Marcus Stroman shines as Blue Jays beat Yankees 4-0

SCORE AND SITUATION

TORONTO – Marcus Stroman was simply sensational Wednesday night, pitching the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees to increase Toronto’s lead atop the AL East to 3 ½ games.

Making just his third start of the season after making an astonishing comeback from a torn ACL that was supposed to keep him out the entire year, the 24-year-old right-hander went seven scoreless innings and Kevin Pillar and Russell Martin came up with big hits to lead the Blue Jays to victory.

The offence didn’t wait long to test Ivan Nova, but had nothing to show for it after two innings. In the first, Josh Donaldson reached on an infield single and moved up to third on a double by Edwin Encarnacion. However, they were stranded on the bases after Nova struck out Justin Smoak on a 3-2 curveball. Ryan Goins led off the second with a walk and Darwin Barney followed with a single to left field, but they too didn’t come around to score.

Stroman had no such trouble in the early going, retiring 12 of the first 14 batters he faced, and had five strikeouts after four innings.

After escaping any damage in the first two innings, Nova navigated through the next three innings without a problem, allowing just two Blue Jays to reach base. After Nova issued a two-out walk to Russell Martin in the sixth, Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled his starter and went to the bullpen. Left-hander James Pazos gave up a single to Goins, and Girardi went back to the bullpen, this time calling on right-hander Caleb Cotham. With runners now at first and third, Pillar drove a ball up the middle to score Martin and put Toronto up 1-0. Cotham then walked pinch-hitter Ezequiel Carrera to load the bases, but Ben Revere flew out to left field.

Finally pitching with a lead, Stroman came out for the seventh and put up another zero. That was his final inning of work and he left the game with a pitching line of seven innings, five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.

Martin made it 4-0 for the Blue Jays in the seventh, crushing a three-run home run off Yankees reliever Andrew Bailey and adding much-needed insurance runs.

Brett Cecil replaced Stroman in the eighth and pitched a scoreless inning. Roberto Osuna entered in the ninth and sealed the deal.

LEADING LADS

• It goes without saying that Marcus Stroman was incredibly sharp. His slider was particularly effective, recording all five of his strikeouts with it as his put-away pitch.

• Russell Martin had a part in all four Toronto runs, scoring the first after a walk in the sixth and driving in three with a homer in the seventh.

• Kevin Pillar only had one hit on the night, but it was a huge one. His two-out RBI single in the sixth that scored Martin gave the Blue Jays their first lead of the game.

• Josh Donaldson was back to his MVP-calibre self, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored.

HEAD HANGERS

• The top of the Yankees’ order – Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, and Alex Rodriguez – went a combined 1-for-12 at the plate.

• The Blue Jays scored four runs despite subpar nights from their leadoff and No. 3 hitters. Ben Revere 0-for-4 and left five runners on base, while Jose Bautista was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

SUPER STAT

WHAT THEY'LL BE TALKING ABOUT

• Can you believe it? Marcus Stroman wasn’t supposed to pitch at all this season, yet here he is in September throwing seven shutout innings against the Yankees with the division title hanging in the balance. There’s absolutely no question at this point that he'll be in the postseason rotation. What a story.

• Sigh of relief. By taking two of three in this series, the Blue Jays’ lead in the division is back to 3 ½ games. With no head-to-head games between the two teams remaining, it makes it that much more difficult for New York to close the gap.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Toronto has the day off Thursday before opening a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night at the Rogers Centre. The Yankees return home for a four-game set against the Chicago White Sox that begins Thursday night in the Bronx.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr