TORONTO -- During his brief time in the majors, Greg Bird has developed a knack for hitting big home runs.
The rookie launched a three-run shot in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Tuesday night to move closer in the AL East race.
Andrew Miller (3-2) pitched two innings for the win and New York closed within 2 1/2 games of first-place Toronto. The teams meet for the final time this season Wednesday night.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn't want to contemplate his team's chances of catching the Blue Jays without Bird's timely homer.
"We would have dug ourselves a pretty deep hole," Girardi said.
Filling in for injured first baseman Mark Teixeira, Bird connected off reliever Mark Lowe (1-3) for his 10th home run in 34 games and third in the past three nights.
"We're still definitely in it," Bird said. "Now it's off to tomorrow."
The runs were the first Lowe had allowed in 10 September appearances.
"It was a good pitch, down and away, bottom of the zone," Lowe said. "He just leaned out and got it. Great piece of hitting."
Brian McCann led off the 10th with a bunt single and was replaced by pinch-runner Rico Noel. Slade Heathcott reached on catcher's interference before Bird drove a 2-2 pitch into the right-field bullpen. Six of his 10 homers have given the Yankees a lead.
"It seems like they've always been important, they've always been big homers," Miller said. "They're nothing to sneeze at. He's got them in big situations and he's been a huge part of this team."
Bird ripped his helmet off and slammed it to the ground in delight as he returned to the dugout following his homer.
"I was pretty pumped up," he said. "It's a big win for us, a big team win. Good feeling."
Girardi couldn't recall the bench being more excited at any time this season.
"It was probably as emotional and loud as I've seen it this year, which is understandable," he said.
Carlos Beltran gave the Yankees a 3-2 advantage when he homered off Liam Hendriks in the eighth.
Toronto used a single and two walks to load the bases against Dellin Betances with two outs in the eighth, but Betances struck out Edwin Encarnacion to preserve the one-run lead.
Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista prevented a New York insurance run in the ninth by throwing out Chris Young at home plate on Jacoby Ellsbury's fly ball. It was Bautista's second outfield assist of the game -- he also threw out Dustin Ackley at third base in the seventh.
Bautista's play proved vital when Dioner Navarro hit a tying homer on the first pitch he saw from Miller in the ninth. The blown save was Miller's second with the Yankees.
Kevin Pillar hit a two-out double, pinch-hitter Matt Hague was intentionally walked and pinch-hitter Russell Martin walked to load the bases before Miller struck out Josh Donaldson to send it to extra innings.
Encarnacion hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th but Toronto lost for the third time in four games.
The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on McCann's RBI single and Beltran's sacrifice fly.
Pillar halved the deficit with a one-out homer into the second deck in left in the third, his 11th. Toronto tied it in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Justin Smoak.
After his shaky first inning, Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada gave up a two-out double to Ellsbury in the second and a two-out single by Beltran in the third, then set down 11 straight before issuing a four-pitch walk to Ackley with one out in the seventh.
Ackley tried to go to third when Didi Gregorius followed with a single to right, but was thrown out by Bautista, with Donaldson leaping to catch Bautista's high throw, spinning as he landed and tagging Ackley's foot. Umpire Greg Gibson initially ruled Ackley safe, but the call was overturned upon replay review.
Estrada left after intentionally walking Ellsbury and was replaced by Aaron Loup, who gave up an infield single to Brett Gardner that loaded the bases. Hendriks came on and escaped the jam by striking out Alex Rodriguez on three pitches.
STARTING STRONG
The Yankees lead the majors with 119 first-inning runs this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Troy Tulowitzki played catch and fielded grounders for the first time since breaking his left shoulder blade in a Sept. 12 game at Yankee Stadium. There is no timetable for his return.
UP NEXT
Yankees: RHP Ivan Nova (6-8, 5.11 ERA) starts in place of injured RHP Masahiro Tanaka (right hamstring) in the series finale Wednesday night. Nova will start for the first time since allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings of a Sept. 12 loss to Toronto.
Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman (2-0, 3.00) makes his third start since returning from a torn ligament in his left knee. It will be Stroman's second start against New York. He pitched five innings to beat the Yankees on Sept. 12.
The rookie launched a three-run shot in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Tuesday night to move closer in the AL East race.
Andrew Miller (3-2) pitched two innings for the win and New York closed within 2 1/2 games of first-place Toronto. The teams meet for the final time this season Wednesday night.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn't want to contemplate his team's chances of catching the Blue Jays without Bird's timely homer.
"We would have dug ourselves a pretty deep hole," Girardi said.
Filling in for injured first baseman Mark Teixeira, Bird connected off reliever Mark Lowe (1-3) for his 10th home run in 34 games and third in the past three nights.
"We're still definitely in it," Bird said. "Now it's off to tomorrow."
The runs were the first Lowe had allowed in 10 September appearances.
"It was a good pitch, down and away, bottom of the zone," Lowe said. "He just leaned out and got it. Great piece of hitting."
Brian McCann led off the 10th with a bunt single and was replaced by pinch-runner Rico Noel. Slade Heathcott reached on catcher's interference before Bird drove a 2-2 pitch into the right-field bullpen. Six of his 10 homers have given the Yankees a lead.
"It seems like they've always been important, they've always been big homers," Miller said. "They're nothing to sneeze at. He's got them in big situations and he's been a huge part of this team."
Bird ripped his helmet off and slammed it to the ground in delight as he returned to the dugout following his homer.
"I was pretty pumped up," he said. "It's a big win for us, a big team win. Good feeling."
Girardi couldn't recall the bench being more excited at any time this season.
"It was probably as emotional and loud as I've seen it this year, which is understandable," he said.
Carlos Beltran gave the Yankees a 3-2 advantage when he homered off Liam Hendriks in the eighth.
Toronto used a single and two walks to load the bases against Dellin Betances with two outs in the eighth, but Betances struck out Edwin Encarnacion to preserve the one-run lead.
Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista prevented a New York insurance run in the ninth by throwing out Chris Young at home plate on Jacoby Ellsbury's fly ball. It was Bautista's second outfield assist of the game -- he also threw out Dustin Ackley at third base in the seventh.
Bautista's play proved vital when Dioner Navarro hit a tying homer on the first pitch he saw from Miller in the ninth. The blown save was Miller's second with the Yankees.
Kevin Pillar hit a two-out double, pinch-hitter Matt Hague was intentionally walked and pinch-hitter Russell Martin walked to load the bases before Miller struck out Josh Donaldson to send it to extra innings.
Encarnacion hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th but Toronto lost for the third time in four games.
The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on McCann's RBI single and Beltran's sacrifice fly.
Pillar halved the deficit with a one-out homer into the second deck in left in the third, his 11th. Toronto tied it in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Justin Smoak.
After his shaky first inning, Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada gave up a two-out double to Ellsbury in the second and a two-out single by Beltran in the third, then set down 11 straight before issuing a four-pitch walk to Ackley with one out in the seventh.
Ackley tried to go to third when Didi Gregorius followed with a single to right, but was thrown out by Bautista, with Donaldson leaping to catch Bautista's high throw, spinning as he landed and tagging Ackley's foot. Umpire Greg Gibson initially ruled Ackley safe, but the call was overturned upon replay review.
Estrada left after intentionally walking Ellsbury and was replaced by Aaron Loup, who gave up an infield single to Brett Gardner that loaded the bases. Hendriks came on and escaped the jam by striking out Alex Rodriguez on three pitches.
STARTING STRONG
The Yankees lead the majors with 119 first-inning runs this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Troy Tulowitzki played catch and fielded grounders for the first time since breaking his left shoulder blade in a Sept. 12 game at Yankee Stadium. There is no timetable for his return.
