Jays blow big lead in New York

Derek Jeter had four hits, including the go-ahead home run, to lead the New York Yankees to a messy 10-8 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on a sunny Sunday in the Bronx.

The Yankees (48-33) led 4-0 early, fell behind 8-4 and then powered back for their 10th win in 11 games and third straight in this four-game weekend series.

Toronto (42-41) has lost its last five against New York and seven of eight overall with the Bombers this season. The Jays are now seven games behind the Yankees for the American League wild-card spot.

"If we would have had one more hit here or there, or if we would have kept them from scoring some runs on a few occasions, then we might have had a few wins here," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "But that's the game."

Jonathan Albaladejo (3-1) got the pitching win for the home side by basically being in the right place at the right time when the go-ahead runs were scored.

But it was New York reliever Alfredo Aceves who was the real story, coming on in the sixth to bring order to chaos by throwing four impressive innings of one-hit ball for his first major league save.

B.J. Ryan (1-1) took the loss in relief.

Poor pitching performances

For the first six innings there was a distinct Little League feeling to this one as neither side seemed to have a hurler who could get anyone out.

Among the less-than-stellar performances were:

• Toronto starter Brett Cecil, who fell in love with his fastball early and used to it give up nine hits, five walks and seven earned runs in three and two-thirds innings. That included a three-run homer by Hideki Matsui in the fourth that turned an 8-4 Jays' lead into just an 8-7 margin.
• New York starter Joba Chamberlain, who gave up nine hits and eight runs (three earned, thanks to an infield error) in three and two-thirds, including a pair of two-run homers — one by Adam Lind in the third and one by Aaron Hill in the fourth that made it 8-4 Jays.
• Seldom-used Toronto reliever Ryan, who came in for Cecil and was able to get just two out while giving up three earned runs, keyed by that Jeter second-deck blast in the fifth that made it 9-8 Yankees. Dirk Hayhurst allowed a double, making it 10-8 New York before the inning ended.

Already with a tired bullpen, Toronto manager Cito Gaston was forced to use six pitchers to get through the Yankees' eight innings.

"I thought the bullpen did a great job. They're capable of scoring a lot of runs," said Jeter, who was picked for his 10th All-Star Game earlier in the day. "We're playing well, we want it to continue. We've got another week before the break."

Scott Rolen singled in the fourth inning to improve his consecutive-game hit streak to 22.

At the other end, Jays newcomer David Dellucci is now 0-for-11 since joining the club.

"It was a tough loss, especially the length of the game. It was hot out there," said Hill, who along with Roy Halladay made the All-Star team for Toronto. "Especially in the AL East, especially with those guys, no lead is a comfortable lead."