Baseball

Blue Jays Use a Late Power Surge to Beat the Yankees=


TORONTO — Zack Britton and the Yankees saw lengthy streaks come to an end.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off Britton in a five-run eighth inning, Randal Grichuk had a pair of homers and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Yankees 11-7, sending them to their first three-game losing streak since early April.

The former Yankees infielder Brandon Drury and Grichuk combined for back-to-back homers against Luis Cessa in the eighth. The Yankees have lost the first two games of a three-game set, ending a streak of nine consecutive series wins.

“You’re beating one of the best teams in baseball and one of the best bullpens in baseball,” Blue Jays Manager Charlie Montoyo said.

The Yankees have not won 10 series in a row since 1954.

Britton (2-1) entered with a season-high 13 1/3 scoreless innings streak, then allowed three runs in one inning in blowing a save opportunity for the second time this season.

“Britt’s been so good, so dominant, really,” Manager Aaron Boone said. “A good hitter got one on him. Simple as that.”

Guerrero’s home run off on a Britton sinker was his seventh in 33 games since his debut on April 26.

“He’s a good young hitter, but, if I make a good pitch, I can get him out,” Britton said. “It’s definitely frustrating.”

The Yankees had been 32-0 when leading after seven innings.

“It’s part of the game,” Boone said. “Even the best of ‘pens it’s going to happen every now and then, you’ve going to have the blip.”

Toronto trailed by 7-4 in the seventh but closed against Jonathan Holder on a two-run, two-out double by Teoscar Hernández, who was recalled from Class AAA Buffalo. Both runs were unearned because of a throwing error by shortstop Torres on Guerrero’s leadoff grounder.

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A poor throw by Urshela, one of two errors by the third baseman, led to an unearned run in the fifth.

“We obviously didn’t play our best,” Boone said.

The A.L. East-leading Yankees had not lost three in a row since a season-high four-game skid from April 8-12.

James Paxton allowed four runs over four and two-third innings and 83 pitches in his second start back from the injured list. Adam Ottavino followed and Tommy Kahnle stranded the bases loaded in the sixth by striking out Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks, who did not make his season debut until May 15 because of a back injury, was down briefly after leaping into the wall in an unsuccessful attempt to catch Grichuk’s eighth-inning homer.

“I think he’s O.K.,” Boone said.

Grichuk has three home runs in the series, raising his season total to 12. He had a two-run homer in the first off the Canadian-born Paxton.

Sam Gaviglio (4-1) pitched two hitless innings, and the Blue Jays won three straight home games for the first time this season.

D.J. LeMahieu hit a three-run homer and had four R.B.I., and Gary Sánchez had a solo drive for the Yankees. Sánchez has an A.L.-leading 19 homers, one more than the previous mark for Yankees catchers before the All-Star break, set by Yogi Berra in 1956.



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