The New York Yankees will start right-hander Luis Severino as they try to sweep a three-game series against the host Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
The Yankees posted a 4-0 win on Saturday to extend their winning streak to nine games.
Gerrit Cole had originally been scheduled to start on Sunday, but he has been moved to Monday, when the Yankees visit the Tampa Bay Rays.
Severino was scratched from his scheduled start on Thursday because of illness, but his recovery made him available to pitch Sunday.
The Yankees, who won the series opener 12-3 on Friday, are working on their second-longest winning streak of the season.
They won 11 straight from April 22-May 3.
The Yankees are 8-3 this season against the Blue Jays and 24-10 against the American League East. The shutout on Saturday was their 11th of the season.
“When we play a team like the Yankees, who are playing really well, the only thing we can do is go out there and compete inning by inning,” Blue Jays second baseman Santiago Espinal said. “They’re good. I feel we’re better but we’re going to have to take it day-by-day and turn it around.”
Severino (4-1, 2.80 ERA) will face Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (2-3, 4.80 ERA).
Severino is 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in two starts against the Blue Jays this season. In 16 career outings (13 starts) against Toronto, he is 6-3 with a 3.58 ERA.
Kikuchi is 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA in three starts against the Yankees this season. He is 2-3 with a 3.96 ERA in seven career appearances — all starts — against the Yankees.
One of the reasons for the Yankees’ success this season has been their bullpen, led by right-hander Clay Holmes, who retired the final four batters of the game on Saturday. He hasn’t allowed a run in the past 31 1/3 innings. It marks the longest streak by a Yankee since Mariano Rivera went 30 2/3 innings without allowing a run in 1999.
“Just for the fact that it’s Mariano Rivera makes it pretty special,” Holmes said. “He’s a guy I grew up watching. I think everybody knows what he’s done in this game. Obviously, it’s pretty amazing. So just to be in the same category of just one little thing he’s done, it’s pretty cool. The defense has been great. It’s been fun to pitch for the same catchers. So it’s just been sort of fun on this run. I think all of us, hopefully, continue to keep it up.”
The last Yankees pitcher to record a single-season scoreless streak of at least 31 innings was Jack Aker in 1969 (33 innings), according to Elias.
Holmes has become particularly important with closer Aroldis Chapman out with Achilles tendinitis.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone mentioned some similarities between Holmes and Rivera.
“They both have the ability to break a lot of bats,” Boone said. “Clay with a sinker to righties and obviously Mariano made a living doing that against left-handed hitters with the cutter in on the hands.”
Holmes allowed a run on April 8 and hasn’t allowed another one in his past 29 outings.
Toronto put right-hander Trevor Richards (neck strain) on the injured list Saturday and recalled left-hander Matt Gage from Triple-A Buffalo.
— Field Level Media