NEW YORK For the third consecutive game, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi rolled out all three rocket arms that make up the back end of his bullpen.
Hard to hold off when they're so automatic.
"You have to win today. Tomorrow doesn't mean anything," Girardi said.
Starlin Castro drove home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning with a sharp one-hopper that forced an error on shortstop Eduardo Escobar, and New York edged the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Saturday with another dose of dominant relief pitching.
Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller (5-0) and Aroldis Chapman combined to throw three scoreless innings for the third consecutive game in a four-day span. The trio had teamed up to set down 26 consecutive batters during that stretch before Joe Mauer singled on a 99-mph fastball from Chapman with two outs in the ninth.
"We have so much confidence in all three of those guys out there and it's crazy that every time they come [in], we expect them to be perfect," Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran said. "Hopefully as a team we can score more runs so that we can give those guys a break here and there."
Chapman struck out Brian Dozier on a 100-mph fastball for his 15th save in 16 tries, finishing a three-hitter. Dozier homered leading off the second against Michael Pineda, who yielded two hits in six effective innings.
Brett Gardner got three hits, Beltran delivered an RBI single and Alex Rodriguez sparked the decisive rally by hustling for an infield single.
Brian McCann also had a key hit, and the Yankees (37-36) surged back above .500 with their third consecutive victory and sixth in eight games.
"We all believe our best baseball is coming," McCann said.
BLUE JAYS 10, WHITE SOX 8 Chicago tied a team record with seven home runs, but it wasn't enough as Edwin Encarnacion drove in four runs and visiting Toronto held on for the victory.
INDIANS 6, TIGERS 0 Francisco Lindor hit two home runs to lead Cleveland to its eighth consecutive victory, this one over host Detroit.
ORIOLES 5-8, RAYS 0-6 Kevin Gausman allowed four hits over 72/3 innings to earn his first victory of the season and help host Baltimore to a victory over Tampa Bay in the first game of a doubleheader sweep. Matt Wieters hit two home runs and Baltimore rallied from a four-run deficit to win the late game.
ASTROS 13, ROYALS 5 Jose Altuve went 4 for 5, including a home run and two doubles, and visiting Houston extended its winning streak to seven with a victory over Kansas City.
RANGERS 10, RED SOX 3 Elvis Andrus had a bases-loaded triple, Ian Desmond homered again and host Texas beat Boston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PADRES 3, REDS 0 Drew Pomeranz drove in a pair of runs and pitched seven innings, leading San Diego to a victory over host Cincinnati.
BREWERS 6, NATIONALS 5 Chris Carter hit a three-run home run, Matt Garza pitched six innings for his first victory of the season and Milwaukee beat visiting Washington.
MARLINS 9, CUBS 6 Justin Bour and Giancarlo Stanton each drove in three runs, Paul Clemens got his first big league victory in more than three years and host Miami beat Chicago.
ROCKIES 11, D-BACKS 6 Tony Wolters hit his first major league home run and drove in four runs, helping Colorado beat visiting Arizona.
METS 1, BRAVES 0 (11) Pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson lined a leadoff home run in the 11th inning and New York outlasted host Atlanta.
PIRATES 6, DODGERS 1 Andrew McCutchen hit two home runs, Jeff Locke took a perfect game into the sixth inning and Pittsburgh beat visiting Los Angeles.
PHILLIES 3, GIANTS 2 Cameron Rupp chased Madison Bumgarner with a two-run home run in Philadelphia's three-run seventh inning, helping the team beat host San Francisco.
Sports on 06/26/2016