David Price, streaking Blue Jays open key series vs. Yankees
Ace lefty hopes to pitch Toronto to 12th straight win
The acquisition of left-hander David Price has been among the big reasons for the stunning turnaround in the Toronto Blue Jays, who take an 11-game winning streak into Friday's showdown with the visiting New York Yankees (7:07 p.m. ET).
Tickets for the three-game series at Rogers Centre are sold out as excitement around the Blue Jays reaches levels not seen since the team's back-to-back World Series victories in 1992 and '93.
Toronto completed a three-game sweep of Oakland on Thursday to become the fourth team in 100 years to record multiple 11-game winning streaks in one season.
The Blue Jays trailed the Yankees by eight games on July 28, but made up the deficit and more during the franchise record-tying win streak to take a half-game lead atop the American League East.
Toronto's pitching dominated New York in last weekend's three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium, outscoring the home team 10-1.
The Yankees had scored only six runs during a five-game losing streak before breaking out of their offensive funk with an 8-6 victory at Cleveland on Thursday night.
Price, who blanked New York on three hits over seven innings last Saturday, will have a return matchup against Ivan Nova in the series opener.
Encarnacion back
Adding more pop to Toronto's powerful offence, designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion was set to return to the lineup after missing the last four games with a finger problem.
Pitching matchup
Yankees RH Ivan Nova (4-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH David Price (11-4, 2.35)
Nova had his three-start winning streak halted by Toronto, pitching five scoreless innings before yielding a grand slam to Justin Smoak to break the game open. The 28-year-old Dominican had permitted a total of five runs in his previous three turns, although he did not go past six innings in any of them. Nova is 4-3 with a 4.94 ERA in 11 appearances versus Toronto and must be wary of Jose Bautista (5-for-15) and Edwin Encarnacion (8-for-24).
Price has been superb in both his starts since he was acquired by the Blue Jays, allowing one run on only six hits while striking out 18 over 15 innings. The Yankees had been a nemesis for Price prior to Saturday's outing, scoring eight runs in back-to-back outings and knocking him out of the game in the third inning on each occasion. New York catcher Brian McCann has tormented Price, going 9-for-19 with three homers and seven RBIs.
Walkoffs
1. The Blue Jays have homered in 12 straight games and lead the majors with 22 blasts in August.
2. McCann joined Yogi Berra and Mike Piazza (10 apiece) as the only catchers in history with at least eight straight 20-homer seasons.
3. Toronto is 14-1 since acquiring shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and 13-0 when he's in the starting lineup.
With files from SportsDirect Inc.