Marco Estrada pitches seven scoreless innings in Blue Jays’ 4-0 win over Yankees
TORONTO — The non-waiver trade deadline came and went and Marco Estrada was still a member of the Blue Jays. The relief he’s felt at staying in Toronto has shown in his performances.
Estrada has struck out 18 while walking six over 21 innings in his three starts since the deadline with a tidy 1.71 earned-run average including Thursday’s seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Yankees. In the three starts before the deadline with trade rumours were swirling he walked 11 and struck out 12 over 13 1/3 innings to go along with a ballooning 7.56 ERA.
“It is a little weight off your shoulders once you realize you aren’t going anywhere,” said Estrada, who struck out six while walking three and surrendering five hits in Thursday’s win. “I know we still have a month and things could happen, but I’m really not thinking about it anymore. It’s nice to be here still.”
Josh Donaldson and Kevin Pillar had RBI singles and Ezequiel Carrera scored on a fielder’s choice as the Blue Jays (54-60) improved to 7-6 against the Yankees (60-53) this season while taking two games in the three-game series. Jose Bautista added a solo home run in the seventh.