Yankees-Blue Jays Score: Hughes Gets First Victory, 7-2

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Curtis Granderson had two hits, knocked in three runs and scored once to help lead the New York Yankees past the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2, in the finale of a four-game series.

Brett Gardner went 3-for-4 and crossed the plate three times as New York won for the fourth time in six games.

Phil Hughes (1-2) went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five for the win.

Carlos Villanueva (5-2) allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk through six innings. He also struck out six as the Jays lost their second straight contest after having their five-game win streak snapped.

A Gardner single, a Mark Teixeira walk and a Robinson Cano single loaded the bases for the Yankees with one out in the first. Nick Swisher followed with a line-drive single to right that scored Gardner, but a strikeout by Jorge Posada and a liner to short by Russell Martin limited the damage to just one run.

Edwin Encarnacion led off the second with a double into the right-center gap and Travis Snider followed with single into left, scoring Encarnacion and knotting the game at one.

Swisher started the fourth with a single and came around to score two batters later when Martin laced a first-pitch double into right-center field. An Eduardo Nunez base hit put runners on the corners, and Martin came home on Ramiro Pena's sacrifice fly to deep center field. After a Gardner single to right, Granderson pulled a two-run double down the first-base line to give New York a 5-1 lead.

Encarnacion worked a one-out walk, moved to third on Snider's ground-rule double and scored on Aaron Hill's sacrifice fly to right, cutting the Yankees' lead to three.

But New York got that run back in the seventh off of reliever Luis Perez. Granderson reached first on a fielder's choice, advanced to third on a base hit by Teixeira and came home on Cano's sac fly to right field.

Granderson's RBI single in the ninth extended the Yankees' cushion.

After Snider's double in the fourth inning, Yunel Escobar's walk in the sixth was the only baserunner Toronto would manage for the remainder of the game. They finished the day with just four hits and two walks.

NOTES: The Yankees recalled outfielder Chris Dickerson from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and optioned outfielder Greg Golson to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre prior to Sunday's game...Toronto third baseman Jose Bautista missed his third straight game with an injured ankle...Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was given the day off.

Yankees-Blue Jays Score: CC Sabathia Pitches New York To 4-1 Victory

After back-to-back sub-par outings by Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia, the New York Yankees needed a well-pitched game from a starting pitcher. Fortunately, the Yankees had ace CC Sabathia pitching Ssaturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, and Sabathia delivered as the Yankees won, 4-1.

Sabathia tossed eight innings of one-run ball as the Yankees took a 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays in the third portion of a four-game series. The big left-hander became the first 14-game winner in the majors.

Sabathia (14-4) allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out eight to extend his personal win streak to seven straight starts.

Mariano Rivera threw a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 23rd save of the year as New York won for the third time in five games. Rivera allowed back-to-back one-out singles by Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion to put the tying run at the plate in the ninth, but Aaron Hill fanned on a high fastball and a groundout by Travis Snider ended the game.

Rajai Davis walked to leadoff the first, stole second and crossed the plate on Escobar's single up the middle to give the Jays an early 1-0 lead and end Sabathia's streak of scoreless innings at 24.

But New York answered right back in the second to take the lead. Nick Swisher hit a ground-rule double over the head of Davis in center field and Andruw Jones followed with an RBI single into left field. Brett Gardner doubled to put runners on second and third, and Eduardo Nunez's high-chopper to third brought home Jones, making it a 2-1 game.

A Curtis Granderson walk and a Robinson Cano single put runners on the corners with one out in the third. After a Swisher strikeout, Romero bounced a curveball in the dirt and Cano made a break for second. Catcher J.P. Arencibia recovered quickly, and Cano was caught in a run-down between first and second. Granderson made his way towards home during the play and Hill's throw to the plate sailed over Arencibia's head, allowing Granderson to score easily.

Gardner hustled out a double on a blooper into shallow center to start the fourth, advanced to second on a Nunez sacrifice bunt and crossed the plate on Derek Jeter's infield single to extend New York's lead to 4-1.

Toronto's best chance to get back into the game came in the fourth inning. Escobar led off the frame with a walk and that was followed by a Lind single. After Encarnacion struck out, Hill hit a hard liner to third that was grabbed by Nunez. Escobar was running on contact and was caught too far off second as Nunez made an easy toss to the bag for the inning-ending double play.

Toronto third baseman Jose Bautista missed his second straight game with an injured ankle.

-- Sports Network contributed to this report

Yankees-Blue Jays Score: Freddy Garcia Struggles In 7-1 New York Loss

Two games after the All-Star break, two poor starts by veteran New York Yankee pitchers who were much better than expected during the first half of the season. One night after Bartolo Colon lasted just two-thirds of an inning, Freddy Garcia (7-7) struggled in a 7-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, going five innings and giving up six runs -- five earned -- on seven hits while striking out five and walking four.

The first two games after break are a disturbing sign for the Yankees, who entered the season unsure of their starting pitching but have thus far gotten much more than they could have anticipated from Garcia and Colon. Garcia had five straight quality starts prior to Friday night.

"It just seemed like he was up a little bit with his offspeed stuff tonight," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We've been talking about situations and how to get people out, that's what you have to do."

Brandon Morrow worked 6 2/3 strong innings for Toronto, giving up only one run. Morrow (6-4) scattered four hits while fanning six and walking only a pair to win his fourth straight decision.

Yunel Escobar went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Eric Thames smacked a pair of doubles. Edwin Encarnacion, who filled in for the injured Jose Bautista at third base, added an RBI double for the Blue Jays, who extended their winning streak to five games.

Eduardo Nunez knocked in the only Yankee run with a single. Nick Swisher added two hits for the Yankees.

