Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2
NEW YORK -- Lyle Overbay hit a go-ahead two-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning and the New York Yankees completed a four-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The Yankees won for the 14th time in 19 games but seemed unable to generate much of anything off R.A. Dickey (2-4) after getting the first two hits off the former New York Mets knuckleballer in the second inning.
After Overbay singled with two outs in the second, 13 of the next 14 Yankees were retired. That run ended when Travis Hafner lined a single up the middle, but he remained at first as Brennan Boesch and Jayson Nix flied out.
Then Dickey left a 1-and-1 knuckleball over the outer edge of the plate and Overbay drove it into the Yankees bullpen over the right-center field wall for his third home run of the season.
The home run gave New York its first four-game sweep at home over the Blue Jays since September 1995 and its 16th win in its last 18 home games against Toronto.
Boone Logan (1-1) picked up the win by striking out Jose Bautista for the final out of the seventh with a runner at first. David Robertson retired the side in the eighth and Mariano Rivera did the same in the ninth for his ninth save in as many chances.
Phil Hughes remained winless and was in line for the loss before Overbay's home run. He allowed two runs and seven hits while striking out a season-high nine during a 111-pitch outing.
The loss was the second straight for Toronto decided in the seventh inning or later and it was their 11th in 17 games decided by two runs or fewer.
Toronto led at some point in all four games.
In the sixth, Bautista led off with a double to left field. After strikeouts by Edwin Encarnacion and Melky Cabrera, Bautista stole third before scoring on Maicer Izturis' double off the right-field wall.
NOTES: Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos spoke for nearly 20 minutes before the game to address the state of his team. Among the key things he said was that despite the abundance of infield hits allowed in the two weeks since shortstop Jose Reyes injured his left ankle, the team is sticking with Izturis and Muenori Kawaski up the middle. "It's been an issue early on," Anthopoulos said. "But I do think we're starting to see signs of playing better defensively." He also said Reyes will soon be out of the walking boot and the team hopes he can start walking in about 10 days. ... Left-hander Ricky Romero made his first start for Class A Dunedin of the Florida State League on Saturday and allowed one run and four hits in six innings. The most encouraging signs for the Blue Jays were a low pitch count and the fact that he recorded 12 outs on the ground. The decision to move Romero up a level will be made by minor league pitching coordinator Dane Johnson. ... The Yankees gave Kevin Youkilis the day off, and Sunday marked the seventh time in eight games that he did not play. Youkilis missed six games with a lower back issue that may have reoccurred Sunday. "It's a little concerning for me," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "I've said all along that backs can be tricky. I'm a guy that's had to deal with it for a number of years, and sometimes you have no idea why it acts up. Sometimes it's maybe one play or something you do, but sometimes it can be as simple as bending over to pick up a ball or something, and all of a sudden you lock up. It's concerning."
