Blue Jays beat Yankees to avoid sweep By PETER ABRAHAM THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: July 20, 2007) NEW YORK - It is a sign of acceptance for a pitcher when the fans in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium recognize each strikeout by taping a sign below the railing. Traditionally, it is the letter K, the scorebook designation for a strikeout. But Roger Clemens has had rockets on the days he starts and Mike Mussina a cartoon moose. It would take only a few sheets of paper to pay tribute to Chien-Ming Wang in such a way. The new ace of the Yankees isn't opposed to strikeouts, but he has averaged fewer than three per game in his 67 career starts. So some creative Taiwanese fans sitting along the right-field line yesterday improvised and posted signs each time Wang induced a ground ball against the Toronto Blue Jays. By the end of the sixth inning, 10 were up as Wang was working on a shutout. Unlike strikeouts, however, ground balls aren't always something to celebrate. Two well-placed grounders were among the four hits Toronto had in the seventh inning as the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Yankees 3-2 and avoid a four-game sweep. A man of few words, whether they be in English or Taiwanese, Wang was upset after the game as the Yankees had their five-game win streak broken. "My fault," he said as he left the Stadium. "We should have won that game." Wang (10-5) took a two-hit shutout into the seventh inning, having faced only 19 batters. The Yankees had scored two runs in the first inning against Dustin McGowan but that seemed like plenty given how Wang was pitching. "Two runs with Wang on the mound? We'll take that," Alex Rodriguez said. But Matt Stairs, a late addition to the lineup when Lyle Overbay felt ill, doubled to left. Vernon Wells then topped a fastball that spun 45 feet down the third-base line. Wang had no play and stood over the ball hoping it would go foul. But it stopped dead on the grass. Troy Glaus flied to center, deep enough to move the runners to second and third. Frank Thomas then hit a line drive off Wang's ankle. Wang recovered to get the out at first, but a run scored. Wang needed a groundout, but Aaron Hill lined the ball to the gap in right. Melky Cabrera went for the catch instead of cutting the ball off, and it went for a triple. Toronto broke the tie when Gregg Zaun grounded an RBI single into right field, just out of the reach of Robinson Cano. "I felt OK," said Wang, who had thrown only 69 pitches through six innings. "Of course I'm disappointed." Wang spent 15 minutes with pitching coach Ron Guidry after the game, discussing the need to throw his changeup more often. Wang said he threw three or four, a number Guidry would like to see increase to nine or 10. It was Wang's first loss since May 26. Better run support would have helped. The Yankees managed only five hits against McGowan (6-5), Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo. After Bobby Abreu's two-run double in the first inning, they were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. "We didn't do a whole lot offensively today," manager Joe Torre said. The Yankees had a chance in the ninth when Rodriguez started the inning with an opposite-field single. But Hideki Matsui popped up, Cano grounded out and Cabrera flew to left. While greedy for a sweep, the Yankees have won four series in a row and will host Tampa Bay for four games starting tonight. "Bottom line is we're still playing well," Derek Jeter said. "Their guys pitched well and so did Wang. It happens, it's baseball." Wang didn't notice the fans in right field but plans to look for them the next time he pitches at home. He grudgingly admitted he approved of the acclaim. "OK with me," he said. "Thank you." Reach Peter Abraham at [email protected] and read his Yankees blog at yankees.lohudblogs.com http://tinyurl.com/2dl5d4 --

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