Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Toronto 6, NY Yankees 3
When: 7:05 PM ET, Thursday, April 9, 2015
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Temperature: 42°
Umpires: Home - Jerry Meals, 1B - Paul Schrieber, 2B - Fieldin Culbreth, 3B - Jim Reynolds
Attendance: 32152

NEW YORK -- Left-hander Daniel Norris allowed Alex Rodriguez's first home run in nearly 19 months but did enough for his first career victory, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on for a 6-3 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

Norris (1-0) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He took a 5-1 lead into the sixth but allowed Rodriguez's first home run since Sept. 22, 2013, and the 655th of his career -- five shy of Hall of Famer Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time list.

In the sixth, Norris also allowed a one-out solo home run to first baseman Mark Teixeira, and he exited after allowing a double to catcher John-Ryan Murphy.

Toronto reliever Roberto Osuna stranded runners at second and third, and he also struck out two in a hitless seventh. Brett Cecil also struck out two in the eighth, and Miguel Castro tossed a perfect ninth for his first save.

Rodriguez, the Yankees' designated hitter, batted second and went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk.

Norris had a cushion when he allowed the home runs because the Blue Jays scored four runs off Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia (0-1) in the second and an unearned run in the sixth.

Center fielder Kevin Pillar and shortstop Jose Reyes produced RBI singles while left fielder Steve Tolleson and second baseman Devon Travis delivered run-scoring groundouts in the second.

Toronto scored its fifth run on a throwing error by New York right fielder Carlos Beltran. In the eighth, Toronto designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo home run.

Sabathia lasted 5 2/3 innings in his first start since injuring his knee May 10 in Milwaukee. He allowed five runs (four earned) and eight hits -- five of them in the second.

Reyes, Encarnacion, third baseman Josh Donaldson and first baseman Danny Valencia each had two hits for Toronto. Murphy was the lone Yankee with a multi-hit game.

NOTES: While New York DH Alex Rodriguez talked extensively about batting second in the order, he also was asked about playing the field. His answer: "I have no idea. I already took my ground balls this afternoon, did the same thing yesterday early. I'm ready when my number is called." ... Toronto OF Michael Saunders began a rehab assignment with Class A Dunedin. He started as the DH, and manager John Gibbons said he misspoke when saying Saunders would play left field. ... New York C John-Ryan Murphy made his first start, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he would not use him with a specific starting pitcher. ... Toronto 1B Danny Valencia and LF Steve Tolleson made their first starts of the season.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Toronto   NY Yankees
Daniel Norris Player CC Sabathia
Win W/L Loss
5.2 IP 5.2
5 Strikeouts 8
6 Hits 8
4.76 ERA 6.35
Hitting
Toronto   NY Yankees
Danny Valencia Player JR Murphy
2 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
2 TB 4
.667 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Toronto 9 1 12 .257 6 10 5 0 0 0
NY Yankees 7 2 16 .219 15 10 3 4 0 1