Ernie Clement opened the seventh inning by hitting his first career pinch-hit home run and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays recorded a 3-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday afternoon.
After left-hander Caleb Ferguson (0-1) replaced Yankees starter Marcus Stroman, Toronto manager John Schneider sent Clement to bat for Cavan Biggio. The move paid off when the right-handed-hitting Clement hit Ferguson’s 1-0 fastball into the left-field seats. The 407-foot shot was the infielder’s fifth career homer.
Toronto added two runs in the ninth when Nick Burdi threw three wild pitches.
Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi and four relievers combined to hold the Yankees to six hits.
Kikuchi allowed four hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two in a 96-pitch outing.
Kikuchi retired Juan Soto three times, getting the new Yankee slugger on a strikeout with a runner on in the third. The left-hander also got inning-ending strikeouts of Giancarlo Stanton in the first and third, which drew noticeable boos from some fans.
Kikuchi was lifted after his third encounter with Soto and Yimi Garcia (1-0) recorded the final two outs of the sixth ahead of Clement’s homer.
Genesis Cabrera and Trevor Richards combined to work the seventh. Richards struck out the side in the eighth, ending the inning by fanning Soto, who flung his helmet in frustration.
Chad Green allowed two hits in the ninth before notching his first save as a Blue Jay.
The Blue Jays earned the low-scoring win after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake briefly hit the New York area. It occurred about 2 1/2 hours before the first pitch while the Yankees took batting practice on the field.
New York’s struggles against Kikuchi and Toronto’s bullpen spoiled a strong start by Stroman, who allowed three hits in six shutout innings while walking one and striking out six.
Stroman opened the game by allowing a double to George Springer on his first pitch and gave up a two-out single to Alejandro Kirk in the second. He also allowed a two-out double to Biggio before stranding two to end the fourth.
–Field Level Media
