Russell Martin ends homerless drought as Blue Jays blast Yankees

Joe Rodgers

Russell Martin ends homerless drought as Blue Jays blast Yankees image

Each night in the 2016 baseball season, we'll run down the top news, facts and highlights from action around Major League Baseball.

Russell Martin and the rest of the Blue Jays' lineup has had a rough start to the season. Wednesday, the catcher went deep twice, ending a 124 at-bat drought in the process, to help Toronto beat the Yankees 8-4. Michael Saunders also went deep for the Jays. 

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The Blue Jays entered the game ranked 16th in the majors with 4.0 runs per game after leading all clubs last season in runs scored. Their .212 average with runners in scoring position ranked last.

Wednesday's outburst against Ivan Nova and the Yankees' lesser relievers may help kick-start a sputtering offense that ended a 20-inning scoreless streak with Ryan Goins' RBI double in the fourth.

The Yankees, who expect to have Alex Rodriguez back in the lineup as the three-game series concludes Thursday, provided a late-game highlight as Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius hit back-to-back homers against Jays starter Marco Estrada in the seventh inning. 

Player of the Day

Adam Lind, 1B, Mariners: The slugger went 4 for 4 with two home runs and six RBIs as Seattle routed Oakland 13-3.

Highlight

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus charges to barehand a grounder and make a strong throw to retire Mike Trout.

Three things to know

— Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 29 games, meaning he's now more than halfway to Joe DiMaggio's record of 56 games.

— The Giants' fifth walkoff win this season (most in MLB) also marked their 13th win in 14 games.  

— The Cubs have won each of Jake Arrieta's past 23 starts, tied for the longest such streak in MLB history (2010-12, Kris Medlen, Braves). 

What's next

Blue Jays (23-25) at Yankees (22-23), 4:05 p.m. ET: A pair of southpaws square off as J.A. Happ (5-2, 3.43 ERA) takes on a resurgent CC Sabathia (3-2, 3.41 ERA), who had a great start last time out. Sabathia threw six innings of one-run, three-hit ball against the A’s.

Cardinals (24-23) at Nationals (28-19), 7:05 p.m. ET: Losers of three of their past four, the Cards will take on the NL East-leading Nationals in the opener of a four-game series. Mike Leake (3-3, 4.07 ERA) will toe the rubber for St. Louis against Joe Ross (3-4, 2.70 ERA).

Joe Rodgers