Marco Estrada pitches gem as Blue Jays beat Yankees 4-0

Two weeks ago, the only discussion about Marco Estrada was about his value on the market — and interest in him from the Kansas City Royals. On Thursday night, the discussion was about his performance.

Estrada curated a masterpiece in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 4-0 victory over the New York Yankees, pitching seven shutout innings. It was the third consecutive start in which he’s completed the seventh frame, a feat Estrada hasn’t accomplished since May 30th and June 5th of 2016.

The only blemish in a Estrada’s tapestry was three walks, compared to six strikeouts.

On the other side of the diamond, Toronto’s offense was nothing to scoff at. It certainly wasn’t dominant, but against one of the better starters in the American League in Sonny Gray, three runs are plenty.

Gray didn’t help himself in the second inning. After Ezequiel Carrera doubled, Gray attempted to pick him off at second — a clear mistake. The throw was wild, allowing Carrera to move to third. He scored in the next plate appearance, when Ryan Goins drove him home.

When Estrada exited the game prior to the eighth inning, Toronto’s bullpen kept the four-run lead intact. Despite faltering in multiple recent games, Ryan Tepera got out of the eighth inning after allowing one hit and Roberto Osuna shut the door on the Yankees, despite walking two.

Josh Donaldson singled in the third, scoring Jose Bautista for Toronto’s second run of the game. Kevin Pillar singled home the third run of the game in the next inning.

Jose Bautista scored Toronto’s last run of the game on a home run in the seventh frame. The solo shot was Bautista’s 36th against the Yankees, the most by any current active player in Major League Baseball.

Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkColley.