Now is the place where the crossroads meet.
Will you look into the future?
Will you look into the future?
Jays 5 - Yankees 4
Boxscore- Recaps:
- Spencer Fordin:
The goal started small. The Blue Jays just wanted to score off Orlando Hernandez, who had stifled them for 17 straight innings before Wednesday night's game.
Seven outs in, they did exactly that. The stakes grew higher as the game wore on, and Vernon Wells found a way to cash in all of Toronto's chips. The center fielder lined a two-run triple in the seventh inning, chasing Hernandez and pushing the Jays to a 5-4 win. That was El Duque's first loss of the season, spoiling one of the league's best stories of the second half. - Mark Feinsand:
The Yankees missed out on an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth on Wednesday, as Orlando Hernandez suffered his first loss of the season, a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hernandez allowed five runs in 6 1/3 innings, as former Yankee Ted Lilly won for the first time in four meetings this season against El Duque. - Mike Rutsey:
As for the bullpen, League wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Gary Sheffield and then induced Bernie Williams to ground out. Justin Speier gave up a solo homer in the eighth and was followed by Batista, who had a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save.
Offensively, the Jays were sparked by rookie Russ Adams who had three hits, including a solo homer in the third and Vernon Wells, who stroked a two-run triple off Orlando Hernandez, who lost for the first time this season. - Ronald Blum:
Trying to become the first Yankees starter to win his first nine decisions since Tommy John in 1979, Hernandez (8-1) let Toronto close to 3-2 on Russ Adams' solo homer in the third and an RBI single to Gregg Zaun in the sixth.
He allowed a double to No. 9 hitter Chris Gomez leading off the seventh, and Adams followed with a pop fly to centre. Williams appeared to get a late start and the ball dropped for a single.
After Orlando Hudson flied out, Wells lined a high pitch into the gap in right centre for a 4-3 lead. - Larry Millson:
The Blue Jays won two of three games from the Yankees, who lead the American League East.
Regardless of last night, the Yankees hate to think of where they might be without Hernandez in the second half of the season, considering the inconsistency of their rotation. He is 8-1 and the Yankees are 11-3 in 14 starts after his return to the majors in July. Not bad considering he missed all of 2003 because of arm surgery and was signed in March to a minor-league deal as a free agent. - Geoff Baker:
A pumped-up Brandon League couldn't stop smiling after he'd helped secure a 12th win for a Blue Jays teammate who often falls short of the finish.
It was Double-A call-up League on the mound in relief of Ted Lilly in the seventh inning last night with the bases loaded, one out and a most valuable player candidate due up for the New York Yankees. The home crowd was on its feet, which had only made the 21-year-old League smile even more.
Those teeth were downright blinding after League struck out the dangerous Gary Sheffield on a slider, then got Bernie Williams to ground out to end the biggest threat to victory No. 12 by Lilly this season.
- Spencer Fordin:
- Fordin Notes on Gustavo Chacin's windup, Justin Miller's demotion to the pen, and the O-Dog:
A long-term contract extension for Orlando Hudson will likely be high on the team's list of offseason priorities. The second baseman has become a solid contender for the Gold Glove at his position, and he's one of the only plus defenders Toronto trots out on a daily basis.
J.P. Ricciardi, the general manager of the Blue Jays, said he expects to work something out with Hudson's agent. He also said negotiations haven't started yet and that he plans on picking them up shortly after the offseason starts.
The Jays already have three players -- Roy Halladay, Eric Hinske and Vernon Wells -- locked up to extensions. Most of the team's homegrown prospects fit into two categories. They're either too young to command major money or Toronto isn't willing to commit just yet.
That'd be great news for Jays fans. Other than possibly Reed Johnson, Hudson is the most exciting player on this team. Any guesses on how much Hudson will get?
Has Fordin once again scooped the other writers? You'd think this would be big news. - Rutsey Notes on a ticket price reduction and Brandon League:
League, who throws consistently in the high 90s, came on with one on and one out and immediately got in a jam as he walked Derek Jeter on four pitches and had Alex Rodriguez reach on an infield single.
League, impressively, didn't start to hyper-ventilate or panic as he came back to strike out Gary Sheffield before retiring Bernie Williams on a grounder to first.
"He's a loose kid with a great arm," interim manager John Gibbons enthused. "He shut them down and that was the game right there." - No Game Tonight
