By HOWIE RUMBERG
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK — Raul Ibanez might not get as many at-bats as the marquee sluggers on the Yankees. Still, he has shown a flair for the dramatic that rivals any of his teammates.
Ibanez hit a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning and New York beat Toronto 6-3 on Monday night after Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista left the game with a wrist injury.
Six of Ibanez’s homers this season have either tied the score or given New York the lead, according to STATS LLC. Eight of his 12 long balls have come in the sixth inning or later.
“I don’t really think about it that much. Just try to do whatever I can to help out,” Ibanez said of his clutch hitting. “Just try to stay in the moment.”
The Blue Jays might have lost one of baseball’s top sluggers for an extended period. Bautista injured his left wrist on a swing in the eighth and was removed from the game. He hit a long foul ball against David Robertson and immediately grabbed his wrist, dropping into a crouch outside the batter’s box.
Bautista walked off the field, gently supporting the wrist with his right hand after being attended to by several Toronto staff members. After the game, the Blue Jays said Bautista did not break a bone, but he has a tendon injury and will have an MRI on Tuesday to determine the severity.
“He didn’t say exactly when” he hurt the wrist, Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “But through the course of completing the swing he felt a little bit of a popping sensation.”
The Blue Jays will wait to make a move until they have a better idea how long the two-time defending AL home run champ will be out.
“There will be a follow-up transaction tomorrow,” Farrell said. “Certainly, Jose’s not going to be ready to go tomorrow.”
Ibanez connected on a 3-1 pitch from Jason Frasor for a no-doubt drive into the first row of the second deck in right field to snap a 2-all tie.
One day after the Yankees left the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 10-8 loss to the Angels, Ibanez helped New York win for the seventh time in nine games. The Yankees were 16 for 88 (.181) this season with the bases full before he homered.
The majors’ two best power-hitting teams had padded their homer totals earlier — with Yankee Stadium specials. Both Russell Martin, in the second inning, and Adam Lind, in the fourth, hit line drives into the first row in right field.
“That short porch over there, it’s been nice to me,” Martin said.
Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano hit one-out singles in the eighth off Aaron Loup (0-1), recalled from the minors on Friday. Frasor came on and hit Mark Teixeira in the foot with a pitch. Teixeira tried to fake that he jumped out of the way because the ball bounced into the stands and A-Rod would have scored. Rodriguez had advanced to second on a passed ball before Cano’s hit and was on third.
Ibanez then hit his 10th career slam. He has been playing more because Brett Gardner has been on the disabled list since April 18 with an elbow injury and on Sunday he had his third setback in his rehabilitation.
“I’m not sure how many extra at-bats he’s gotten,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Ibanez, signed in the offseason to primarily be a designated hitter. “But he’s gotten a lot more playing time in left field and that’s probably helped his numbers, his production.”
Robertson (1-3) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win.
Cody Eppley put two runners on with one out in the ninth. The Blue Jays scored an unearned run when left fielder Dewayne Wise, a defensive replacement, misplayed J.P. Arencibia’s single off Rafael Soriano, who finished for his 23rd save.
Fans hoping to see an offensive outburst from homer-happy clubs were foiled by the wild but effective outings of Henderson Alvarez and Phil Hughes.
Alvarez walked a career-high four in six innings. Hughes issued three free passes in seven innings, and each starter went over 100 pitches.
Hughes was hurt by a one-out walk to Bautista in the sixth. The All-Star slugger scored from first on Edwin Encarnacion’s double that tied it 2-all.
“Certainly wasn’t a bad outing,” Hughes said. “If this is the low end for the second half, that will be great.”
Cano extended his hitting streak to a career-high 19 games with an RBI double past a diving Bautista in right field in the third after Rodriguez lined a two-base hit to left-center to make it 2-0.
Rodriguez was moved from third base to designated hitter because he felt stiffness in his neck during batting practice. He went 2 for 4 and scored two runs.
Lind’s homer to right in the fourth made it 2-1 and was the 20th of the season off Hughes, but only the first in four games.
