Yanks Drop 2 of 3 to Jays, Face Rays

Just when you thought it was safe to be optimistic about the Yankees again...

They reached .500 by beating those pesky Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, extending their winning streak to 6.

But it would end there. The Wednesday night game was unusual in that the Yankees scored 4 runs and still lost. Chase Headley hit his 3rd home run of the season, and Austin Romine his 1st. But Russell Martin hit 2. This is not a good thing, because he doesn't play for the Yankees anymore. Headley got 1 other hit, and Didi Gregorius got 3. That was all the Yankees got.

Ivan Nova had pitched well lately, but not this time. His strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8-2 was good, but he gave up 4 runs in less than 7 innings. The bullpen was worse: Chasen Shreve and Nick Goody are simply not good enough to pitch in the major leagues.

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 4. WP: Marco Estrada (2-2). No save. LP: Nova (3-2).

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Yesterday's game was a rare 4:05 PM home start. (A game starting at 4:05 Eastern Time is not surprising if it's on the West Coat, making it 1:05 Pacific.) CC Sabathia pitched very well, going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs, neither of them earned (thanks to an error by Gregorius), on 2 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7.

The Yankees simply didn't back him up. And, again, he fell victim to 1 bad inning, although it wasn't that bad: 2 runs in the 3rd.

The Yankees actually took a 1-0 lead in the 1st, on Starlin Castro's 6th home run of the season. But the Yankees wasted a 1-out walk by Brian McCann in the 2nd, Romine grounded into a double play to wipe out 1-out singles by Headley and Gregorius in the 5th, wasted a 1-out walk by Aaron Hicks in the 6th, wasted a 2-out walk by Headley in he 7th, wasted a leadoff single by Jacoby Ellsbury in the 8th, and went out weakly in the 9th.

This time, Joe Girardi used Dellin Betances in the 8th and Aroldis Chapman in the 9th, going against his type (i.e. "Do whatever the hell the Binder tells me to do"), and using good relievers when behind. Chapman allowed a run.

Blue Jays 3, Yankees 1. WP: Happ (6-2). SV: Antonio Osuna (10). LP: Sabathia (3-3).

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So now, the Yankees fly down to face the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight, 7:05: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Jeremy Archer.

* Tomorrow, 4:10: Michael Pineda vs. Matt Moore.

* Sunday, 1:10: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Jake Odorizzi.

Come on you Bombers!