bad outings. "It's hard to figure out what to make of that start because we didn't play good defense," Girardi said.

Though the Yankees committed three errors, Colon said: "I don't blame anybody. That was my fault. I didn't pitch good and they hit me and I lost."

Aside from Hector Noesi's 31/3 scoreless innings, there were few positives for the Yankees' pitchers. Luis Ayala balked in a run as the Jays tied a club record with the eight-run inning, and Sergio Mitre allowed four runs in the seventh and eighth.

The Yankees tagged Reyes for seven runs and 10 hits in 51/3 innings. He is 1-1 with a 12.97 ERA against the Yankees this season. Though Jones' three-run blast in the sixth cut the deficit to 9-7, the Jays added seven more runs.

It was the second multi-homer game this season for Jones. He has hit three of his six home runs off Reyes, who on May 30 ended a record-tying streak of winless starts at 28.

"They got a bunch of hits,'' Jones said, "infield hits, bloop hits and key hits with people on base. So you tip your hat to them."

Notes & quotes: The Yankees officially placed Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list Thursday after he had knee surgery Monday. Greg Golson was recalled to fill his roster spot . . . Bautista left after twisting his right ankle on an awkward slide into third in the fourth. He is day-to-day . . . The Yankees signed reliever J.C. Romero to a minor-league deal . . . Reliever Rafael Soriano will throw batting practice Saturday. Soriano (right elbow inflammation) hasn't pitched since May 13 . . . Major League Baseball will begin reviewing medical records on Colon's stem cell treatment. It will take time because the records are in Spanish, MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said. Stem cells were injected into Colon's pitching shoulder and elbow in the Dominican Republic in April 2010. The doctors have said human growth hormone, which is banned by baseball, was not used. The New York Times first reported the receipt of records by MLB.

With AP