(Toronto) Gleyber Torres drove in three runs with three singles and helped the New York Yankees clinch the American Division East title with a 5-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
Posted at 10:57 p.m.
Aaron Judge crossed home plate twice thanks to his four walks. However, he remained stuck at 60 homers, one shy of the American record set by Roger Maris in 1961.
Judge hasn’t homered in his last seven games since Sept. 20. He did, however, get 12 walks during that streak.
The Yankees (95-59) have won eight of their last nine games, while the Blue Jays (87-68) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.
Outfielder George Springer hit a long solo ball into center field, his 52e circuit in a first round. He pulled off the feat on the second pitch from Yankees starter Jameson Taillon (14-5).
Taillon rebounded from Springer’s at-bat and struck out 16 of the next 17 batters. Only Whit Merrifield reached the bases on a hit during that streak. The Jays came back to the charge in the sixth thanks to singles from Springer and Bo Bichette.
Springer crossed home plate on the next slap, one from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Dominican star tried to get the second goal, but, like Bichette before him, was taken out.
Taillon’s outing ended in the eighth inning. He allowed two runs, seven hits and struck out six.
Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios (11-7) saw his night’s work come to an end after five and a third innings. He allowed nine hits, five runs and two walks. He did, however, strike out seven batters.
The Yankees offense came alive in the third inning. Catcher Kyle Higashioka, who also hit three hits, sparked his team’s two runs in the third with a single. He reached second base after Judge had one of his walks.
Anthony Rizzo’s single on the right allowed Higashioka to score. Judge called after a hit from Torres to center field.
Judge scored again in the fifth after a walk, followed by singles from Rizzo and Torres.
The Yankees scored two more runs in the next inning on back-to-back doubles from Higashioka and Aaron Hicks and a single from Torres.