TORONTO, ONT ā New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone saw Gleyber Torres coming to the plate with the go-ahead run in scoring position, and had one thought.
āI was thinking, āNo one better right now,ā and he put a great swing on it,ā Boone said.
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Torres homered early, then hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning as the Yankees won their 10th straight game, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 Monday night.
āThatās a good win against a really good team,ā Boone said.
Itās the longest winning streak in the majors this season, and New Yorkās longest since a 13-game run last Aug. 14-27.
āWeāre playing really good baseball,ā Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery said. āWeāre doing what it takes to win, just playing good defense, situational hitting. Itās nice to win close games.ā
The Yankees have won at least 17 of their first 23 games for the eighth time, and the first since 2003. New Yorkās 17-6 record is the best in the majors.
Giancarlo Stanton singled off Yimi Garcia (0-2) to begin the New York ninth, ending a streak of four perfect innings by Blue Jays relievers. Pinch-runner Tim Locastro stole second, but Josh Donaldson grounded out and Aaron Hicks struck out before Torres lined a single to center field.
āItās special,ā Torres said. āEvery time when I do little things and help my team get a win, thatās great to me.ā
Boone said Torres has the ability to succeed in pivotal situations.
āIn that spot right there, thatās when Gleyber is at his best,ā Boone said. āRunner out there, Garcia is a tough guy, especially against right-handed hitters. Just a great approach the other way there, and game-winner.ā
Clay Holmes (2-0) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win and Chad Green worked a perfect ninth for his first save in three chances.
Torres opened the scoring with a two-out, two-run drive off Ross Stripling in the fourth, his third homer of the season.
The Blue Jays dropped to 9-3 in one-run games. Toronto has scored three runs or fewer in five of its past six games.
āRight now every game is close and we havenāt really got it going offensively,ā Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. āBut I believe we will.ā
New York put runners at the corners with one out in the third but Stripling struck out Aaron Judge and got Anthony Rizzo to fly out. Judge had homered in his past three games, and had hit five home runs in his previous five games.
Montgomery faced the minimum through three innings but the Blue Jays tied it in the bottom of the fourth. George Springer singled and scored on Bo Bichetteās RBI double. Bichette advanced on a fly ball and later scored on Matt Chapmanās two-out single.
Chapman struck out against Jonathan LoƔisiga to end the sixth, stranding Bichette at third.
Torontoās Alejandro Kirk drew a leadoff walk against reliever Miguel Castro in the seventh and Tyler Heineman hit a two-out double, but Holmes came on and got Springer to ground out.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit back-to-back singles off Holmes in the eighth but Chapman grounded into an inning-ending double play, Torontoās third of the game.
Montgomery gave up two runs and six hits in five-plus innings. He walked none and struck out five.
Stripling allowed two runs and five hits in four innings. He walked none and struck out three.
ALL PRESENT
All members of the Yankeesā active roster were permitted to cross the border into Canada, indicating they are vaccinated against COVID-19. Canadaās government requires a person must have received a second vaccine dose ā or one dose of Johnson & Johnson ā at least 14 days prior to entry.
WEB GEM
Stanton leaped to the top of the right-field wall to haul in Chapmanās deep drive in the second.
āAmazing,ā Torres said. āI think itās No. 1 on SportsCenter for a week. Huge catch.ā
BRONX BOMBERS
The Yankees are 14-1 when they hit at least one home run.
RIVERA ABSENT
Blue Jays third base coach Luis Rivera was away from the team because he is a close contact of a COVID-19 infection. First base coach Mark Budzinksi coached third and field coordinator Gil Kim went to first.
TRAINERāS ROOM
Yankees: OF Joey Gallo (tight left groin) was out of the lineup for the second straight day. Boone said Gallo was available to pinch-hit. Gallo left Saturdayās game at Kansas City in the fifth inning. ā¦ INF Miguel Anudujar joined the Yankees as a taxi squad player.
Blue Jays: LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (forearm) will make a rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo this Saturday.
UP NEXT
Yankees RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 3.26) starts Tuesday against Blue Jays RHP Alek Manoah (4-0, 1.44). Manoah is 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees.
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