Eovaldi, Yankees shut out Blue Jays
NEW YORK -- Nathan Eovaldi allowed two hits in six-plus innings and the New York Yankees reached the .500 mark Tuesday night with a 6-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Carlos Beltran homered and drove in two runs for the Yankees (22-22), who won their sixth straight game and improved to 13-5 since May 6. New York reached the break-even point for the first time since they were 4-4 following a 4-2 loss at Toronto on April 14.
Beltran's production was enough for Eovaldi (5-2), who allowed singles to Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Bautista. Eovaldi struck out five, walked three and threw 62-of-100 pitches for strikes.
Eovaldi's outing continued New York's current run of effective starting pitching. Since he allowed one run and one hit in six innings at Arizona on Wednesday, Yankees starting pitchers have a 1.76 ERA and the team's earned-run average has dropped from 4.48 to 4.09.
The right-hander improved to 5-0 in his last six starts and 14-3 in his last 23 outings since June 22.
Starting with a sacrifice bunt by Josh Donaldson for the first out of the third, Eovaldi retired 12 in a row on 56 pitches. It ended when Eovaldi allowed a leadoff walk to Tulowitzi in the seventh and he walked off the mound to a loud ovation.
Dellin Betances struck out two in the seventh while also getting Kevin Pillar on a fly ball that Brett Gardner caught at the left-field warning track.
Kirby Yates and Luis Cessa finished up as the Yankees added four runs in their final two innings.
Austin Romine had a ground-rule RBI double and Jacoby Ellsbury reached on a run-scoring infield single in the seventh. Chase Headley lifted a sacrifice fly and Didi Gregorius had an RBI single in the eighth.
Toronto's R.A. Dickey (2-6) allowed four runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The Blue Jays (22-25) lost for the seventh time in 10 games, were shut out for the second time and held to a season low in hits.
Ellsbury opened the game with a triple after Jose Bautista's ill-fated dive in right field allowed the ball to get by him. After Mark Teixeira struck out, Ellsbury scored when Beltran avoided hitting into a double play on a ground ball to first.
In the third, Toronto had second and third with one out after Josh Donaldson sacrificed Bautista and Josh Thole. But Eovaldi struck out Edwin Encarnacion and retired Michael Saunders on a harmless fly ball.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead to open the fourth when Beltran hit Dickey's 0-1 pitch into the second deck in right field.
NOTES: Manager Joe Girardi said the Yankees decided during a Monday conference call to send DH Alex Rodriguez (strained right hamstring) on a rehab assignment with Double-A Trenton instead of activating him Tuesday. Rodriguez also is expected to play there Wednesday. ... Toronto RF Jose Bautista's appeal of his one-game suspension for his role in the May 15 brawl at Texas will be heard Thursday. ... New York RHP Luis Severino (strained right triceps) will pitch a rehab game Sunday at Class A Tampa Bay. ... Toronto swapped the order of its rotation for Thursday and Friday with RHP Aaron Sanchez and LHP J.A. Happ. Happ will pitch Thursday in New York on four days' rest and RHP Aaron Sanchez will go Friday in Boston on six days' rest. ... The Yankees claimed LHP Layne Somsen off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds, added him to the 40-man roster and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre.