TORONTO (AP) - The New York Yankees’ offense has disappeared, and their playoffs chances have pretty much vanished, too.
Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer off Tyler Clippard in the eighth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 3-0 Saturday.
New York has been shut out in three straight games for the first time July 27-28, 1975.
“Whatever we’re doing right now, it’s not working,” first baseman Mark Teixeira said. “We just seem to have lost it the last few days.”
The Yankees have lost 10 of 13 following a seven-game winning streak and dropped 4½ games back for the AL’s second wild card with eight games left. They likely will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years.
“You keep fighting. That’s all you can do,” manager Joe Girardi said.
New York has been held scoreless an AL-high 13 times this season, including six times in September. The Yankees have not scored since Donovan Solano’s two-run homer in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s win at Tampa Bay and have gone 0 for 16 with runners in scoring position in their last three games, stranding 20 runners.
“You become disappointed when there’s a lack of effort,” Girardi said. “There’s no lack of effort. We had optional BP today and everybody hit, so there’s no lack of effort.”
The major league record for consecutive shutout losses is four. The last to do it was the Chicago Cubs from April 27 to May 1, 1992.
Toronto leads Baltimore by 1½ games for the AL’s top wild card, with Detroit another half-game back.
Josh Donaldson singled with two outs in the eighth off Clippard (3-5), advanced on a wild pitch, and Edwin Encarnacion walked. Clippard fell behind 2-0 in the count and Bautista sent a fastball over the left-field wall, delighting the crowd of 47,828. Bautista reached 20 homers for the seventh straight season.
“I was definitely looking for a heater in that situation and I was lucky to make good contact,” Bautista said.
Jason Grilli (7-5) allowed a two-out triple to Ronald Torreyes in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Billy Butler fouled off three straight pitches, then swung past a 94 mph fastball. Grilli pumped his hands twice, pounded his glove and pumped his hands again.
“I got a pitch I should have hit and fouled it off,” Butler said.
Roberto Osuna pitched a one-hit ninth for his 35th save in 38 chances, completing Toronto’s second straight three-hitter.
Yankees starter CC Sabathia, 0-2 in his last six starts, allowed four hits and three walks in seven innings. Toronto’s Marcus Stroman gave up one hit in seven innings - Aaron Hicks’ single in the second.
“We didn’t have too many opportunities today,” Girardi said. “Stroman kept us in check. We just weren’t able to get anything going off him.”
BORDER BLUES
New York has lost seven straight games at Rogers Centre, matching a franchise-worst streak. The Yankees also lost seven straight in Toronto in 1992 and 1993.
POWER PACK
Bautista is the sixth Blue Jays player to reach the 20-homer plateau, the most since 2010. He joins Encarnacion (42), Donaldson (36), Michael Saunders (24), Troy Tulowitzki (24) and Russell Martin (20).
MAKING THEM MATTER
Bautista has 16 career home runs that have given his team a lead in the eighth inning or later, including 14 with Toronto.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: 3B Chase Headley (back) and Teixeira (neck) were held out of the starting lineup. Headley went 0 for 7 Thursday and Friday after sitting out the previous three games. Teixeira entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth.
UP NEXT
RHP Michael Pineda (6-11, 4.89) starts for New York in Sunday’s series finale and RHP Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.62) for Toronto. Pineda has failed to complete five innings in three of his past four outings and is winless in eight starts, matching a career-worst streak. Estrada snapped a three-start losing streak with seven shutout innings against Seattle last Monday.
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