Gleyber Torres Leads Yankees to 10th Straight Win
Offense was hard to come by for both the Yankees and the Blue Jays on Monday night in Toronto. When New York needed him most, however, second baseman Gleyber Torres came through.
After slugging a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give the Yankees an early lead, Torres delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth. Right-hander Chad Green proceeded to retire the side in the bottom of the frame, clinching a 3-2 victory.
The win for New York extends their league-best winning streak to 10 games. Victorious in 12 of their last 13 contests, the Yankees have the best record in Major League Baseball so far this season (17-6).
Torres' blast in the fourth came on a 1-1 fastball from right-hander Ross Stripling. His third home run of the year, the two-run shot flew 376 feet over the wall in right.
Toronto responded right away, pushing two across against left-hander Jordan Montgomery. The southpaw finished his day with five solid innings, six hits, five strikeouts and those two earned runs allowed.
As has been the case for New York all season long, the bullpen was extraordinary. Jonathan Loáisiga, Miguel Castro, Clay Holmes and Green held the Blue Jays to three hits over four scoreless frames, putting the offense in a position to take the lead at any time.
It took until the ninth. A leadoff single from right fielder Giancarlo Stanton—who made a spectacular grab on defense earlier in the game—led to a stolen base from pinch runner Tim Locastro.
With the speedster in scoring position, Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks couldn't get the job done. That's when Torres stepped up to the plate and delivered, slapping an RBI single to the right side on the first pitch he saw from righty Yimi Garcia.
Going 2-for-4 with three RBI, Torres is now hitting .239/.274/.448 with three homers and 12 RBI over 21 games this season. It's a small sample size, and those aren't earth-shattering numbers, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for a player that's been struggling over the last few years.
Also, on a night where DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo combined to go 2-for-12 at the top of the order, it was Torres that put the offense on his back.
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