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Canadians are generally seen as overly kind and generous people, so much so that it's become a bit of a joke. Well, that stereotype doesn't seem to apply when attending Toronto Blue Jays games. New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner found that out the hard way Thursday night at Rogers Centre. Gardner tumbled into first row down the left-field line in the third inning after making a great catch right at the wall on a popup in foul ground. His momentum took him into the stands, though, and in this case it really was enemy territory. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] Despite falling into a section holding a fair number of people, the fans stood around Gardner and watched him hit his head on the edge of the concrete steps. It took him a moment to get back up after landing in an awkward position. From MLB.com : Told that none of the paying customers at Rogers Centre seemed interested in assisting him to his feet, Gardner chuckled. "From the things they're usually saying to me over there, I wouldn't expect them to help me out," he said. What kind of insults are Toronto fans hurling at Gardner that he wouldn't be at all surprised that they would leave him hanging like that? That's ice cold. At least Gardner's adventure off the field  went better than Yoenis Cespedes' foray into the stands earlier this week. Unlike Cespedes , Gardner actually caught the ball, and that's ultimately what matters most. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: - - - - - - - Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew  on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr Continue to Article

April 15, 2016 9:45:am EST

Canadians are generally seen as overly kind and generous people, so much so that it's become a bit of a joke. Well, that stereotype doesn't seem to apply when attending Toronto Blue Jays games. New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner found that out the hard way Thursday night at Rogers Centre. Gardner tumbled into first row down the left field line in the third inning after making a great catch right at the wall on a popup in foul ground. His momentum took him into the stands, though, in this case it really was enemy territory. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] Despite falling into a section holding a fair number of people, the fans stood around Gardner and watched him hit his head on the edge of the concrete steps. It took him a moment to get back up after landing in an awkward position. From MLB.com : Told that none of the paying customers at Rogers Centre seemed interested in assisting him to his feet, Gardner chuckled. "From the things they're usually saying to me over there, I wouldn't expect them to help me out," he said. What kind of insults are Toronto fans hurling at Gardner that he wouldn't be at all surprised that they would leave him hanging like that? That's ice cold. At least Gardner's adventure off the field  went better than Yoenis Cespedes' foray into the stands earlier this week. Unlike Cespedes , Gardner actually caught the ball, and that's ultimately what matters most. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: - - - - - - - Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew  on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr Continue to Article

April 15, 2016 9:45:am EST

April 15 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the MLB games on Thursday (home team in CAPS) Detroit 7 PITTSBURGH 4 PHILADELPHIA 3 San Diego 0 Chicago White Sox 3 MINNESOTA 1 Cleveland 6 TAMPA BAY 0 ST. LOUIS 7 Milwaukee 0 COLORADO 11 San Francisco 6 WASHINGTON 6 Atlanta 2 TORONTO 4 NY Yankees 2 TEXAS 6 Baltimore 3 CHICAGO CUBS 8 Cincinnati 1 Kansas City 6 HOUSTON 2 LA DODGERS 5 Arizona 2 Continue to Article

April 15, 2016 1:05:am EST

TORONTO – The MVP and the ace teamed up to deliver the Blue Jays a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night and take their first series of the 2016 season. Marcus Stroman went eight innings, pitching brilliantly on both sides of a 34-pitch fourth inning where he gave up the two Yankees run, and Josh Donaldson crushed a three-run home run to centre field in the fifth that gave Toronto a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. "I can’t say enough good things [about Stroman],” said manager John Gibbons. "I know he was frustrated after that [fourth] inning but the key is he bounced back, settled down and goes eight innings against a good lineup.  "That ball sat there for Josh and he hit that ball a mile … One break, one big home run like we got made the difference,” Gibbons continued. "That’s why they call him the MVP.” Coming off a less-than-stellar outing in last Friday’s home opener , Stroman used his sinker to great effect, generating 17 groundball outs and he kept the Yankees off-balance by mixing in a healthy dose of sliders, changeups, and curveballs. Stroman is not auditioning to be the staff ace; the designation is his and the onus is on him to take it and run with it. He doesn't yet have the cache of a Cy Young Award winner like Clayton Kershaw or David Price, but his ability to quickly put behind any adversity fuels the Blue Jays’ belief he can thrive in it and he showed that in the fourth inning Thursday. A 3-2 changeup ran too far inside and hit Alex Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira singled on a soft liner to left and Brian McCann hit a groundball to second base that Ryan Goins couldn’t handle. All of a sudden New York had the bases loaded with one out. Stroman almost got out of the inning with a double play but Carlos Beltran beat out the throw to first and the first run came in. A walk to Chase Headley loaded the bases again and then Stroman didn’t get a good grip on a changeup and threw a wild pitch, bringing in the second run. That combination of events – the slipping command and the two 50-50 plays in the field – can lead to a loss of focus, but Stroman trusted his process over the results and went on to pitch four more innings and not allowing another run. "That’s one of the times when you have to take a deep breath on the mound and realize that you’re making good pitches and that they’re just finding holes,” said Stroman. "You got to stick to your game plan, you can’t get frustrated … I feel like I was able to lock it in and after that fourth I felt like I locked it in even more from there." Locked in is also how you would describe Donaldson’s torrid start to the season. He’s recorded a hit in each of the first 10 games and now has five home runs. There is no MVP hangover here. But with so many teammates in a hitting slump, Donaldson has been taking extra batting practice alongside them, continuing in his role as a de facto associate hitting coach he adopted during spring training . One of the struggling stars, Troy Tulowitzki, who entered the game hitting .125 with one extra-base hit in nine games, added an insurance run in the sixth with a solo shot to left. "I don't think that we've quite clicked offensively the way that we're going to probably in the next week or so," said Donaldson. "Hopefully tomorrow." At 5-5, the team is still looking to find a groove. Despite Donaldson's best efforts, the offence hasn't taken off. The bullpen, with the exception of Roberto Osuna who pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save, is slowly settling in.  With Donaldson back doing what he did last season – playing like the MVP  –  and Stroman doing what he physically couldn’t do as he recovered from ACL surgery  – growing into an ace  –  the Blue Jays can at least be confident they have the base they need to be that team that's feared around the American League. In the early parts of the long baseball season, that's as good as gold. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Canada Sports: - - - - - - - Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports . Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr Continue to Article

