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without our two starters helps us but its not
NEW YORK -- Once Masahiro Tanaka overcame that early jolt from Jose Reyes, the Japanese rookie did just fine. Air Force 1 Wholesale China . Tanaka gave up a home run to Reyes on the first pitch of the game, then earned his major league-high 11th victory as the New York Yankees beat Toronto 3-1 Tuesday night for their 14th straight home win over the Blue Jays. That was the first time Tanaka could remember getting tagged so quickly and said it "threw me off my rhythm a little bit." "Overall, I think my stuff wasnt really there," he said through a translator. Even so, Tanaka (11-1) struck out 10 in six innings and left with an AL-best 1.99 ERA. The right-hander has made 14 starts this season -- hes gone at least six innings in every outing and never permitted more than three earned runs. "What hes done is remarkable," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He wins." Brett Gardner hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole and the Yankees sent the AL East leaders to their seventh loss in 10 games. Tanaka made his big league debut April 4 at Toronto and Melky Cabrera hit a leadoff home run on the third pitch. Reyes provided an even faster start with a drive into the lower deck in right, and slapped his hands as he rounded first. "I made up my mind before the game that I was going to swing at the first pitch," he said. "You dont want to face Tanaka with two strikes." Said Girardi: "He just threw a pitch right down the middle and up. Reyes knew what to do." "Reyes is familiar with this ballpark," he said. "He went to the short part of the park." Cabrera followed with a liner between Tanakas legs that knocked off the pitchers glove. But Tanaka scrambled to retrieve the ball behind the mound and threw out Cabrera, and never again allowed a runner past second. Tanaka gave up five hits and walked two in moving ahead of Torontos Mark Buehrle for the most wins in the majors. Buehrle starts Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium in the middle game of the three-game series. The Blue Jays were the second team to face Tanaka twice. He blanked the Chicago Cubs for eight innings in April before they handed him his only loss a month later. Dellin Betances worked two innings and David Robertson closed for his 17th save in 19 tries. New York pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts and became the latest staff to slow down the Blue Jays, limited to 24 runs in their last 11 games. Pitching about 50 miles from his Long Island hometown, Blue Jays rookie Marcus Stroman (3-2) threw 98 pitches in 3 2-3 innings on a sticky night. Gardner gave him a workout right away, grounding out in a 12-pitch at-bat to lead off the first. Kelly Johnson doubled in the third for the Yankees first hit and Gardner pulled a go-ahead home run. Derek Jeter opened the fifth with his second hit of the game and scored his 1,900th run on a single by Mark Teixeira. Jeter is 10th on the career runs list, 19 behind longtime teammate Alex Rodriguez. NOTES: After the game, Toronto reinstated OF Colby Rasmus (hamstring) from the disabled list and optioned OF Anthony Gose to Triple-A Buffalo. ... The Blue Jays drought at Yankee Stadium started in August 2012, and theyve dropped 23 of their last 25 in the Bronx. The team cited the Elias Sports Bureau in saying it matched the Yankees longest such winning streak against one opponent since 1961 -- they also won 14 straight home game vs. Kansas City from 2002-06. ... Tanaka has fanned at least 10 in five starts. ... Girardi became the sixth manager to win 600 games with the Yankees. ... Reyes hit his 20th career leadoff homer, and second this year. ... Cabrera has a 17-game hitting streak vs. the Yankees, his former team. ... Toronto RHP R.A. Dickey is fine to make his next start Friday night in Cincinnati, manager John Gibbons said. The knuckleballer made an early exit Saturday in Baltimore because of groin tightness. ... Yankees 2B Brian Roberts started after missing two games with a bruised right knee. ... Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (knee) threw a bullpen session Sunday and is set for another one Tuesday. "No setbacks," he said. Sabathia had hoped to return by the All-Star break, but Girardi said theres no timeframe. ... There was a pregame moment of silence for Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who died Monday. Fake Yeezy Boost 350 v2 For Sale . Ronaldo failed to connect on an ample number of opportunities at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. But Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez scored in each half for Madrid to come out of the first leg with the firm advantage. Nike Huarache Wholesale China .com) - Mike Miller scored a season-high 21 points in a rare start and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their worst loss of the season with a 95-91 win over the Brooklyn Nets.TORONTO - As Dwane Casey called a timeout late in Fridays victory, one of his teams most impressive of the campaign, an honorary addition to the Raptors coaching body was the first to race out and rally the troops. Donning a charcoal blazer on top of his white t-shirt, Kyle Lowry immediately pulled aside his replacement, Greivis Vasquez, as the two point guards calibrated by the bench with less than a minute remaining. A reluctant spectator for the second straight contest, nursing his bruised knee, Lowry refused to take the night off. Not that anyone truly expected him to. "He was like our second or third coach," said Jonas Valanciunas. "He was kind of doing the same thing he does when hes in the game," added Terrence Ross. "Helping us with plays, drawing things up for us, being vocal." The Raptors