TORONTO — Gio Urshela hit two home runs for the second straight game and the New York Yankees outslugged rookie Bo Bichette and the Toronto Blue Jays 12-6 Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a season-best nine games.
Playing in Toronto for the first time, Bichette became the first player in major league history to double in nine consecutive games. He also homered, giving him an unprecedented 13 extra-base hits in his first 11 career games. Bichette is the first rookie to have an extra-base hit in nine straight games since Ted Williams in 1939, according to STATS.
The Yankees have hit a record 19 homers over their last four games, including at least five in each win during a three-game sweep at Baltimore this week. Mike Tauchman also homered Thursday to give New York three homers.
The Yankees have homered in 12 consecutive games, hitting two or more in a season-high seven straight. New York is an AL-best 51-7 when hitting two or more homers this season.
Domingo Germán (15-2) pitched five innings to win his sixth consecutive decision for New York. The right-hander allowed four runs, three earned, and eight hits, improving to 9-0 against AL East opponents. He is unbeaten since June 7 at Cleveland.
New York improved to 76-39 and leads the AL East by 10 1/2 games for the first time since September 2009.
Urshela hit two-run homers in the first and third innings. Tauchman also had a two-run shot during the six-run third.
Both of Urshela’s homers came off left-hander Thomas Pannone (2-5), who matched a career worst by giving up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. Tauchman connected off right-hander Zach Godley, who was making his Toronto debut after being claimed on waivers from Arizona on Wednesday.
Chad Green worked the sixth and Luis Cessa pitched the final three innings for his first save.
Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire had a career-high four hits, including a solo homer off Cessa in the eighth. Derek Fisher also homered, his second in four starts since being acquired from Houston last month.
TIGERS 10, ROYALS 8: Jordy Mercer’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth gave Detroit a win against Kansas City.
Travis Demeritte led off the ninth with his third walk of the game and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Rogers.
Mercer then hit a 2-1 fastball from Richard Lovelady (0-2) into the right-field stands for his sixth homer of the season and the eighth of a game in which both starters struggled.
Joe Jimenez (3-6) got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
MARLINS 9, BRAVES 2: Brian Anderson homered twice to lead Miami Marlins over visiting Atlanta.
Elieser Hernandez pitched six shutout innings as the Marlins snapped a six-game losing streak and beat the NL East-leading Braves at home for the first time this season after six previous losses. Hernandez (2-4) allowed two hits, struck out seven and walked two. The right-hander retired 11 consecutive batters before Ronald Acuña’s leadoff single in the sixth.
Hernandez also got his first career hit with a single in the fifth.
Starling Castro had two hits and drove in three runs, and Jon Berti went 3 for 5 with two RBI for Miami.
The Marlins chased Atlanta starter Dallas Keuchel with a five-run fourth capped by Anderson’s second home run and 20th of the season for an 8-0 lead. Anderson’s drive landed in the walkway above the left-center wall for his first career multi-homer game.
Anderson is hitting .400 with four home runs and six RBI in his last seven games.
CUBS 12, REDS 5: Anthony Rizzo had a pair of hits as part of a 30th birthday celebration, Nicholas Castellanos added to his Chicago surge with a pair of homers and the Cubs won at Cincinnati.
The Cubs’ sixth win in seven games gave them a 3½-game margin over the idle Brewers. The Reds wasted a big game by rookie Aristides Aquino — Yasiel Puig’s replacement — and fell to eight games out, one shy of their biggest deficit.
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