Toronto @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 25, 2014 ) Toronto 4, NY Yankees 6
The New York Yankees have been red-hot since the All-Star break, although the Toronto Blue Jays could be forgiven if they can’t tell a difference when they visit their division rival. The Yankees, who continue their three-game set against the Blue Jays on Saturday, defeated Toronto for the 17th straight time at home in Friday’s 6-4 win. The streak is fourth-longest since divisional play began in 1969 and longest slide in Blue Jays’ history since losing 19 straight in Baltimore from 1978-81.
New York’s series-opening victory was the team’s seventh in eight games overall since the Midsummer Classic and allowed the team to improve to 26-10 against Toronto since September 19, 2012 – the day the home winning streak started. The Blue Jays, who dropped a game behind the Yankees and into third place in the American League East, are in the midst of the longest run of road futility against one opponent since the Tampa Bay Rays lost 18 in a row in Cleveland from September 2005-July 2010. The offense hasn’t helped much in that stretch, scoring four runs or fewer in its last 14 games in New York.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SNET (Toronto), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Drew Hutchison (6-9, 4.54 ERA) vs. Yankees LH Chris Capuano (1-1, 4.55)
Hutchison was pummeled for the second straight time, tying a career high by surrendering six runs – set in his previous outing nine days earlier against Tampa Bay – on nine hits over 2 2/3 innings in a 14-1 setback to the Boston Red Sox. The loss, which was his fifth in six outings, dropped the second-year hurler to 2-5 with a 7.71 ERA at home. Hutchison is 4-4 with a 2.97 ERA on the road, where he will try to change his luck against the Yankees, against whom he is 0-3 with a 9.22 ERA in three starts this season.
In an effort to add another arm to their injury-ravaged rotation, the Yankees acquired Capuano for cash considerations from the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. The 35-year-old, who made 28 relief appearances with the Red Sox this season before he was released, will make his first start since last Aug. 31 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Capuano tossed two innings in relief versus the Blue Jays in May and is 1-0 with a 4.97 ERA in five all-time appearances (two starts) against them.
WALK-OFFS
1. Toronto has held the lead in 13 of the losses during its Yankee Stadium skid.
2. New York SS Derek Jeter, who is 5-for-11 against Hutchinson, is five hits shy of tying Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski (3,419) for eighth on the all-time list.
3. Yankees 3B Chase Headley, acquired from San Diego on Tuesday after batting .229 with the Padres, is 6-for-14 with at least one hit in each of his four games with New York.
PREDICTION: Yankees 7, Blue Jays 5