Matt Chapman homered and starter Yusei Kikuchi threw a season-high six innings as the host Toronto Blue Jays defeated New York 2-1 on Wednesday night to end the Yankees’ 11-game winning streak.
Jordan Romano worked the ninth for his 12th save to help Toronto salvage the finale of the three-game series. The Blue Jays (16-10) have won 10 of their last 15 games.
Joey Gallo hit a solo shot for New York’s lone run. It was the Yankees’ second loss in their last 15 games.
New York, which leads the major leagues at 18-7, had their divisional lead on the second-place Blue Jays trimmed to 2 1/2 games.
Chapman hit a solo shot off left-hander Nestor Cortes (1-1) in the second inning but Gallo answered with a solo homer of his own in the third off Kikuchi (1-1).
After reaching on a two-out double, Bo Bichette restored Toronto’s lead in the bottom half of the inning. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., drove him in with an RBI single.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the frame but Santiago Espinal grounded into a force-out as New York escaped further damage.
Kikuchi allowed three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in his best start of the year.
Good for the @BlueJays Nobody is better than making these moments happen.. shout out to all the staff behind the scenes who make this moment happen for this young yankee fan! Y’all know who you are👍🏽👍🏽 https://t.co/hBVXaWN3Zp
— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) May 4, 2022
The Yankees threatened in the seventh inning after Toronto reliever David Phelps issued back-to-back one-out walks. Left-hander Tim Mayza came on and struck out Gallo before getting Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a groundout.
Yimi Garcia worked a perfect eighth inning, fanning slugger Aaron Judge for the third out. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected before the strikeout was completed, apparently for arguing balls and strikes.
Romano, from Markham, Ont., gave up a pair of hits and issued a two-out walk to Gallo to load the bases. Kiner-Falefa grounded out to end it, with Guerrero stretching out and scooping Chapman’s one-hop throw from third base.
The Yankees challenged the call but the decision was upheld. Announced attendance was 29,057 and the game took two hours 42 minutes to play.
ROSTER MOVES
Before the game, the Blue Jays selected right-hander Casey Lawrence to the big-league roster. He was 3-1 with a 2.82 earned-run average over four starts with triple-A Buffalo this year.
The team also optioned left-hander Andrew Vasquez to the Bisons and designated infielder Gosuke Katoh for assignment.
ROAD TRIP
The Blue Jays will hit the road after closing out the 10-game homestand with a 6-4 record.
Right-hander Jose Berrios (2-0, 4.13 ERA) is scheduled to start the opener of a four-game series at Cleveland on Thursday against Aaron Cival (0-2, 10.67). Toronto’s nine-game road swing will include stops in New York and Tampa Bay.
The Yankees have an off-day Thursday before kicking off a three-game series against the visiting Texas Rangers on Friday.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
