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NEW YORK -- It was home run derby for three innings and then all zeros after that. In the third, Ichiro hit the last of the game's four homers, which gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead. That is how it finished.
Streaking: Overall, the Yankees have won seven of eight since the All-Star break. They own the second wild-card spot. The Yankees have beaten the Toronto Blue Jays 17 straight times at Yankee Stadium. If the Yankees were to sweep this weekend, they would tie the 1960-62 Yankees, who beat the Indians 19 straight times in the Bronx, according to Elias.   Worth the wait: In Ichiro's first 294 at-bats of 2014, he failed to homer. That is, until the third inning Friday. After a Carlos Beltran solo shot off Mark Buehrle, Ichiro hit a three-run homer, his first of the year.
Ichiro has owned Buehrle his whole career. He entered having hit .421 (24-for-57) against the lefty. Further owned: As good as Buehrle has been in his career, he can't pitch against the Yankees or at Yankee Stadium. After tossing three innings of six-run ball Friday, he now is now 1-12 with a 6.14 ERA in 19 career starts. At Yankee Stadium, he is winless in eight starts with a 6.04 ERA. Headstrong: Chase Headley went 3-for-4 with a double. He is now 6-for-14 as a Yankee. Not bad. Good call: In the first, Hiroki Kuroda allowed two men to reach and then fell behind Jose Bautista 3-0. It was not a good combination. It got worse when Toronto manager John Gibbons gave Bautista the green light. Bautista took it and drilled a three-run homer to give the Blue Jays an early advantage. Joey Bats: In the top of the third, Bautista nailed a solo shot, which gave the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead. Bautista had two homers and four RBIs after just three innings. Hiro night: Besides Bautista, Kuroda was fine against the rest of the Blue Jays. In his 5⅔ innings, all four of the runs he gave up came from Bautista's bat. Kuroda allowed eight total hits. Glove work: Besides having a couple more singles, Brian McCann made a nice play on a sharp grounder down the first-base line in the eighth. McCann fielded the ball as it brought him into foul territory and then relayed on to Dellin Betances covering first. Dynamic duo: Betances and David Robertson worked the final two innings. For Robertson, it was save No. 26. On deck: The debut of Chris Capuano as a Yankees starter. He'll face Drew Hutchinson (6-9, 4.54 ERA).
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