Thomas Helps Jays Edge Yanks 2-1 in 9th
Associated Press | Sep 14, 07 12:00 AM CDT
TORONTO - Frank Thomas drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 2-1 on Thursday night to snap New York's seven-game winning streak.
The Yankees, who fell 5 1/2 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East, now head to Fenway Park to begin a big three-game series against their longtime rival Friday night. Roger Clemens threw 40 pitches in a bullpen session Thursday and said he has "no doubt" he'll be able to return from a sore elbow to start the series finale Sunday night.
Johnny Damon homered and rookie Ian Kennedy allowed one hit in seven-plus innings for New York, which leads the wild-card race by 3 1/2 games over Detroit.
Alex Rios led off the bottom of the ninth with a single off reliever Chris Britton (0-1), stole second and scored when Thomas grounded a clean single to center. A.J. Burnett pitched eight outstanding innings, Thomas went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Toronto (73-73) ended a five-game skid.
New York came close to taking the lead in the ninth after Bobby Abreu led off with a single against reliever Casey Janssen. Alex Rodriguez struck out and left-hander Scott Downs (3-2) replaced Janssen, then gave up an infield single to Hideki Matsui. Robinson Cano's groundout moved the runners to second and third, but Downs ended the inning by getting Melky Cabrera to ground out to first on a diving play by Lyle Overbay.
Damon provided a light moment in the sixth, retiring Rios on a fly ball for the final out, then giving the ball to a fan seated in the front row in left. The fan responded by giving Damon a $20 bill. Damon took the money, ran further down the line, then handed the bill to a young child.
Speaking through a chain-link portion of the outfield fence, Damon appeared to recount the story to Toronto's relievers in the bullpen when he returned to the field in the bottom of the seventh.
Making his third major league start, Kennedy left after Gregg Zaun walked to begin the eighth. The right-hander walked four and struck out seven, both season highs, and lowered his ERA to 1.89.
Luis Vizcaino came on and John McDonald sacrificed, moving pinch-runner Curtis Thigpen to second. New York escaped when Vizcaino struck out Reed Johnson and Russ Adams.
After giving up a run in the first on a two-out double by Thomas, Kennedy responded by retiring the next 15 batters, a streak that ended when Russ Adams drew a two-out walk in the sixth.
Damon tied the score at 1 in the sixth, homering into the second deck in right. Derek Jeter followed with a single and Abreu walked, but Burnett caught Rodriguez looking at a 99 mph fastball, then got Matsui to line out sharply to first.
Burnett allowed one run and four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He has won just once in his past five starts.
Notes:@ Blue Jays OF Vernon Wells was held out of the starting lineup, but entered as a defensive replacement in the ninth. Wells, who will undergo surgery at the end of the season to remove a cyst from his left shoulder, is batting .149 (7-for-47) in September. ... Left-hander Andy Pettitte left Toronto on Thursday to travel to Boston, where he'll pitch against Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka in Friday's series opener.
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