New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli dives to tag out the Blue Jays' Rod Barajas as he slides into home during Thursday's game in Toronto.
TORONTO – Welcome back, Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui.
The two Yankees stars returned from nagging injuries and delivered key hits to lead CC Sabathia and New York past the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Thursday night.
“You have to give our trainers Trainer of the Day for getting them back in there,” manager Joe Girardi joked.
Jeter tied it with an RBI single in the seventh inning, Matsui put New York ahead with a solo homer in the eighth and Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.
“You know I don’t like watching so it was good to get back out there,” Jeter said. “It’s been a couple of days. It’s a big win for us. We needed that one.”
Sabathia (3-3) allowed five hits in eight innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season. He walked four, one intentional, and struck out five to help the Yankees take two of three from Toronto, the surprise leader in the AL East.
“I’m just trying to pound the strike zone, getting guys to swing early in the count, keeping the pitch count down and just trying to pick the team up,” Sabathia said.
Sabathia, who pitched a four-hit shutout at Baltimore May 8, improved to 8-3 in 11 career games against the Blue Jays.
“He pitched well against one of the best offenses in the league,” teammate Johnny Damon said.
Indians 11, Rays 7: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Victor Martinez had four hits and drove in four runs, raising his batting average to .400 and helping Cleveland get the victory.
Angels 5, Red Sox 4, 12 innings: At Anaheim, Calif., Jeff Mathis hit an RBI single in the 12th, Torii Hunter had a two-run double and an RBI triple, and the Angels won.
Twins 6, Tigers 5: At Minneapolis, Joe Crede capped the second Minnesota comeback in two days with a two-out, two-run single in a six-run seventh inning that ruined Justin Verlander’s strong start as the Twins finish a three-game sweep.
Rangers 3, Mariners 2: At Arlington, Texas, Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Texas to a three-game sweep.
Orioles 9, Royals 5: At Kansas City, Mo., Cesar Izturis and Nick Markakis each drove in three runs and the Orioles won.
NL: Martin leads Dodgers past Phillies
PHILADELPHIA – Russell Martin hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning and Matt Kemp followed with an RBI double to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3.
Chad Durbin (1-1) retired the first two batters, then walked Andre Ethier. Martin doubled for a 4-3 lead and after an intentional walk, Kemp delivered.
Cubs 11, Padres 3: At Chicago, Bobby Scales hit a pair of two-run doubles and Ryan Dempster excelled with both his arm and bat as Chicago took advantage of 10 walks to beat skidding San Diego.
Brewers 5, Marlins 3: At Milwaukee, Prince Fielder hit a go-ahead homer and Dave Bush turned in another strong start for Milwaukee.
Astros 5, Rockies 3: At Denver, Wandy Rodriguez struck out a career-high 11 and Michael Bourn stole home on the back end of a double steal, leading Houston over Colorado.
Cardinals 5, Pirates 1: At Pittsburgh, Colby Rasmus’ two-run homer in the second inning gave St. Louis’ slumping offense a lift and the Cardinals avoided being swept by last-place Pittsburgh.
Mets 7, Giants 4: At San Francisco, David Wright hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning and finished with four of New York’s franchise-record seven stolen bases.