Jose Baustista's first-inning two-run home run provided all the scoring as the Toronto Blue Jays shut out the New York Yankees 2-0 Saturday afternoon.
With two outs and a 0-2 count in the bottom of the first, Bautista launched a breaking ball from New York's Michael Pineda into the second deck of the left-field stands to give the Blue Jays all the offense they would need.
The home run was Bautista's 28th of the season, and Saturday's game was the fourth straight in which Bautista has homered. Lead-off man Jose Reyes singled to open the inning and scored ahead of Bautista on the blast.
Drew Hutchison (W: 9-11, 4.77 ERA) was the beneficiary of the home run as he pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. He also walked two, hit one, and struck out nine. Only a fourth-inning double off the bat of New York's Mark Teixeira kept Hutchison from flirting with a no-hitter. Hutchison, though, did pick up his first win since August 6.
In that fourth inning, the Yankees had their only legitimate threat of the game. Teixeira's double put runners at second and third. A hit batsman (Brian McCann) loaded the bases with two outs, but Hutchison got Martin Prado to fly out to center to end the threat.
Sergio Sanchez pitched two perfect innings to earn his first save of the season. He struck out three, including McCann to end the game.
Pineda (L: 3-3, 2.09) pitched very well in taking the tough-luck loss. He went six innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs. He also struck out three and did not walk a single Blue Jay. Pineda has allowed only six earned runs in 23.1 innings since coming off the disabled list on August 13. However, low run support has held him to only one win in those four starts.
With the win, Toronto pulled to within 5.5 games of the second A.L. Wild Card position while New York's loss dropped the Yankees to 3.0 games back pending the outcomes of the Detroit Tigers' and Seattle Mariners' games Saturday night.
The Blue Jays/Yankees series will conclude Sunday afternoon at 1:07 EDT.