UP NEXT
Yankees: RHP Ivan Nova (6-8, 5.11 ERA) starts in place of injured RHP Masahiro Tanaka (right hamstring) in the series finale Wednesday night. Nova will start for the first time since allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings of a Sept. 12 loss to Toronto.
Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman (2-0, 3.00) makes his third start since returning from a torn ligament in his left knee. It will be Stroman's second start against New York. He pitched five innings to beat the Yankees on Sept. 12.
7:00PM,EDT,September 22,2015
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| New York - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Ellsbury doubled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Gardner flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Rodriguez walked. | 0 | 0 |
| McCann singled to right, Ellsbury scored, Rodriguez to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Beltrán hit sacrifice fly to left, Rodriguez scored. | 2 | 0 |
| Bird doubled to first baseman, McCann to third. | 2 | 0 |
| Headley struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Luis Severino pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Revere reached on infield single to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Donaldson grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Revere out at second. | 2 | 0 |
| Bautista flied out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Ackley grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Gregorius lined out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| Ellsbury doubled to deep left. | 2 | 0 |
| Gardner grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Luis Severino pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Encarnación struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| Smoak grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Navarro grounded out to third. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Rodriguez flied out to right. | 2 | 0 |
| McCann lined out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| Beltrán singled to right. | 2 | 0 |
| Bird struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Luis Severino pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Goins grounded out to pitcher. | 2 | 0 |
| Pillar homered to left (419 feet). | 2 | 1 |
| Kawasaki grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| Revere grounded out to second. | 2 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Headley flied out to right. | 2 | 1 |
| Ackley grounded out to first. | 2 | 1 |
| Gregorius flied out to center. | 2 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, -1 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Luis Severino pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Donaldson walked. | 2 | 1 |
| Bautista flied out to right. | 2 | 1 |
| Donaldson to second on wild pitch by Severino. | 2 | 1 |
| Encarnación grounded out to third. | 2 | 1 |
| Smoak singled to right, Donaldson scored, Smoak out stretching at second. | 2 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Ellsbury struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| Gardner grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| Rodriguez flied out to right. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Luis Severino pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Navarro grounded out to first. | 2 | 2 |
| Goins flied out to center. | 2 | 2 |
| Pillar walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Pillar stole second. | 2 | 2 |
| Kawasaki struck out looking. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| McCann grounded out to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Beltrán grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| Bird popped out to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Luis Severino pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Revere lined out to center. | 2 | 2 |
| Donaldson grounded out to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Bautista walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Encarnación struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Headley popped out to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| Ackley walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Gregorius singled to right, Ackley thrown out at third, Gregorius to second advancing on throw. | 2 | 2 |
| Ellsbury intentionally walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Loup relieved Estrada. | 2 | 2 |
| Gardner reached on infield single to shortstop, Gregorius to third, Ellsbury to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Hendriks relieved Loup. | 2 | 2 |
| Rodriguez struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Justin Wilson pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Wilson relieved Severino. | 2 | 2 |
| Smoak grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| Navarro popped out to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Goins grounded out to second. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Liam Hendriks pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| McCann popped out to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Beltrán homered to right center (391 feet). | 3 | 2 |