Toronto took the lead for good in the fourth. Travis Snider laced a one-out double down the line in right and was chased home on Encarnacion's double to for a 2-1 advantage. The Jays added another run on an RBI single by Jose Molina for a 3-1 lead.

The Blue Jays broke the game open in the fifth, plating three runs. Thames led off the inning by ripping a double to center. Escobar and Adam Lind walked to load the bases with no outs. Aaron Hill grounded into a fielder's choice to score Thames, while Escobar advanced to third. Hill then stole second to give the Jays men on second and third with one out. Snider followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score Escobar for a 5-1 advantage. Toronto plated its sixth run of the game on an arrant throw by Yankees catcher Russell Martin on a double-steal by the Blue Jays, which allowed Hill to trot home.

New York Yankees (53-36) At Toronto Blue Jays (46-47), 7:07 P.M.

New York Yankees veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia has been surprisingly good thus far in 2011, posting a 7-6 record but pitching to a sparkling 3.13 ERA, about 1.5 runs per game better than a season ago. Garcia has quality starts in his last five outings and eight of his last nine.

The Yankees need Garcia to continue that streak of excellence Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays. On Thursday, the Yankees were routed, 16-7, and starting pitcher Bartolo Colon did not make it out of the first inning as Toronto scored eight times. Thus, the Yankees need Garcia to be effective this evening.

"It's hard to figure what to make of that start because we didn't play that good of a defense behind him," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "You don't make too much of one game, but it wasn't a good game on our part."

Garcia and the Yankees might catch one break as Toronto slugger Jose Bautista, the major-league leader with 31 home runs, is day-to-day after leaving Thursday's game with an ankle injury.

The Yankees are now 1.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

Yankees-Blue Jays Score: Toronto Routs Yankees, 16-7

It is hard to imagine a worse way for the New York Yankees to begin the second half of the 2011 season. The Yankees suffered a lopsided 16-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in which Toronto scored eight first-inning runs, five unearned thanks to an Eduardo Nunez error.

New York starting pitching Bartolo Colon lasted only two-thirds of inning, with a two-out error by Nunez leading to the final five runs.

The Blue Jays set a season-high in runs despite having All-Star third baseman Jose Bautista leave the game in the fourth inning with a twisted right ankle. He's day-to-day. Toronto got 20 hits against five Yankee pitchers.

The Yankees closed within 9-7 in the sixth inning, thanks mostly to two home runs and four RBI by Andruw Jones. New York, however, could not hold down Toronto's offense. The 16 runs was a season-high for the Blue Jays.

Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner each got three hits for the Yankees.

Greg Golson Promoted As Alex Rodriguez Goes On Disabled List

Well, obviously the New York Yankees are not listening to me when it comes to replacing Alex Rodriguez on their 25-man active roster. The Yankees today placed Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list (he will be out much longer than that) and the choice to replace him on the roster was not highly-touted prospect Jesus Montero.

Instead, the Yankees promoted a spare outfielder, Greg Golson, from AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Golson, 25, was hitting .295 with five home runs and 25 RBI at AAA.

The right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder played 24 games with the Yankees last season, batting .261 with no home runs and two RBI. He made a reputation as a good defensive outfielder with a rocket arm. He could be used as a defensive replacement for right-fielder Nick Swisher, and might get some starts in left field -- where the ineffective Andruw Jones has been getting starts against left-handed pitching.

Golson also played one game for Texas in 2009 and six for Philadelphia in 2008.

J.C. Romero: Yankees Add Veteran Lefty Reliever

You know that speculation about the New York Yankees wanting to add vetern left-handed reliever J.C. Romero? Well, that has come true sooner rather than later as the Yankees today signed the 35-year-old to a minor-league contract.

Romero was released by the Philadelphia Phillies after appearing in 24 games this season. He had been pitching in the Washington Nationals minor-league system but the Nationals — apparently uninterested in bringing Romero to the big leagues — released him so he could sign with the Yankees.

The Yankees signed veteran left-hander Pedro Feliciano as a free agent to be their lefty specialist, but Feliciano has not pitched due to a shoulder injury. Lefty Damaso Marte is also on the DL.

Romero will apparently report to AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre, but the guess here is that he won’t stay long. He held left-handed hitters to a .208 batting average while with the Phillies and has held them to a .215 average for his career.

Boone Logan, the only lefty in the Yankee bullpen, has had more success against right-handed hitters (a .133 average) than against lefties, who are hitting .259 against him.

Romero could eventually replace rookie Hector Noesi or veteran long man Sergio Mitre on the pitching staff.

Yankees At Blue Jays: Bartolo Colon Opens For New York

(Sports Network) - It's been an action-packed few days for the New York Yankees and they will kick off the second half of the season tonight in the opener of a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Derek Jeter's quest for 3,000 hits is in the past, Alex Rodriguez will miss a significant amount of time after undergoing knee surgery, Robinson Cano showed off his stroke by winning the Home Run Derby during All-Star Game festivities and one year ago legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away.

With that strong mix of emotion, the Bronx Bombers get back to work against the AL East-rival Blue Jays up north and will also visit Tampa Bay for four games on this upcoming eight-game road swing. The Yankees entered the All-Star break having won two straight and 10 of 14 games, and sit just one game behind idle Boston for division supremacy.

Bartolo Colon will handle pitching duties for the Yankees and was 4-0 with a 1.00 earned run average before losing to the Rays in last Thursday's 5-1 loss at Yankee Stadium. Colon was reached for five runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 frames with four walks and one strikeout. The right-hander is 6-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) and lost to Toronto on May 23. In a 7-3 setback in the Bronx, the Jays hit Colon up for six runs and seven hits in six innings.