Last week, the New York Yankees swept the Toronto Blue Jays at home. This week, the Blue Jays began their quest of a sweep of the Yankees with an 8-3 victory on Monday.
Toronto attacked early, scoring six runs in the second innings. After getting on the board with an RBI single from designated hitter Adam Lind in the first, the Blue Jays offense hit full gear in the second.
It was Lind who continued to do damage. After a ground out and a single scored one run each, Lind came to the plate and crushed a three-run homer to center field. Later in the inning, catcher Dioner Navarro smacked an RBI double that scored first baseman Edwin Encarnacion.
After the Yankees got on the scoreboard with a solo home run by first baseman Mark Texiera in the top of the fourth, Navarro delivered another RBI hit to give the Jays an 8-1 lead.
In the ninth inning, New York began to rally. With two runners on, third baseman Yangervis Solarte singled to center to drive in a run. Two batters later, left fielder Kelly Johnson hit an RBI double.
The Blue Jays were powered by starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, who threw eight innings. He gave up only one run on three hits and struck out seven.
"It was a fantastic job," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said, reports ESPN. "We needed that."
His counterpart did not do so well. Yankees rookie starter Chase Whitley lasted only 3 1/3 innings. He gave up eight runs on 11 hits, according to MLB.com.
The two teams continue their three-game set on Tuesday.