Masahiro Tanaka Set For The Opener As New York Looks To Secure A Playoff Spot As They Take On Toronto

After a seven-game homestand against Baltimore and Minnesota New York now hits the road as they travel to Ontario Canada as they visit Toronto starting Friday with Masahiro Tanaka to start the opener of the three-game series at the Rogers Centre where they hope to secure a playoff spot. 

Despite their recent run, the Yanks have had difficulty making up ground on the division-leading Red Sox. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

"We've been playing really good baseball," outfielder Brett Gardner said. "We kind of have our backs against the wall a little bit, but we've been playing really good baseball, and we just need to continue to do that and keep the pressure on them, make them keep winning." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

Tanaka is coming off a win over the Orioles in which he allowed two solo homers over seven innings, striking out eight. He last faced the Blue Jays on Aug. 9 in Toronto, lasting just four-plus innings in an 11-5 Yankees win. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

"I'm happy about the way we're playing," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "That's been my focus the whole time here. Let's pay attention to what we do, and I like the way that we're playing. I think that's important, and we need to continue to play that way. And let's see what happens." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

The Blue Jays will counter with right-hander Marco Estrada, who will be making his first start since agreeing to a one-year, $13 million contract extension. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

The 2017 season has not gone as expected for Estrada, but he has been strong of late. The 34-year-old has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but two of his past 11 outings. Last time out in Minnesota, he allowed two runs over eight innings. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

Tanaka racked up 27 swinging strikes in his last start, tied for the fourth-highest single-game total by any pitcher this season. Tanaka is the only pitcher in 2017 to have multiple games with at least 26 swinging strikes. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

Starlin Castro (15-for-36) and Aaron Judge (5-for-12) are both batting .417 against Estrada. Judge's 29th homer of the season came off Estrada back on July 5, a two-run shot in the Blue Jays' 7-6 victory at Yankee Stadium. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

 Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is one of two players with at least 30 homers and 75 or fewer RBIs this season (the Brewers' Eric Thames is the other). Seventeen of Donaldson's homers have come with the bases empty. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255219588/yankees-looking-to-secure-playoff-spot-behind-tanaka/?topicId=26688836

As for New York's last game, they swept Minnesota. 

The season is made of 162 games and in the month of September, those games become important as the thirty teams start their chase for a postseason berth.

New York continued to head in the right direction Wednesday afternoon as they swept Minnesota at Yankee Stadium.

The young players in right -fielder Aaron Judge along with catcher Gary Sanchez had something to do with how the game played out. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

 Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez launched back-to-back homers, and Didi Gregorius also went deep as the Yankees continued to fire on all cylinders in pursuit of a postseason berth, completing a series sweep of the Twins with an 11-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

Judge connected for his American League-leading 45th homer and Sanchez hit his 32nd homer, tops among all big league catchers, as the Yankees thumped Bartolo Colon for six runs in 3 1/3 innings. Yankees batters collected 15 hits, eight for extra bases, as the Bombers (85-67) secured their 10th win in 12 games to move a season-high 18 games over .500. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

"It was just an example of guys having quality at-bats all day," Judge said. "We started off a little slow, and then we just turned it on. Hitting is contagious. Once one guy starts getting a couple of knocks, it just feeds into the next at-bat." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

Gregorius hit his 25th blast off Tyler Duffey as part of a six-run fourth inning, surpassing Derek Jeter's 24 homers in 1999 to set a single-season mark for a Yankees shortstop. New York's win keeps it three games behind Boston in the American League East after the Red Sox shut out the Orioles Wednesday night in Baltimore. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

The sweep swelled the Yankees' lead over the Twins for the first AL Wild Card to seven games. New York's magic number to secure a postseason spot was reduced to three after the Angels lost to the Indians on Wednesday night in Anaheim. Minnesota leads the Angels by a game and a half for the second AL Wild Card spot. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

"Obviously, we're in a better spot than maybe we were Sept. 1, but there are no guarantees," manager Joe Girardi said. "You have to continue to play well. If you're fortunate enough to get into the playoffs, you want to be playing well at that time. We will continue to do everything we can to win every game and see where we fall." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

The Yankees' bullpen filled in nicely behind Luis Severino, who exited early after throwing 46 pitches in the Twins' two-run third inning. Severino tossed 71 pitches in all before yielding Chasen Shreve, who earned the victory with three innings of scoreless, hitless relief. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

"I've had better trips to New York," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Guys asked before the series about getting swept, and in reality, that's what happened. We've got 10 games, and my goal right now is to get these guys back in a positive frame of mind." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

Judge's two-run shot hooked inside the right-field foul pole and made him just the eighth player in Yankees history to reach 100 runs, 100 RBIs, and 100 walks in the same season. It was Judge's first career home run on an 0-2 count; he has now homered on every possible count but 3-0. Sanchez then erased the Twins' early lead with a long drive to center field that landed on the netting covering Monument Park. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

They've been producing all year," said Greg Bird, who went 3-for-4 in the win. "When they go, we go, I guess. Really, this lineup is great. It's fun to be a part of, and it's fun to watch those two play and hit and do their thing." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

The Yanks pulled away in the fourth as Colon retired just one of the four batters he faced in the inning. All of them would come around to score, as Brett Gardner and Sanchez knocked RBI singles to set up Gregorius' three-run homer to right field. Despite missing most of the season's first month due to injury, Gregorius' 25 homers and 84 RBIs shattered his season highs from 2016, when he collected 20 homers and 70 RBIs. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

"I'm showing a little bit of power, more than last year,' Gregorius said. "For me, the most important thing is winning. There's records, but we still have a couple of games left to play, and our main goal is to try to win a ring and a championship. That's what is most important." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

A foul ball off the bat of Todd Frazier struck a young fan in the stands down the left-field line in the fifth inning. Play was halted briefly as the fan received medical attention and was taken to a nearby hospital. Frazier and several Twins players in the field looked on, clearly shaken. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

"They told us it hit a little girl ... we got a report that she's OK," Girardi said. "Obviously, you could see the concern on everyone in the ballpark -- the players, the umpires, the fans. It's disturbing when it happens, and it's hard for a player when it happens. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but there's a possibility we come back here, and that's our goal. We're turning the page but not forgetting what we read. Our objective tomorrow is to win one game against the Tigers." -- Twins second baseman Brian Dozier "according tohttp://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

In 29 games since Aug. 22, the Yankees have scored a Major League-best 181 runs, averaging 6.24 runs per game over that span. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/255223172/yankees-power-way-to-sweep-of-twins/

With the sweep of Minnesota New York improves to 85-67 on the season and remains three games back of their rival Boston who is leading the American League East with a record of 88-64 after their shutout win over Baltimore Wednesday by a score of 9-0.

As for Toronto's last game, Toronto was shutout by Kansas City and dropped to 71-82 on the season and are 17.5 games back of Boston who is leading the American League East with a record of 88-64.

 Jason Vargas turned in one of his best outings of the season at the perfect time, going 6 1/3 strong innings to help lead the Royals to a 1-0 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday night in the rubber game at Rogers Centre. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

The Royals, with 10 games left in their pursuit of the second American League Wild Card spot, remained 3 1/2 back of the Twins, who rolled to a 12-1 win over the Tigers. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

"We just won two in a row, so that means that we're in a better spot than we were two days ago," said Vargas, who is the first Royals lefty to win 17 games in a season since Charlie Leibrandt in 1985. "I think the goal for everybody is to just keep pressing forward, keep playing good baseball, and that's all we can control." "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

Vargas kept the Blue Jays from mounting anything that resembled a rally by forcing plenty of weak contact. The left-hander allowed just two hits and three walks to go with seven strikeouts. Royals relievers Peter Moylan, Ryan Buchter and Joakim Soria bridged the gap toMike Minor, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth to preserve the shutout and earn his second career save. The five pitchers kept the Blue Jays from advancing a runner past first base. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

"That's just some icing on the cake for the game," Vargas said. "It was fortunate for us that we were able to get a couple of double plays or some popups when they did have guys on first base and not really let them get anything going." "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ also pitched well, but he wasn't given any run support. Happ allowed just one earned run over 6 2/3 innings, and he limited the damage of seven hits by forcing more ground-ball contact than usual. Happ struck out six and walked two on 108 pitches. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

"We didn't hit a lick, that's for sure," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "[Vargas] is having a big year. If you don't use the whole field on him, he's going to give you a lot of trouble, and I don't think we did enough of that. But he keeps you off-balance." "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

Melky Cabrera put the Royals on the board in the third with a two-out single that scored Alex Gordon. Cabrera squared up the two-seam fastball from Happ and sent it into the left-center gap. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

Happ avoided another Royals threat in the sixth to keep the Blue Jays within striking distance. With runners on the corners and one out, Happ used his curveball to force a ground ball from Salvador Perez to shortstop Richard Urena, who flipped to Darwin Barney at second to start the inning-ending double play. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

"It was a two-seamer and a curveball tonight that got those two big double-play balls," Happ said. "I felt like I got more of those last year, but they came in big spots tonight. So those were big pitches that we were able to turn that got us out of a few jams tonight." "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

All of his teammates want him to go out with a bang, there's no doubt about that. They've all seen him do it many times. I know everybody's rooting for him." -- Gibbons, on Jose Batista, receiving a standing ovation in his final at-bat before popping out to third base. Bautista is a free agent at the end of the year and is not expected to return to the Blue Jays "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

Bautista struck out for the 160th time, a Blue Jays record for strikeouts in a single season. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

Toronto's 82nd loss guaranteed the club of a losing season for the first time since 2013. "according to http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/255442224/royals-blank-jays-keep-pace-in-wild-card-race/

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will get the start for New York. He has a record of 12-11 with an earn run average of 4.73. Tanaka is coming off a win over the Orioles in which he allowed two solo homers over seven innings, striking out eight. He last faced the Blue Jays on August 9th in Toronto, lasting just four-plus innings in an 11-5 Yankees win. He will oppose Toronto right-hander Marco Estrada who has a record of 9-8 with a 4.84 earn run average. The 2017 season hasn't gone as expected for Estrada, but he has been strong as of late. Estrada has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but two of his last eleven outings. Last time out in Minnesota, He allowed two runs over eight innings. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-blue-jays/2017/09/22/492397#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=492397

Will Masahiro Tanaka pitch as well as he did in his last outing and give New York a chance to win? Will Toronto be able to get their offense going unlike in the finale against Kansas City where they were shutout?  Will the New York offense be able backup Masahiro Tanaka's start? Will New York secure their playoff spot?

First pitch is set for 7:07 pm. The game will be televised on Yes. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-blue-jays/2017/09/22/492397#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=492397