Ichiro's Big Game Propels Yankee Win

For much of tonight's game, the Blue Jays kept it close. The Yankees were leading 3-2 for the first two-thirds of the game before blowing it open with insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Leading the charge for the Yankees was Ichiro Suzuki who had two hits and five RBI. The first RBI came on a force play in the second inning with the bases loaded. Later in the game, Ichiro hit the ball hard twice for a single that scored two runs and finally a double that scored a pair. If Ichiro can play the way he has for the past week, he will really help the Yankees achieve their ultimate goal of getting deep into the playoffs and possibly winning big in October. Teixeira has also begun to swing a hot bat which we have seen over the last couple of games with two home runs in the final game of the Detroit series and tonight against the Jays pen. Ricky Romero continues to struggle as he has lost his ninth game of the season with only eight wins. From a lefty ace, the results have not been good and the Blue Jays should be concerned with their horse.

Freddy Garcia keeps proving me wrong by going out and pitching well. He limited the Blue Jays to two runs on five hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out five in the Yankee victory. Garcia has been solid since coming out of the bullpen for the Yankees after a bad April starting games. He will not factor into the Yankees plans for the postseason but he is a very capable fifth starter who will be a valuable piece to a club next year if he can keep it together. After Garcia left the game, Girardi used five relievers to get the final nine outs. Girardi has made many questionable moves lately but his strength is handling the bullpen. He gets guys into their respective spots and avoids trouble when it comes to getting his outs from the pen. With tonight's win the Yankees have won three straight and look like the Yankees of old when they were playing crisp baseball in June and early July.

In tomorrow's matinee game, Ivan Nova looks to straighten himself out against a lineup that is missing a lot of pieces. The Blue Jays will throw out lefty Aaron Laffey to start against the Yankees, who have been money in the bank against left-handed starters this year.