Ellsbury’s 3 RBIs back Tanaka as Yanks beat Blue Jays 5-3
NEW YORK — Sensing the season’s dwindling days, the New York Yankees opened their penultimate homestand by falling behind on Masahiro Tanaka’s seventh pitch of a sunny Labor Day afternoon.
Jacoby Ellsbury turned the deficit into a lead on R.A. Dickey’s third offering of the day, and New York remained on the periphery of contention for a post-season berth with four weeks remaining.
Ellsbury drove a 73 mph knuckleball over the right-field short porch for a two-run homer, then added an RBI single to lead the Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 Monday and keep New York 3 1/2 games back in the AL wild-card race.
“It’s almost imperative,” said Brett Gardner, who singled one pitch ahead of Ellsbury’s seventh homer. “At this point, we have to win every series the rest of the way. We’ve got to play well, and two-out-of-three is the worst-case scenario for us.”