Alejandro Kirk hit the go-ahead double in a two-run sixth and added a homer Friday night to help the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the visiting New York Yankees 3-1.
The Blue Jays have won four of five on a seven-game homestand after taking the opener of a three-game series.
Shane Bieber (4-2) allowed one run, four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings. Louis Varland pitched a perfect ninth for his 27th save.
Trent Grisham hit a solo home run for the Yankees, who have only scored once in losing two straight.
Yankees starter Gerrit Cole (6-6) worked out of a jam in the second when Kirk walked and moved to third on Andres Gimenez’s double to the right-field wall. Cole escaped with a strikeout and a groundout.
Spencer Jones led off the Yankees’ fourth with a hustling double to center. He took third on Luis Garcia Jr.’s flyout to center, avoiding a sweep tag at the base. Bieber worked out of the inning with two flyballs, the first too shallow to score Spencer.
Grisham led off the sixth with a homer to right on a 2-0 fastball.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected by home plate umpire Vic Carapazza with two out in the sixth.
Toronto took a 2-1 lead in the sixth. Brett Bateman led off with a single and was forced at second on Nathan Lukes’ comebacker to Cole. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with a single. Lukes was forced at third on George Springer’s grounder to third baseman Ryan McMahon, who threw late to first in an attempt for a double play. First baseman Garcia threw back to third trying to get the advancing Guerrero, but it led to a collision with George Lombard Jr. that allowed Guerrero to score. Kirk then stroked an RBI double to left to give the Jays the lead.
Guerrero left the game and was replaced at first base by Charles McAdoo in the seventh.
Cole left after pitching six innings, allowing two runs (one earned), five hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Toronto’s Tyler Rogers pitched 1 1/3 innings before Mason Fluharty recorded the final two outs of the eighth.
Yankees reliever Bradley Hanner made his major league debut in the eighth and struck out his first two batters before allowing Kirk’s homer.
–Field Level Media
