Yankees defeat Blue Jays to claim 10th win in 30 games

The New York Yankees have claimed a much-needed 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays to avoid a four-game sweep. The victory came after left fielder Andrew Benintendi shot a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning.

The win marked their tenth win in 30 games since the All-Star game. New York managed to top the AL East by eight games over Toronto after the win.

The Yankees claimed the victory out of frustration. Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah hit right fielder Aaron Judge. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was booed while retiring Paul O’Neill’s No. 21.

“No secret what we’re going through,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “That was a big blow in an important game.”

During a postgame news conference on Saturday, New York ace Gerrit Cole smashed the dugout roof twice, and Boone punched his hand on the podium.

On the next day, Manoah smacked Judge in the arm guard above the left elbow with a sinker in the fifth after throwing near Judge earlier. Gerrit Cole yelled at Manoah to lead a few more Yankees, who rushed out of their dugout.

Judge insisted that Manoah did not hit him on purpose. “It was the heat of the moment,” he said. “Nobody likes to get hit.”

Judge and Manoah, former teammates in last month’s All-Star Game, diplomatically resolved the issue. Manoah said the smacking came after he struggled to control the sinker in previous starts.

“I made a pitch. Obviously, it hit Judge,” Manoah insisted. “Obviously, I looked at him, and I said, ‘man I’m not trying to do that.’ I think he understood that.”

The Yankees recovered quickly as Benintendi hit his fourth homer of the season, followed by Anthony Rizzo, who scored on a throwing error, and a hit by DJ LeMahieu. In addition, Lou Trivino got the final seven outs.