New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, top, catches the ball to tag out Toronto Blue Jays’ Josh Thole on Thursday. This four-game set could go a long way toward determining the AL East’s runner-up.Frank Franklin II/The Associated Press
Call it the battle of the also-rans, the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time-playoff teams just trying to make the best of despairing situations.
The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays are meeting this week for the last time this season, and not under the best of circumstances. After all, second place is at stake. You could tell by all the empty seats at Yankee Stadium for Thursday's series opener.
Yeah, sure, both teams can posture all they want that officially they are not yet dead in the water, that a spot in the American League playoffs is still only just an incredible set of circumstances away. But in the real world, with the Baltimore Orioles already having clinched first place in the AL East with a win over Toronto on Tuesday, all that is left for the Blue Jays and Yankees to settle is who will be the runner-up.
This four-game set could go a long way toward determining that.
Give the Yankees (78-74) the early advantage for that dubious honour, riding a rare home run from Derek Jeter, their retiring icon, to a 3-2 victory over the backsliding Blue Jays (77-75), who have now lost five in a row.
The Yankees win came at the expense of Toronto rookie Aaron Sanchez, who entered the game in the bottom of the ninth and surrendered a lead-off single to Chris Young.
Antoan Richardson was sent in to pinch run and he quickly stole second without a throw and then went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Brett Gardner.
Chase Headley then settled things, his grounder to the right side scooting between the legs of Adam Lind at first base for an error to score the winning run.
Both Toronto and New York entered Thursday with identical records that left both clubs tied for second in the East and for fifth place in the A.L. wild-card playoff derby, 51/2 games back with just 11 left to play.
While making the playoffs is always job one for the Blue Jays, Toronto manager John Gibbons said he does not want to see any letdown from his players now that that target is almost beyond reach.
"We want to finish strong, regardless," Gibbons said. "We're still trying to sneak in there. It's going to be awful tough but you want to finish on a good note."
And if that good note means a second-place finish for Toronto, so be it. It would still represent the best finish for a Blue Jays team since 2006, when Toronto managed to finish in second with an 87-75 mark.
And Gibbons was leaving no stone unturned to help his team achieve success.
He decided to cancel batting practice before the game so his players would not be subjected to all the Yankees, we are the greatest sports franchise on earth, video propaganda that normally runs on the giant video screen.during BP. It worked the last time Toronto was in New York, where the Blue Jays skipped BP and then snapped a club record of 17 straight losses at Yankee Stadium with a win on July 26.
There was still no word on Thursday on the status of an appeal filed by Toronto starter Marcus Stroman after he was suspended by the league for six games and fined an undisclosed sum of money after he threw at the head of Baltimore's Caleb Joseph in a game on Monday.
The penalty was announced on Wednesday but will be held in abeyance until Stroman, who vehemently denies he intentionally threw at the head of the Baltimore player, has his appeal hearing.
Stroman is next scheduled to pitch against New York on Saturday and Gibbons said that he fully expects his prized rookie to make that start. However, in the event Stroman is forced to the sidelines for that game, Gibbons has been forming a contingency plan.
"We'll probably turn it into a bullpen day," said Gibbons, adding that long reliever Todd Redmond would likely get the start.
Toronto sent R.A. Dickey to the mound on Thursday and he pitched six innings, allowing two New York runs off five hits – including Jeter's solo home runs in the sixth that increased the Yankee lead to 2-0.
For Jeter, who is retiring at the end of the year, it was just his fourth home run of the season and it elicited a huge ovation from the crowd of 34,279, knowing that it might be the last one the captain crushes in his brilliant career.
While Dickey (13-12) earned a no-decision, his outing gives him 2022/3 innings pitched on the season. It marked the fourth straight year that Dickey has eclipsed the 200-innings pitched plateau.
Jose Bautista stroked a two-run home run for Toronto off New York reliever Shawn Kelley in the eighth inning, his 33rd of the year that knotted the score at 2-2.