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Ivan Nova had his worst start of the season and Marco Estrada shut down the Yankee offense as the team's six-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night. It sure was fun while it lasted, though. Unfortunately for New York, the offense just couldn't overcome a shaky pitching performance.
The Yankees scored first when Chase Headley scored on a Brett Gardner fielder's choice in the third inning for the game's first run. It was all Blue Jays from there, including a big four-run seventh inning meltdown between Nova and Chasen Shreve. Nova was pulled after getting two outs in the inning, but Michael Saunders and Russell Martin both clubbed two-run homers in the frame to put the game solidly out of reach.
Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius followed the Blue Jays' big inning with a solo shot each in the bottom of the inning, but it simply wasn't enough for the Yankees to climb their way out of the hole created for them. Headley and Gregorius were actually the only Yankees to record hits in the game with two a piece until Austin Romine's pinch hit home run in the ninth. Their two homers were just the team's third and fourth hits of the game to that point, illustrating just how dominated they were by Estrada. Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks did reach base via the walk, at the very least.
In all, Nova surrendered four runs on seven hits while striking out eight batters. Shreve was charged with three runs in just one inning. Nick Goody poured a little gas on the fire by allowing a run of his own. It was a rare night when the team's strong bullpen faltered when forced to go to the shakier middle relievers rather than the much tougher trio at the back end.
The Yankees forced the Blue Jays to go to their closer, Roberto Osuna, in the ninth after the pinch hit homer and Gregorius' third hit of the night, despite still being down four runs. Osuna struck out Hicks on a ball well out of the zone before Jacoby Ellsbury flew out to left to end the game.
New York will try to get back on track in the rubber game tomorrow afternoon when CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ square off at 4:05 pm.