NEW YORK — On a night full of home runs, an errant throw and a heads-up baserunning play gave the Toronto Blue Jays a surprising extra-inning win over the New York Yankees.
More important for the Yankees, they lost first baseman Mark Teixeira for at least a week, he said after their 8-7 loss in 11 innings.
Teixeira sustained a Grade 1 strain of his left calf, an MRI revealed after he left the game following the fourth inning.
It was a wild win for the last-place Blue Jays, who snapped a seven-game losing streak, and a stunning loss for the Yankees, who saw closer Rafael Soriano blow just his third save chance of the season.
Colby Rasmus smacked a two-out, three-run homer off Soriano to give the Blue Jays a 7-6 lead in the ninth. The Yankees answered in the bottom of the inning on Derek Jeter’s solo homer, but Toronto eventually won thanks to pinch runner Mike McCoy’s legs. McCoy he took two bases on an error, then scored when he dashed home on a slow roller to third.
“We played right to the end,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “Colby puts up a great at-bat. Really all night long, we had great swings, but the three-run homer obviously speaks volumes. They come right back and tie it, and (Darren) Oliver with two outstanding innings of work (got the win).”
The Yankees saw their lead in the AL East shrink. The Baltimore Orioles closed within 3 1/2 games of New York, while the Tampa Bay Rays remained four games back.
Robinson Cano hit two home runs, and Nick Swisher also homered for the Yankees. Yorvit Torrealba had three hits and a homer, and Adam Lind also homered for Toronto.
Soriano, who is 33-for-36 in save chances, left without talking to the media.
“He’s been so good for us all year,” Jeter said of Soriano.
Of losing Teixeira, the Yankees captain added, “We’ve had a lot of losses. Lost a lot of people. … Can’t feel sorry for ourselves. No one’s gonna feel sorry for us. Bottom line — someone’s gotta step up.”
After all the firepower in a game that featured seven homers, Blue Jays pinch runner McCoy stepped up to seal the game in the 11th inning.
Torrealba singled to lead off the inning, and McCoy moved to third when Lowe’s pickoff throw sailed into right field, still with no one out.
Lowe (8-11) struck out Moises Sierra and got Adeiny Hechavarria to hit a weak grounder to charging third baseman Nix. McCoy returned to third as Nix threw on the run to first for the second out. But McCoy timed his break perfectly and beat the throw home from first baseman Eric Chavez to push Toronto ahead.
“Great instincts right there,” Farrell said. “A slow roller to third base, he’s got to hold back and read, but as soon as he saw (third baseman Jayson) Nix commit, he makes a heads-up play and just a very instinctual play.”
The Yankees all praised McCoy for timing the play perfectly, leaving Nix with “nothing he could do,” as Jeter said. Lowe shook his head in disbelief at his errant throw, calling it “unexcusable (sic).”
Oliver (3-2) walked Ichiro Suzuki with one out in the bottom of the 11th, but came back to get Jeter to hit into a fielder’s choice and struck out Nick Swisher looking on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.
The Yankees were especially concerned about moving forward without Teixeira, who said he could be out anywhere from a week to two weeks. Teixeira, who had fouled a ball off his leg, said he felt “something grab” coming out of the box on his walk during the fourth. Manager Joe Girardi checked on him, but Teixeira said he was all right, but the calf tightened as he limped around the bases to score on Russell Martin’s RBI single that made it 4-1. Teixeira was taken out of the game.
“He’s been such a backbone to our lineup,” Swisher said. “For a guy like that to be out of our lineup, that’s a big deal.”
With Toronto trailing 6-4 in the ninth, Sierra hit a one-out single off Soriano, and Rajai Davis singled with two outs to put the tying run on for Rasmus.
The Blue Jays center fielder drilled a 1-0 pitch into the second deck in right field.
Jeter tied the game on a 0-1 pitch from Casey Janssen for his 14th homer of the season.
Earlier in the game, the Yankees put a beating on the Toronto pitchers — literally and figuratively.
As they built a 6-4 lead with the long ball, the Yankees also forced two pitchers from the game after they took batted balls off their left legs.
Henderson Alvarez gave up four runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings for Toronto before leaving the game in the fourth, after Martin’s single caromed off the right-hander. The Jays announced later that X-rays were negative and that Alvarez is day-to-day with a bruised left shin.
Reliever Aaron Laffey left after the sixth after getting struck by Jeter’s comebacker. Laffey made the play to end the inning, but the team later announced he had a bruised left calf. Farrell said Laffey was OK.
Yankees starter David Phelps allowed four runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings. David Robertson, whose wife, Erin, gave birth to the couple’s son, Luke Joseph, in New York earlier Monday, pitched a scoreless eighth.
NOTES: The Yankees acquired first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce from the Astros for cash, and he is expected to arrive Tuesday. … Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova (right shoulder inflammation) said he feels he could resume throwing Tuesday, with a doctor’s approval. He hopes to return in two weeks. … Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (left wrist) was scheduled to see a hand specialist in Cleveland on Monday. … Toronto right-hander Jason Frasor, who has not pitched since July 16 due to forearm tightness, threw a bullpen session Monday. He could begin a rehab stint this weekend, Farrell said.