New York @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Aug 24, 2010 ) NY Yankees 11, Toronto 5
The Toronto Blue Jays lead the major leagues with 190 home runs. You would have never known it on Tuesday.
The New York Yankees belted five homers in an 11-5 rout of Toronto to even the three-game series at one game apiece. The two teams complete the set Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre.
Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada paced the Yankee attack on Tuesday with four hits and a home run apiece. The Bombers also got home runs from Derek Jeter, Marcus Thames and Curtis Granderson.
Meanwhile, the Toronto bats were silenced by New York starter Dustin Moseley. Jose Bautista, who homered twice and drove in all three runs in the Blue Jays’ 3-2 win Monday went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks Tuesday.
Moseley, filling in for the sidelined Andy Pettitte, allowed two runs in six innings to improve to 4-2 on the season.
Phil Hughes (15-5) starts today for New York. Hughes has been monitored closely by the Yankees, who hope to limit the number of innings he pitches as the season winds down.
Hughes has won just five of his last 10 starts.
New York is taking a different approach with Javier Vazquez. The Yankees announced on Tuesday that Vazquez will move to the bullpen for at least a week.
Rookie Ivan Nova, who allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings but didn’t figure in the decision in Monday’s start, will take Vazquez’s place in the rotation on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.
New York will then re-evaluate the decision after the game.
Vazquez was among the top pitchers in the National League last season, but is just 9-9 this season with a 5.05 ERA in 23 starts. He has not won in his last five outings.
New York skipped Vazquez’s start earlier in the year and he responded by winning five of his next seven starts.
Brett Cecil (10-6) will start today for Toronto. In his last outing, the Blue Jays erupted for 20 hits in a 16-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Cecil is 1-1 lifetime against the Yankees. He pitched six innings, allowing just one run, against New York in early July but didn’t figure in the decision as Toronto won 6-1.
New York also announced on Tuesday that a monument to George Steinbrenner will be dedicated at Yankee Stadium next month. The late New York Yankees owner will be remembered with the seventh memorial at the ballpark’s famed Monument Park.
The ceremony will take place on Sept. 20 before the Yankees host the Tampa Bay Rays.