Ivan Nova: Nova scoops up win on back of Yankee rally

Toronto Blue Jays resale tickets are surging in step with the team’s 11-game winning streak, as baseball’s hottest team welcomes the division-rival New York Yankees for a three-game series.

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, left, watches play from the dugout during the third inning of their baseball game against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Friday, August 14, 2015.

In their 11-1 run, the Jays have outscored their foes by 67-32, and their run differential now stands at 597 to 468, or plus 129, dwarfing the next best team in the league, the Astros, who are plus 78.

It isn’t quite as audience participation friendly as OK Blue Jays, but is still an energetic tune. If they don’t, the AL East could get out of hand, and the Yankees can find themselves in a hole they can’t climb out of.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has repeatedly said that the team won’t be trading for any high-end talent approaching the deadline, but one would have to imagine that if the Tigers dangle Price for a reasonable return, New York may pounce. Williams began running and hitting in early July, but as of July 8, his shoulder was sore from catching.

The surging Toronto Blue Jays won their 11th straight game Thursday, beating the Oakland Athletics 4-2 behind Mark Buehrle’s arm and Ryan Goins’ bat.

Vogelsong (8-8) allowed one run on three hits, struck out eight and walked four over five innings for his first victory in five starts since June 24 as San Francisco won for just the second time in seven games. The only run the Blue Jays scored off Tanaka came on a sacrifice fly by Josh Donaldson. The offense mustered six hits and walked twice with Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion driving in runs. Teams that seem too good to fail never are in this sport. Even in what Gibbons called a “gruelling” night, Price struck out six and kept the Yankees off the board until the eighth. “It’s been a tough spot for us”.

After losing the first two games of their series in Cleveland, the Yankees erupted for 10 hits, including two doubles and two home runs.

“I don’t know how much it carries over with a guy as talented as Price”, Chris Young said. I really haven’t had that in my career.

“We hit some home runs in New York to win the games, Beltran hit it tonight to win it”.

“It would be nice to pick one up on the last game of the homestand tomorrow”, Gibbons said.

It may be a stretch to call Carlos Beltran’s three-run, go-ahead pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning Friday season-defining for the Yankees (63-51), but there’s no doubt Friday night’s 4-3 victory to open this three-game set was needed.

New York made it 3-1 against LaTroy Hawkins in the seventh.

Jacoby Ellsbury’s RBI single off Aaron Loup in the ninth gave the Yankees a three-run cushion. This one would go to extras and the Pirates win in 10 3-2. He gave up two runs and seven hits.

Nova cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third. The Orioles then rebounded with the winning rally in the 13th, which started on Caleb Joseph’s one-out double to left off left-hander Drew Pomeranz (4-5).

The record will show that in his third start for the Blue Jays, he was not a victor.

Garcia (5-4) came within two outs of throwing the first complete game of the season for the NL Central leaders. That streak ended when the Blue Jays strung together four straight singles in the fourth, including RBI hits by Justin Smoak and Dioner Navarro.