TORONTO r12; The New York Yankees evened their series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon Ito Smith Color Rush Jersey , but the availability of closer Aroldis Chapman for the rubber match Sunday was unknown.
Chapman struck out the first batter of the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday in the Yankeesr17; 8-5 victory at the Rogers Centre, but then left the mound with a recurrence of left knee tendinitis that he has dealt with for the past two months.
r0;I donr17;t think today was anything too extreme from what her17;s been dealing with much of the year,r1; Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. r0;It was more me getting him out of there because of the score.r1;
He is considered day-to-day.
Chapman entered the game in the ninth with a four-run lead, a non-save situation.
r0;With a four-run lead, I didnr17;t want to take any chances with it,r1; Boone said. r0;He said he was fine to continue.r1;
Chasen Shreve replaced the left-hander and finished the game, allowing a home run to Aledmys Diaz.
The teams will go for the series win Sunday afternoon with the Yankees (57-29) sending out right-hander Domingo German (2-4, 5.37 ERA) and the Blue Jays (41-47) will start left-hander Ryan Borucki (0-1, 2.77).
The Yankees also lost center fielder Aaron Hicks to a cramp and hamstring tightness in his left leg in the fifth inning. Toronto reliever Rhiner Cruz left the game with a groin injury in the top of the ninth.
Hicks will be likely given Sunday off. No MRI has been done at this stage, so Boone hoped the day off would be enough.
r0;He feels like her17;s OK,r1; Boone said.
Clint Frazier, who was called up from Triple-A, took over in left field when Hicks was removed with Brett Gardner moving from left to center.
In a twist to the game, the Yankees scored six runs and had four hits and six walks in 2 2/3 innings against Toronto left-hander J.A. Happ, a pitcher they could be interested in obtaining before the July 31 deadline for trades without waivers.
It was the second poor start in a row for Happ, who gave up seven runs in 5 2/3 innings to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Happ said the rumors of a trade, possibly to the Yankees, did not influence his start.
r0;It really doesnr17;t change. I was ready to pitch. I was excited to pitch, I felt good,r1; Happ said. r0;I donr17;t know. I think you try to flush this one as best you can and itr17;s going to be a tough couple of days in between Adidas Cam Fowler Jersey , but hopefully you bounce back.
r0;I donr17;t think these last two are really indicative of how Ir17;ve pitched the last several years, so you try to flip the script as best as you can and just move forward.
r0;Ir17;m just focused on playing for the Blue Jays right now. Therer17;s rumors out there. You never know whatr17;s speculation, whatr17;s true, and what has any realistic chance. Ir17;m just trying to play and pitch. Ir17;m happy right here and wer17;ll see what happens.r1;
German will make his 17th appearance and 11th start of the year for the Yankees. He has faced Toronto twice in his career, both in relief, going 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA.
In Germanr17;s only outing against the Blue Jays this season, he allowed two runs, two hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.
Borucki will make his third career outing (all starts) when he pitches against the Yankees for the first time. He allowed two runs, six hits and no walks and had eight strikeouts Monday but did not factor in the decision against the Detroit Tigers.
The Yankees are 8-4 against the Blue Jays this season and 5-3 at the Rogers Centre. They last had five wins in Toronto in 2009 when they were 6-3.
The Blue Jays are 4-4 on a homestand that ends Sunday.
Thomas Dressen ended Germanyr17;s 13-year wait for a menr17;s World Cup downhill victory on Saturday, upsetting the pre-race favorites in the classic Hahnenkamm race.
Starting 19th and taking advantage of improved visibility during a brief spell of sunshine on a cloudy day, Dressen sped down the 3.3-kilometer Streif course in 1 minute, 56.15 seconds to beat then-leader Beat Feuz of Switzerland by 0.20 seconds.
r1;I couldnr17;t believe it when I finished and saw the `1.r17; I thought they were making a joke,r1; the 24-year-old Dressen said. r1;I had to look at the timing board twice to believe it. Itr17;s really been a dream to win Kitzbuehel one time. Itr17;s incredible.r1;
Celebrating in the finish area and watched by more than 40,000 spectators, Dressen screamed for joy, holding both skis above his head before kneeling down for a moment.
r1;I was trying to soak up the atmosphere,r1; said the first German winner of the Hahnenkamm downhill since Sepp Ferstl won it twice r11; in 1978 and 1979.
Attending Saturdayr17;s race, Ferstl was among the first to congratulate his successor.
r1;That Ferstl-Streif myth has finally ended,r1; the 63-year-old Ferstl said. r1;I am happy that I can say now, `Thomas has won it as well.r1;r17;
Hannes Reichelt of Austria Adidas Andrew Cogliano Jersey , who won the race four years ago, was 0.41 behind in third, and Aksel Lund Svindal trailed by 1.12 in eighth. The Norwegian, who won Fridayr17;s super-G on the same hill, remained in the lead of the downhill standings, 10 points clear of Feuz.
The German menr17;s team had not won a downhill since Max Rauffer triumphed in Val Gardena, Italy, in December 2004.
Another victory, however, seemed only a matter of time after the young German speed team of Dressen, Andreas Sander and Josef Ferstl, son of the two-time Kitzbuehel winner, posted several top results in the past two seasons. Ferstl won a super-G in Val Gardena, Italy, last month.
On Saturday, Sander placed sixth while Ferstl was 20th.
r1;We have a super team, also with the coaches, the ski technicians, the physiotherapists,r1; Dressen said. r1;We try to learn from each other and thatr17;s what brings us forward.r1;
A downhill silver medalist at the 2014 junior world championships Adidas Corey Perry Jersey , Dressen got his fifth top-10 result this season, including his first career podium by placing third in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December.
r1;For me it is a surprise that it went so well,r1; Dressen said following his win on one of the most difficult menr17;s World Cup courses. r1;I struggled in the training, especially in the steep section. Today I skied that well for the first time.r1;
Getting his first victory in Austria was special to Dressen, who moved to the neighboring country as a kid to study and learn racing at the ski school in Neustift in the Tyrol province. Also, he lost his father, Dirk Dressen, in a ski lift accident in nearby Soelden in 2005.
r1;I was in Neustift for a year and then in Saalfelden for five more years. That has definitely been the right way for me,r1; said Dressen, who was born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Bavarian resort will host menr17;s World Cup races next weekend.
Feuz, the downhill world champion, was starting to believe he had won the race after his leading time was still holding up after 18 starters, with nearly all favorites having completed their runs.
Several racers, most notably Olympic champion Matthias Mayer and fellow Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, led the Swiss skier halfway through their runs but lost their advantage on the challenging finish section.
r1;I am very glad with second place. In Kitzbuehel you are always glad when you get to the finish,r1; Feuz said. r1;Last year I crashed here so it wasnr17;t easy to get that out of my head.r1;
The 78th edition of the Hahnenkamm races end with a slalom on Sunday.