Rajai Davis snapped an 0-for-25 slump with a one-out double in the seventh.
RED SOX 5, WHITE SOX 1
BOSTON — Adrian Gonzalez spoiled Kevin Youkilis’ return to Fenway Park, hitting a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
Boston traded Youkilis on June 24, sending the three-time All-Star and cash to Chicago for utilityman Brent Lillibridge and a minor league pitcher. Youkilis went 3 for 4 with two doubles in his first game back at his longtime home.
Carl Crawford returned to Boston’s lineup after missing the first 89 games this season with left elbow and wrist injuries, going 1 for 3 with a walk.
Crawford and David Ortiz opened the eighth with consecutive walks against Leyson Septimo (0-1). Gonzalez then hit a drive into the seats above the Green Monster for his seventh homer of the season.
Vicente Padilla (3-0) worked one inning for the win.TIGERS 8, ANGELS 6
DETROIT — Brennan Boesch hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning and Detroit rallied to beat Los Angeles.
The Angels led 5-2 after a four-run fifth, but the Tigers chipped away, scoring two runs in the bottom of that inning and three more in the seventh. Delmon Young tied it with a sacrifice fly and Boesch followed with a homer off reliever LaTroy Hawkins (2-2) to make it 7-5.
Octavio Dotel (3-2) got the win in relief. Joaquin Benoit worked the eighth and Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 17th save in 21 chances.
Torii Hunter had four hits and drove in three runs for Los Angeles. Mark Trumbo hit his 25th homer.
The Angels got Albert Pujols to the plate as the potential tying run in the ninth, but he flied out to end it.
INDIANS 3, RAYS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Zach McAllister shrugged off being struck in his pitching arm by a line drive to finish six solid innings, and Cleveland held on to beat Tampa Bay.
McAllister (4-1) appeared to get hit above the right elbow by Jeff Keppinger’s RBI single in the fourth. He retired the next six batters and eight of his last nine overall.
Shin-Soo Choo ended up with an RBI double in the third for Cleveland after he had what initially was ruled a home run overturned by instant replay in the first.
McAllister allowed one run and three hits. Vinnie Pestano escaped jams in the seventh and eighth. Chris Perez worked a perfect ninth, earning his 26th save in 28 opportunities.
Desmond Jennings homered for the Rays. Alex Cobb (4-6) yielded three runs and five hits over 3 1-3 innings.
MARINERS 9, ROYALS 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Casper Wells homered and drove in a career-high five runs, all of them against Jonathan Sanchez, and Seattle beat up Kansas City.
Justin Smoak also had a two-run homer off Sanchez (1-6), pulled after allowing a season-high seven runs in a season-low 1 1-3 innings. The left-hander who once threw a no-hitter for San Francisco gave up seven hits and a walk before he was yanked to a chorus of boos.
Jason Vargas (9-7) took advantage of the rare output from one of the American League’s worst offenses. The left-hander gave up homers to Salvador Perez and Billy Butler, but still managed to last six shaky innings and win his second straight game.
Ichiro Suzuki added an RBI triple, and Dustin Ackley homered for the Mariners. His solo shot came off Everett Teaford, who was scheduled to start for the Royals on Tuesday night but was pressed into duty after Sanchez was blitzed for the fifth straight start.
TWINS 19, ORIOLES 7
MINNEAPOLIS — Denard Span had three hits and five RBIs, plus two highlight-reel catches in center field to help Minnesota stop its five-game losing streak with a victory over Baltimore.
Ben Revere made two remarkable running grabs himself in right field to go with four hits and three RBIs. Joe Mauer homered and drove in two runs, and Justin Morneau had four of Minnesota’s 20 hits.
Chris Tillman (1-1) gave up seven runs in the first and didn’t finish the inning, the shortest appearance by an Orioles starter this season. Six of the runs were unearned, due an untimely two-out error by first baseman Mark Reynolds. He hit a three-run homer off Scott Diamond (8-3), but the Twins starter won his third straight decision thanks to the big early lead.
