Blue Jays 10, Yankees 7
NEW YORK -- Marcus Stroman pitched five innings in his season debut, right fielder Jose Bautista surpassed 100 RBIs for the fourth time and the Toronto Blue Jays used two big innings to beat the New York Yankees 10-7 on Saturday night and complete a doubleheader sweep.
Stroman (1-0), a native of nearby Suffolk County in New York, allowed a three-run home run to left fielder Brett Gardner among four hits during his return from ACL surgery in his left knee. He threw 78 pitches and likely would have thrown more if not for a 33-minute rain delay before the bottom of the sixth.
Pitching for the first time since getting injured in a spring training drill, Stroman continued an eventful summer by helping the Blue Jays (82-60) extend their lead in the American League East over the Yankees (77-64) to a season-high 4 1/2 games. The Yankees dropped their fifth straight game.
The Blue Jays completed their first doubleheader sweep of the Yankees since Aug. 2, 1983, at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium.
Bautista hit two solo home runs and drove in three runs during Toronto's 9-5, 11-inning win in the opener Saturday.
While the Blue Jays picked up two more wins, they came at a price. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was diagnosed with a small crack in his left shoulder and bruises in his upper back muscles after a collision with center fielder Kevin Pillar in the second inning of Game 1.
Bautista reached 100 RBIs during Toronto's six-run second inning in the second game. He hit a booming RBI double after an RBI infield single by shortstop Ryan Goins and second baseman Cliff Pennington's two-run home run off right-hander Ivan Nova (6-8).
Toronto scored its other runs in the second on a two-run double by catcher Russell Martin, who has seven RBIs in the three games.
Left fielder Ben Revere went 4-for-5, getting singles in four straight at-bats and a two-run hit with two outs in the seventh. Third baseman Josh Donaldson, who heard MVP chants from the Toronto fans in the crowd during each at-bat, got his 119th RBI with a long single in the seventh.
Bautista gave the Blue Jays double-digit runs for the 24th time this season with an RBI single off Branden Pinder in the seventh.
Gardner hit three home runs in the doubleheader, including two three-run home runs in the second game.
He homered off Stroman in the fifth and got the Yankees to within 10-7 by connecting off Jeff Francis with two outs in the eighth.
After Steve Delabar finished the eighth, Mark Lowe recorded his first save.
Nova (6-8) struggled with his control and lost for the fourth time in five starts. He allowed six runs and seven hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Toronto sent 11 men to the plate in the second, marking the Jays' third inning of the series with at least four runs.
An infield hit by Goins on a ball that eluded shortstop Didi Gregorius made it 1-0. After a passed ball and a wild pitch, Pennington made it 3-0 by driving a 2-2 pitch into the right-field seats.
Bautista reached 100 RBIs with a double off the left-center field wall. After Nova hit designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and first baseman Justin Smoak, Martin roped a two-run double to center field that forced the Yankees to go to their bullpen.
Stroman took a no-hitter into the fifth before catcher John-Ryan Murphy opened the inning with an infield single. Stroman lost his shutout bid when Gardner drove a 2-0 fastball into the right-center-field bleachers.
NOTES: For Game 2, the Yankees rested DH Alex Rodriguez and rookie 1B Greg Bird, and the Blue Jays sat SS Troy Tulowitzki and CF Kevin Pillar. Tulowitzki left the opener in the second inning with a cracked shoulder blade following a collision with Pillar. ... In the first game, the Blue Jays drew five walks in an inning for the first time since May 14, 2010, against the Texas Rangers. ... RHP Bryan Mitchell was the third Yankees pitcher in the last 25 years to give up at least three runs without allowing a hit. The others were RHP Shane Greene on April 24, 2014, at Boston and RHP Shawn Kelley on May 5, 2014, at the Los Angeles Angels.