Yankees Shutout Blue Jays as Win Streak Reaches Nine Games

TORONTO — Stop the fight.

The Yankees this week were facing what was supposed to be the biggest test of the first half of the season with a pair of series against the Rays and Blue Jays.

After sweeping the Rays in The Bronx, the Yankees have a chance to do the same to the Blue Jays after beating them 4-0 on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 45,055 at Rogers Centre.

With their ninth straight win, the Yankees improved to 16-1 since June 9 and widened their lead in the AL East to 12 games over second-place Toronto.

They’re now a major league-best 49-16, trailing only three teams in MLB history (since 1901) through 65 games: the 1912 Giants, 2001 Mariners and 1939 Yankees.

“I don’t know if we saw this kind of record to start [the year], but we knew we were in a good spot,’’ said Jameson Taillon, who threw 5 ²/₃ scoreless innings and struck out a season-high eight in the win.

“It seems like we show up every day and we expect to win. Last year, obviously, we wanted to win every day, but to put together a streak like this … we expect to find a way to win that night and there’s a confidence within the group that we’re gonna find a way to do it.”

As usual, there was an different contributor to this victory — namely Aaron Hicks, whose three-run double off Alek Manoah in the fourth inning provided the early offense.

Taillon had walked one or fewer in each of his first 12 starts this year, so it was a surprise when he issued a leadoff walk to George Springer in the bottom of the first inning.

The right-hander pitched around the free pass and then got out of a jam in the second, stranding a pair of runners.

He then retired eight straight, giving the offense time to finally find some success against Manoah, who entered the game 2-0 with a 1.52 ERA over 23 ²/₃ innings in four career starts against the Yankees, including one run in a dozen innings in a pair of outings earlier this season.

Manoah allowed just one baserunner over the first three innings, but the Yankees got to him in the fourth.

Aaron Judge grounded out to start the inning before Anthony Rizzo drew a walk. Gleyber Torres followed with a single and Joey Gallo whiffed for the second out.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa then beat out an infield hit to short to load the bases and extend the inning.

That brought up the struggling Hicks, who had followed up three straight multi-hit games by going 1-for-14 with six strikeouts in his next five games.

Hicks had entered the game just 5-for-40 with runners in scoring position. Facing Manoah, however, Hicks delivered a bases-clearing double to right that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

“We got hits when we needed them,’’ Hicks said. “To be able to produce, especially when I’ve had a hard time with men in scoring position … it felt good.”

Taillon gave up a leadoff double to Raimel Tapia in the fifth inning, but struck out the next three.

Torres doubled to open the sixth inning. Tapia got a glove on the ball in left, but it popped out and hit the wall. Torres moved to third on a flyout by Gallo and scored on Kiner-Falefa’s double to left to make it 4-0.

The Blue Jays threatened in the bottom of the inning, as Taillon walked Springer again and Bo Bichette singled to left to bring up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Taillon went to a full count against Guerrero before getting him to fly out to shallow left.

Alejandro Kirk’s fly to deep center got Springer to third and Michael King came on to face Teoscar Hernandez and got him looking.

King tossed two shutout innings in relief of Taillon before Clay Holmes got the final out of the eighth and pitched the ninth.

Holmes snapped Mariano Rivera’s franchise record with his 29th straight scoreless appearance.

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