April 14, 2016 11:45:pm EST

TORONTO – The MVP and the ace teamed up to deliver the Blue Jays a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night and take their first series of the 2016 season. Marcus Stroman went eight innings, pitching brilliantly on both sides of a 34-pitch fourth inning where he gave up the two Yankees run, and Josh Donaldson crushed a three-run home run to centre field in the fifth that gave Toronto a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. "I can’t say enough good things [about Stroman],” said manager John Gibbons. "I know he was frustrated after that [fourth] inning but the key is he bounced back, settled down and goes eight innings against a good lineup.  "That ball sat there for Josh and he hit that ball a mile … One break, one big home run like we got made the difference,” Gibbons continued. "That’s why they call him the MVP.” Coming off a less-than-stellar outing in last Friday’s home opener , Stroman used his sinker to great effect, generating 17 groundball outs and he kept the Yankees off-balanced by mixing in a healthy number of sliders, changeups, and curveballs. Stroman is not auditioning to be the staff ace, the designation is his and the onus is on him to take it and run with it. He doesn't yet have the cache of a Cy Young award winner like Clayton Kershaw or David Price, but his ability to quickly put behind any adversity fuels the Blue Jays’ belief he can thrive in it and he showed that in the fourth inning Thursday. A 3-2 changeup ran too far inside and hit Alex Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira singled on a soft liner to left and Brian McCann hit a groundball to second base that Ryan Goins couldn’t handle. All of a sudden New York had the bases loaded with one out. Stroman almost got out of the inning with a double play but Carlos Beltran beat out the throw to first and the first run came in. A walk to Chase Headley loaded the bases again and then Stroman didn’t get a good grip on a changeup and threw a wild pitch, bringing in the second run. That combination of events – the slipping command and the two 50-50 plays in the field – can lead to a loss of focus, but Stroman trusted his process over the results and went on to pitch four more innings and not allowing another run. "That’s one of the times when you have to take a deep breath on the mound and realize that you’re making good pitches and that they’re just finding holes,” said Stroman. "You got to stick to your game plan, you can’t get frustrated … I feel like I was able to lock it in and after that fourth I felt like I locked it in even more from there." Locked in is also how you would describe Donaldson’s torrid start to the season. He’s recorded a hit in each of the first 10 games and now has five home runs. There is no MVP hangover here. But with so many teammates in a hitting slump, Donaldson has been taking extra batting practice alongside them, continuing in his role as a de facto associate hitting coach he adopted during spring training . One of the struggling stars, Troy Tulowitzki, who entered the game hitting .125 with one extra-base hit in nine games, added an insurance run in the sixth with a solo shot to left. "I don't think that we've quite clicked offensively the way that we're going to probably in the next week or so," said Donaldson. "Hopefully tomorrow." At 5-5, the team is still looking to find a groove. Despite Donaldson's best efforts, the offence hasn't taken off. The bullpen, with the exception of Roberto Osuna who pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save, is slowly settling in.  With Donaldson back doing what he did last season – playing like the MVP  –  and Stroman doing what he physically couldn’t do as he recovered from ACL surgery  – growing into an ace  –  the Blue Jays can at least be confident they have the base they need to be that team that's feared around the American League. In the early parts of the long baseball season, that's as good as gold. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Canada Sports: - - - - - - - Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports . Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr Continue to Article

April 14, 2016 11:45:pm EST