Yankees end 5-game losing streak with win over Indians
You've got to score to win, and for the first time in a week, the New York Yankees scored enough to find themselves back in the win column.
The Yankees - who scored only nine runs in their previous eight games coming into Friday night's tilt against the Cleveland Indians - finally ended their five-game losing skid with an 8-6 win over the Indians.
After jumping out to an early four-run lead, the Yankees nearly coughed it up, eventually surrendering six runs in what began to look like yet another missed opportunity.
Cleveland clawed its way to within two runs on several occasions, including after a Dellin Betances wild pitch in the seventh, and a run off Andrew Miller in the ninth. New York was able to shut the door for the victory.
"When you play 162 games, there's going to be times when you struggle and you don't hit," catcher Brian McCann told reporters. "It happened to us this past week. We have a deep lineup that can hurt you. I've been saying that all year long. Tonight was good to get back on track."
With the win, New York scratched back to within a half-game of the American League East-leading Toronto Blue Jays. Despite the win, the Yankees' offense continued to struggle; of the team's 10 hits, half came from Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Stephen Drew.
| Player | AB | H | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellsbury | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Gardner | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Rodriguez | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Beltran | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| McCann | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Headley | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bird | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Gregorious | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Drew | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Nathan Eovaldi earned his 12th win of the season, pitching 5 1/3 innings of four-run ball, striking out four while walking three.
On the other side of the ball, Indians starter Trevor Bauer didn't have it, giving up two home runs early in the game, a three-run shot by McCann in the first, and a solo shot by Drew in the second. He lasted 3 1/3 innings, his shortest outing since going three innings on June 22.
Related: McCann becomes 3rd catcher in MLB history with 8 straight 20-homer seasons
The Yankees now head to Toronto for a pivotal series in which first place will be on the line. Ivan Nova will get the ball for the Yankees in the series opener as they try to hand David Price his first loss since joining the Blue Jays at the trade deadline.
"It's a good win, no doubt about it," Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez said. "We could have easily won two out of three, but we'll take that one and hopefully take the momentum to Canada."