http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/sports/baseball/new-york-yankees-toronto-blue-jays-shutout.html 2016-09-25 02:20:56 Jose Bautista’s Homer Leaves Yankees in First Three-Shutout Skid Since 1975 The Yankees have not scored since a ninth-inning homer against the Rays on Wednesday, a stretch of 27 innings. === TORONTO — There was no preening. There was no signature bat flip. But as soon as Jose Bautista connected with Tyler Clippard’s right-down-Spadina-Avenue fastball, there was no doubt. Bautista, a Yankee killer in recent years, delivered another dagger Saturday with a three-run homer in the eighth inning that lifted the The loss ensured that the Yankees, who began the day four games out of the last wild-card berth, would not pick up any ground with eight games remaining. It was the third consecutive shutout loss for the Yankees, something that had not happened since 1975. The Yankees have not scored since Donovan Solano hit a ninth-inning home run Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. For seven innings, Yankees starter C. C. Sabathia had matched the Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman. And the eighth began innocently enough, with Clippard relieving Sabathia and retiring Kevin Pillar and Devon Travis on groundouts. But Josh Donaldson lined a single to left, and Edwin Encarnacion walked, bringing up Bautista. He worked the count to two balls and no strikes before driving a 91-mile-per-hour fastball into the second deck in left field for his 20th homer of the season. The three-run margin proved plenty for Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna, who retired Gary Sanchez on a fly ball to left to end the game and extend the Yankees’ scoreless string to 27 innings. The Yankees were shut out by 2-0 on Thursday night by Blake Snell and two relievers and by 9-0 on Friday night by Francisco Liriano and three relievers. In contrast with the previous two nights, the Yankees had few chances on Saturday against Stroman. Their best opportunity came in the eighth when Ronald Torreyes laced a two-out triple into the right-center gap off reliever Jason Grilli. But Grilli struck out pinch-hitter Billy Butler, who swung through a high fastball to end a tense seven-pitch at-bat. The Yankees managed only one hit in seven innings against Stroman, a single by Aaron Hicks in the second. Brian McCann and Torreyes grounded into inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth innings, and Brett Gardner was caught stealing to end the sixth. The only time the Yankees put a runner in scoring position against Stroman came in the fourth, when Gardner drew a leadoff walk and took second base on a passed ball. But Jacoby Ellsbury struck out, swinging through a back-foot slider, and Sanchez struck out on a high fastball. Stroman then retired Didi Gregorius on a pop-up. It was the only inning in which Stroman did not face the minimum number of batters. Sabathia did not have as effortless an afternoon as Stroman, but he was just as effective. His most strenuous inning came in the second, when Bautista led off with a double and Russell Martin walked. But Troy Tulowitzki grounded into a double play, and after walking Melvin Upton Jr., Sabathia retired Dioner Navarro on a pop-up. After Martin’s one-out single in the fourth, Sabathia did not allow another hit through seven innings. He allowed four hits over all. There were signs of frustration among the Yankees. Sabathia gestured to the home-plate umpire Dan Bellino — who had ejected Sabathia from a game last season for disputing balls and strikes — after a borderline pitch was not called a strike. And when a checked-swing strike was called on Ellsbury by the third-base umpire Tom Hallion, Manager Joe Girardi shook his head in the dugout. Girardi, who cut his postgame interview short on Friday night, stalking out of his office, said on Saturday that his reaction had not been the result of frustration over the way the Yankees’ season has unfolded. “No,” he said. “It’s a sign of some of the questions I was asked.” Asked what he had found objectionable — the question that set him off was whether he considered a 3-0 seventh-inning deficit insurmountable — Girardi said: “I’m not going to get into it. I don’t think this is the place to do it or the time to do it. But there’s some things I don’t like, and if I don’t like them, I’m not going to deal with them. Bottom line.” Later, Girardi said his decision to use reliever Blake Parker instead of Adam Warren in Friday’s game had been a matter of rationing resources, and he bristled over an article that suggested he had given up on his team. “To insinuate that I quit is ridiculous,” Girardi said. “I never quit.”