Major League Baseball

Blue Jays blow six-run lead, but beat Yankees on walk-off error

Published Jun. 24, 2014 10:32 p.m. ET

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TORONTO —

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons watched his team give away a six-run lead, then recover for a key victory.

It's the type of resilience Gibbons didn't see enough of during a last-place finish in 2013.

Jose Reyes atoned for a pair of misplays by hitting a leadoff double in the ninth inning and scoring when Yankees third baseman Yangervis Solarte threw away a bunt, lifting AL East-leading Toronto over New York 7-6 Tuesday night.

"That's big to win that game," Gibbons said. "We don't win that one last year, I know that."

The Yankees trailed 6-0 before tying it, then lost their fourth in a row.

"It's an extremely tough loss because we put ourselves in a bad position early on," New York manager Joe Girardi said.

Toronto made three errors while the Yankees had one, as well as several mental miscues.

"It was sloppy on both sides," New York first baseman Mark Teixeira said. "That was an ugly game to watch. If you're a fan, you should get your money back."

Reyes doubled off Adam Warren (1-4) into the right-field corner. Melky Cabrera followed with a sacrifice bunt, and Warren and Solarte seemed to hesitate over who would field it.

Solarte picked up the ball and threw it past second baseman Brian Roberts covering at first. The ball sailed into foul territory down the right-field line and Reyes trotted home.

Casey Janssen (2-0) worked one inning for the victory.

Mark Buehrle came in 1-11 with a 5.84 ERA in 17 career starts against the Yankees, and 0-9 with a 7.07 ERA in 13 games against New York since getting that lone victory while pitching for the Chicago White Sox on April 10, 2004.

The left-hander looked to be in line to end his streak as the Blue Jays built a six-run lead through five innings. Derek Jeter homered in the sixth and New York tied it with a five-run, 10-batter seventh.

Reyes made two errors, including a wild throw that let the Yankees make it 6-all.

With runners at second and third and two outs in the seventh, Teixeira hit a grounder to Reyes, who was shifted to the second base side. The shortstop bounced his throw past first baseman Edwin Encarnacion.

"He had more time than he thought," Gibbons said. "He's on an unusual side of the bag. He's made that throw a number of times, but it's still a little bit awkward."

Teixeira's elbow struck the back of Encarnacion's head in a collision at the bag. Encarnacion went down and stayed there for a moment while a trainer tended to him. Encarnacion remained in the game.

"There was really nothing I could do," Teixeira said. "Hopefully he's OK."

Dioner Navarro put the Blue Jays in front with a three-run homer into the second deck in the fourth, and Toronto capitalized on a pair of defensive lapses by Jeter to double its lead in the fifth.

Munenori Kawasaki and Reyes both singled to begin the inning and two outs later, Encarnacion was safe on a fielder's choice when Jeter triple-clutched, looking at both second and third before throwing late to first.

"(Encarnacion) is out if (Jeter) just goes to first," Girardi said, while Jeter acknowledged making "the wrong decision."

Colby Rasmus followed with a two-run double off the wall in right, and Encarnacion came home while Jeter vainly chased Rasmus back to first in a botched rundown.

Jeter led off the sixth with his second home run and first since May 7.

Roberts made it 6-3 with a two-run homer in the seventh, and Buehrle left two batters later after a bloop double by Brett Gardner.

Buehrle allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked none and struck out three.

New York's David Phelps allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings.

NOTES

Yankees LH CC Sabathia (right knee) threw 34 pitches in a two-inning simulated game at New York's spring facility in Tampa. Sabathia will throw 45 pitches in a start at Class A on Saturday. ... Blue Jays RHP Brandon Morrow (right index finger) played catch on the field before the game. He said there's no timeline for his return from a torn tendon sheath in his finger that has sidelined him since May 2. ... New York RHP Hiroki Kuroda (4-5) faces Blue Jays RHP Drew Hutchison (5-5) in Wednesday night's series finale. 

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