would rather have him in uniform, dressed in red and white while leading his team in the trenches instead of on the sidelines, but they have more than held their own in his absence. For the second time in three days, Toronto - missing both Lowry and forward Amir Johnson - was able to knock off a top-six team, as the teams confidence continues to grow heading into the playoffs. "With us we feel like we can beat anybody when we step out there on the court, honestly," said DeMar DeRozan, who tallied 20 points and nine assists in his teams inspiring 102-94 win over the Indiana Pacers. "Theyre [a] top team in the East. We understand tonight was a big win at this time of the season." The Pacers - a team the Raptors could see in the second round of the playoffs, should they advance - are backing into the postseason. Frank Vogels club, losers of six straight games on the road and six of eight overall, had occupied the Easts top seed for most of the season before surrendering it to Miami last week. Vulnerable as Indiana may be, the Raptors have split the season series and given that they were without two starters on Friday, their latest victory was of the statement variety. "If theyre looking for themselves, whatever it is, its a win," Casey said. "Whatever their deal is, theyve won 53 games. Thats the way I look at it. Its a quality win." Fresh off a similarly opportunistic win over a Rockets team missing Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, the Raptors displayed characteristics you wouldnt expect from a young, undermanned group. They were resilient, hitting back after the Pacers cut into their 11-point cushion and took a lead of their own late in the game. They were tough, winning the battle on the boards and refusing to back down from Indys intimidation tactics. They embodied the seemingly irreplaceable qualities of their fallen comrades, Lowry and Johnson. Lowry - for better or for worse, in uniform or not - is the engine that drives this ship and even from the bench he couldnt help but to take control. "Its a little bit worse than what he does when hes in the game with you," DeRozan joked. "He just wont stop talking but hey, we deal with it, its cool. He shut up a little bit more once we were winning." "Id rather have him in uniform than in street clothes and coaching," Casey said, also having some fun at the expense of the vocal Lowry. "I tell Kyle this all the time, that when he becomes a coach I cannot wait to come watch his teams play. Nike Cortez Sale. " "Ill tell you what, Imma be that heckler in that stands. Boooo, coach." The relationship between Casey and Lowry has grown exponentially over the past 18 months. Theyre both strong-willed, passionate competitors. Whatever rift they may or may not have had last season - when the team was losing and Lowrys minutes were sporadic - appears to be a thing of the past. They understand and respect each other. Winning will do that. "I mean we have the same goals and thats to win as many games as we can win, make noise in the playoffs and compete our butts off," Casey said before the game. "Were tied together from that standpoint." The Raptors have navigated through the toughest stretch of their late-season schedule without Lowry and Johnson - out with a lingering ankle ailment - and can now afford to be more cautious with the health of their stars. Torontos final six regular season games come against sub-.500 competition, beginning with Saturdays contest against the lowly Bucks in Milwaukee. "The big picture is the most important thing," Casey acknowledged, "keeping guys healthy going forward." Sophomores stepping up Facing elite defenders at their positions, the Raptors duo of second-year starters came up big in the absence of Lowry and Johnson. Valanciunas, who scored 22 points on 14 shots, anchored Torontos defence and pulled down crucial rebounds in crunch time while vastly outplaying Pacers all-star centre Roy Hibbert. Meanwhile, Ross picked up the slack on offence, leading the team with 24 points - including five made threes - against a couple of tough wing defenders in Paul George and Lance Stephenson. "They came in and played with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy," Casey said of his sophomores. "They continue to get better and work hard at it every single day," DeRozan added. "They understand they play a key role on this team and us being successful. I credit tonights game to them because they came up big." De Colo making an impact With Vasquez stepping into Lowrys slot as the teams starting point guard, Casey has looked to trade deadline acquisition Nando De Colo off the bench. Even without scoring, the former Spurs guard has been making an impact with his energy and basketball intellect. He logged 23 minutes on Friday - most hes played with the Raptors - and with the increased role came a greater comfort level offensively. "He knows that hes going to get extended minutes with Kyle out," Casey said of De Colo, who scored 10 points and dished out five assists. "When youre in that situation you play a little more free and a little looser. Hes [being] himself and hes done an excellent job." The stat DeRozan, who had a team-high nine assists Friday, has now recorded five or more dimes in 24 games this year after doing so 18 times in his first four seasons combined. The quote "It should help their confidence," said Casey on the win. "To go against a team like Indiana without our two starters helps us but its not worth a darn if we dont come out [Saturday] night and have the same focus and energy and effort. Were happy, were excited about the win. I dont want to poo poo on it but weve got to turn it up and crank it up again tomorrow night. ' ' '
- Created: Jan 14 '20
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