Ichiro lifts Yanks to doubleheader sweep of Jays goes 7-for-8 and 4 steals

The chants of “Ich-i-ro” swelled in the eighth inning as the wiry batter with the slashing swing walked to home plate. With six hits already in this doubleheader, fans expected something special from the Japanese star.

Surprising even himself, Ichiro Suzuki delivered.

Suzuki had a go-ahead single in the eighth inning to help the New York Yankees complete a doubleheader sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 2-1 win Wednesday night that ensured they remained atop the AL East.

The 10-time All-Star’s performance helped New York win its fourth straight and guaranteed it will end the night with at least a half-game division lead, pending on the outcome of Baltimore’s game against Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners.

“I haven’t done anything different today so I don’t know what the difference was,” Suzuki said through a translator.

The 38-year-old Suzuki made a difficult catch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of the opener to preserve a lead for Andy Pettitte in a 4-2 victory. He went 7 for 8 in the two games and stole four of New York’s seven bases in the finale.

“I came in the middle of the season and I always wanted to contribute, wanted to help in this pennant race and today is a great day that I was able to help,” said Suzuki, who was acquired in a trade from Seattle in late July. “I’m very sad the day is over.”

He had three hits in the opener batting leadoff

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