Manager John Gibbons started Gurriel in the leadoff

J.A. Happ has been splendid since joining the New York Yankees — so good that he is undefeated.Happ looks to stay undefeated as a Yankee on Monday night when he pitches in the opener of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.Since being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on July 26 for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney Daniel Castro Jersey , Happ is 5-0 with a 3.10 ERA in seven starts. He also is a leading candidate to get the ball should the Yankees hold onto their current spot in the standings and host the American League wild-card game.More Twins coverageGiants bench coach Meulens to interview with TwinsAfter disappointing season, Sano begins critical offseason for TwinsPhotos of the Week: 9/30/18 – 10/6/18Top Tweets: Local teams give shoutouts to Twins’ MauerLove for Twins’ Mauer off the charts after emotional dayOverall, the 35-year-old free-agent-to-be is 15-6 with a 4.00 ERA in 26 starts this season, his last under a three-year, $36 million contract signed with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2016 season.His resurgence since donning pinstripes has led some to wonder whether he’d be open to returning to New York next season. It is a notion Happ isn’t ready to address just yet, but also hasn’t completely ruled out.“I’d hate to get too far into that, but the one thing that I’ll say is, I’ve been impressed since I came over here with how things have worked so far, and all the baseball-related things have been a positive,” Happ told reporters last week. “So I think I’d be foolish to cross anybody off the list. But, yes, certainly, judging by how the first month has gone, it would be a place that I for sure would consider coming back if there was interest.”Happ bounced back from a rough outing against the Detroit Tigers to hold the A’s to a run and two hits in six-plus innings on Tuesday. The Yankees are 3-3 on their nine-game trip and 2 1/2 games ahead of Oakland in the wild-card race.The Twins will still be without former Yankee Tyler Austin. The first baseman missed Minnesota’s weekend series with the Kansas City Royals because of back stiffness. He’s expected to take batting practice Monday but isn’t likely to start against the Yankees, who dealt him to the Twins on July 30 for right-hander Lance Lynn.In 20 games since, Austin posted a .243 average (17-for-70) with seven home runs and 11 RBIs along with an .865 OPS. He was sidelined last week, though, by a bout of back tightness that kept him out of action during a weekend series with the Royals.Twins manager Paul Molitor is optimistic that Austin will return to the lineup sometime during the series.“Obviously, I probably wouldn’t play him right out of the gate after a couple of days off ttp://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-tony-wolters-jersey ,” Molitor said. “Hopefully, we’ll see him before the end of that series. He’s heading in the right direction.”Miguel Sano will be out for at least the opener, too, as he waits for his bruised left knee to show improvement. Sano injured it last week while sliding into second against the Astros and also sat out the Royals series.An MRI showed no structural damage to the knee, but the Twins are taking their time with the third baseman.“We’re hopeful,” Molitor said. “Each day hopefully he has a little less soreness he has to be concerned about and can start trying to do some things on the field.”Right-hander Kyle Gibson gets the nod for Minnesota, which is 3-7 in its last 10 games after Williams Astudillo hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning of a 3-1 win on Sunday.After posting a 5.28 ERA in August, Gibson bounced back with a solid showing against the Astros last week, allowing just two runs — solo home runs — in seven innings.Gibson is 1-4 with a 7.71 ERA in seven career starts against the Yankees. TORONTO (AP) — Jake Arrieta wasn’t too happy with the effort his Philadelphia Phillies produced against the Toronto Blue Jays.Kendrys Morales homered for the fifth straight game, Billy McKinney hit a two-run shot and Toronto beat Philadelphia 4-2 on Friday night, handing the slumping Phillies their fifth loss in six games.“We got outplayed all the way around,” Arrieta said. “They did pretty much every facet of the game better than we did and that’s why we lost.”Philadelphia remained three games behind Atlanta in the NL East after the Braves lost 1-0 to the New York Mets. The Phillies began the day one game out in the wild card race.“We need to play better and the Braves need to not play as well,” Arrieta said. “If those two things happen, we’ll be fine. There’s no need to panic but we need to stay locked in to the game.”Arrieta (9-9) allowed four runs and six hits in six-plus innings, his third straight losing decision.Morales connected off Arrieta in the second, matching Jose Bautista (2014) for the Blue Jays’ second-longest streak of games with a home run. Jose Cruz Jr. connected in a team-record six straight in 2001.“I’m using my hands a little bit more,” Morales said through a translator. “I wasn’t using my back leg earlier in the season, I’ve been driving the ball with it and it’s been going good so far.”McKinney homered for the second time in three games with a two-run drive to left in the third. A boy in the front row of the outfield seats caught the ball, then lifted his arms in celebration and exchanged a high five with a nearby fan.Ryan Borucki (3-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings as Toronto won its fourth straight.“He’s one of their best prospects for a reason Kyle Freeland Jersey ,” Phillies manager gave Kapler said of Borucki, who has won three of his past five starts.Scott Kingery hit a solo home run for the Phillies but was also thrown out at home plate trying to score from second on Roman Quinn’s one-out single in the second. Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar got his seventh outfield assist.“We did a lot of homework on the throwing in the outfield,” Kapler said. “There’s no question Pillar is a Gold Glove outfielder with a very good arm but we also know that there have been some throws that have been off line, so we’re taking a bit of a risk there. Obviously it didn’t work out in our favor.”Borucki gave up a run in the first on a sacrifice fly by catcher Wilson Ramos, then held the Phillies scoreless until Kingery’s solo homer in the seventh.“He pitched off the barrel,” Philadelphia’s Rhys Hoskins said. “We got some hits off him but he when he needed to make a pitch, he did.”Borucki left to a standing ovation and was replaced by Ryan Tepera, who got two outs. Tyler Clippard pitched the eighth and former Phillies closer Ken Giles finished for his 17th save in 17 opportunities, striking out Hoskins looking to strand runners at first and second.END OF THE LINEBlue Jays infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was activated off the disabled list after missing 23 games because of a sprained left ankle. Gurriel entered with an 11-game streak of multihit games, the longest in the majors since Tony Perez did it in 1973. Manager John Gibbons started Gurriel in the leadoff spot to maximize his number of at bats. Gurriel grounded out in the first and struck out in the third before grounding an RBI single through the left side in the fifth. In his final shot at adding to his streak, Gurriel struck out against reliever Hector Neris in the seventh.ROCKY ROADPhiladelphia has lost 13 of its past 18 away from home. The Phillies are 28-37 on the road.TRAINER’S ROOMPhillies: Ramos returned to the lineup after missing three games because of a sore left wrist.Blue Jays: To make room for Gurriel Jr., Toronto optioned INF Richard Urena to Triple-A. … Gibbons said he told veteran OF Curtis Granderson to expect reduced playing time as the Blue Jays focus on their younger players.UP NEXTPhillies RHP Nick Pivetta (7-10, 4.66) faces Blue Jays RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-5, 4.52) on Saturday afternoon. Pivetta is from Victoria, British Columbia, on Canada’s West Coast. He is making his first career start north of the border. Sanchez will be activated off the 60-day DL to face the Phillies. He’s been out since June 21 after injuring his right index finger when it got caught inside a falling suitcase.