| Bird struck out looking. | 3 | 2 |
| Headley struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Dellin Betances pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Young in right field. | 3 | 2 |
| Ryan at second base. | 3 | 2 |
| Betances relieved Wilson. | 3 | 2 |
| Pillar singled to right. | 3 | 2 |
| Kawasaki sacrificed to pitcher, Pillar to second. | 3 | 2 |
| Revere struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| Donaldson walked, Pillar stole third. | 3 | 2 |
| Bautista walked, Donaldson to second. | 3 | 2 |
| Encarnación struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Drew Hutchison pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Hutchison relieved Hendriks. | 3 | 2 |
| Young walked. | 3 | 2 |
| Gregorius hit a ground rule double to deep center, Young to third. | 3 | 2 |
| Tepera relieved Hutchison. | 3 | 2 |
| Ellsbury flied into double play to right, Young out at home, Gregorius to third. | 3 | 2 |
| Gardner walked. | 3 | 2 |
| Rodriguez flied out to center. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Andrew Miller pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Miller relieved Betances. | 3 | 2 |
| Smoak struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| Navarro homered to left (392 feet). | 3 | 3 |
| Colabello hit for Goins. | 3 | 3 |
| Colabello struck out looking. | 3 | 3 |
| Pillar doubled to shallow right. | 3 | 3 |
| Hague hit for Kawasaki. | 3 | 3 |
| Hague intentionally walked. | 3 | 3 |
| Martin hit for Revere. | 3 | 3 |
| Martin walked, Pillar to third, Hague to second. | 3 | 3 |
| Donaldson struck out swinging. | 3 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 10th | SCORE | |
| Mark Lowe pitching for Toronto | NYY | TOR |
| Carrera in left field. | 3 | 3 |
| Pennington at shortstop. | 3 | 3 |
| Barney at second base. | 3 | 3 |
| Lowe relieved Tepera. | 3 | 3 |
| McCann reached on bunt single to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Noel ran for McCann. | 3 | 3 |
| Heathcott hit for Ryan. | 3 | 3 |
| Heathcott reached first base on catcher's interference, Noel to second. | 3 | 3 |
| Bird homered to right (375 feet), Noel and Heathcott scored. | 6 | 3 |
| Headley grounded out to second. | 6 | 3 |
| Delabar relieved Lowe. | 6 | 3 |
| Young flied out to left. | 6 | 3 |
| Gregorius singled to center. | 6 | 3 |
| Ellsbury flied out to left. | 6 | 3 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 10th | SCORE | |
| Andrew Miller pitching for New York | NYY | TOR |
| Murphy catching. | 6 | 3 |
| Heathcott in right field. | 6 | 3 |
| Drew at second base. | 6 | 3 |
| Bautista grounded out to second. | 6 | 3 |
| Encarnación homered to left (404 feet). | 6 | 4 |
| Smoak struck out swinging. | 6 | 4 |
| Navarro flied out to center. | 6 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York Yankees | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Ellsbury CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | .263 | .321 | .352 |
| Gardner LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | .262 | .347 | .412 |
| Rodriguez DH | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | .253 | .357 | .495 |
| McCann C | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .240 | .325 | .458 |
Noel PR
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Murphy C
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .281 | .322 | .417 |
| Beltrán RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .279 | .336 | .473 |
Ryan 2B
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .226 | .270 | .345 |
a-Heathcott PH-RF
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .368 | .368 | .737 |
| Bird 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 26 | .256 | .336 | .562 |
| Headley 3B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | .260 | .326 | .374 |
| Ackley 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | .231 | .283 | .407 |
Young RF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | .246 | .310 | .449 |
Drew 2B
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .201 | .271 | .381 |
| Gregorius SS | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | .266 | .315 | .370 |
| Totals | 39 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 182 | |||
| a-reached first base on catcher's interference for B Ryan in the 10th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Ellsbury 2 (12, Estrada 2); Bird (7, Estrada); Gregorius (22, Hutchison) HR: Beltrán (17, 8th inning off Hendriks 0 on, 1 Out); Bird (10, 10th inning off Lowe 2 on, 0 Out) RBI: McCann (91), Beltrán 2 (60), Bird 3 (28) SF: Beltrán Yankees RISP: 3-9 (Gardner 1-3, Bird 1-1, Rodriguez 0-2, McCann 1-1, Headley 0-1, Ellsbury 0-1) Team LOB: 10 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Ackley-Gregorius-Bird). Outfield Assist: Beltrán (Smoak at 2nd base). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON |
| Attendance | 47,992 (97.4% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:39 |
| Weather | 64 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 6 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Chad Fairchild, First Base - Jim Reynolds, Second Base - Jim Joyce, Third Base - Greg Gibson |
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