NEW YORK, N.Y. - Masahiro Tanaka started Jose Reyes with a 92 mph fastball, his first major league pitch since July 8. He threw 70 pitches in all and didnt feel any pain in the right elbow that had sidelined him for 2 1/2 months. "Obviously, Im very relieved," Tanaka said through a translator after leading the Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Sunday before a boisterous sellout crowd of 48,144 on a grey, overcast afternoon. Tanaka was only part of the attraction: It was Derek Jeters last weekend game at Yankee Stadium. The retiring Yankees captain received standing ovations during every at-bat, went 2 for 4 and finished his next-to-last home series 8 for 15 with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs. Jeter became the first Yankee with four straight mulithit games at age 40, and he saluted the crowd after sharing postgame handshakes and high-fives with teammates. "Hopefully he keeps getting two hits and decides he wants to play again next year," said Brett Gardner, who put the Yankees ahead 2-1 in the fifth with the Yankees 15,000th home run since the franchise started play in New York in 1903. While Jeter is going, Tanaka is coming back. He started sensationally at 11-1 with a 1.99 ERA in his first 14 appearances. But he slumped in his next four and hadnt pitched since scans discovered a slight tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow. Rather than opt for Tommy John surgery, which would have sidelined him for about a year, Tanaka and the Yankees chose a rehabilitation strengthening protocol. Tanaka (13-4) responded by allowing one run and five hits in 5 1-3 innings with four strikeouts, no walks and a hit batter. He had an exceptional curveball, and his splitter was dipping as sharply as it did during the first half of the season. "I dont exactly remember when, but gradually as the game went on I guess I stopped thinking about it," he said of his elbow. Tanaka gave up a run in first when Reyes singled to right centre, took third on Jose Bautistas ground single to right through the shifted infield and came home on Edwin Encarnacions double-play grounder. After Munenori Kawasaki had a one-out double in the second, Tanaka retired 11 of his next 12 batters. "The way he pitched today, its a great sign," said catcher Brian McCann, who hit home runs 14,999 and 15,001, driving in three runs. Tanaka went to a three-ball count just once. He left with two on and tipped his cap to fans as he walked to the dugout. "Pretty darn good," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Its extremely encouraging and now well try to get him to start again on Saturday." But will the ligament hold up? "Are we going to know fully until five years down the road? Probably not," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "Its possible that he can get through this for quite a while. Its possible that it comes up and bites him, and thats it. Were hopeful thats its the earlier scenario and that hes going to be fine and have a nice, long career with no problems." New York is 4 1/2 games out for the ALs second wild card with seven games to play, yet still drew its second straight sellout as Jeters admirers turned out. Jeters fifth-inning single chased Drew Hutchison (10-13), and when Jeter batted in the seventh, most fans held up phones and cameras to take photographs and video. He responded with a run-scoring double down the left-field line against Todd Redmond for a 3-1 lead, and the crowd erupted with near-post-season intensity. The usual "De-rek Je-ter!" chants turned into "Thank You De-rek!" and he stole third base. Jeter then jogged home when McCann hit his second home run of the game to make it 5-1. On Wednesday, Jeter had broken an 0-for-28 slide on the last night of a road trip. "Im sure," Girardi said, "theres a little bit of extra adrenaline going right now." THE FINAL DAYS: Girardi anticipates Jeter will play in all four games against Baltimore. Gates open at 4 p.m. before the night games so fans can watch Jeter take batting practice. LAST OUT: David Robertson pitched a hitless ninth for his 38th save in 42 chances. BUNCHING: McCann has 11 multihomer games, including two this season. TRAINERS ROOM Yankees: OF Carlos Beltran plans to wait until after the season for surgery to remove right elbow bone spurs. ... 1B Mark Teixeira was to be examined by a hand specialist Sunday. UP NEXT RHP Michael Pineda (3-5) starts Monday against Baltimores Wei-Yin Chen (16-4). Nike Air Max 270 Uitverkoop . Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying. Nike Air Max 270 Nederland .Mila Kunis was a guest on Kimmel last night and revealed a surprising side of herself that comes out when she watches sports. It turns out screaming something vulgar at professional athletes is therapeutic for Kunis. http://www.airmax270nederland.com/. On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Nike Air Max 270 Dames Sale . Warren made six birdies and a bogey for a 5-under total of 139 to sit one shot ahead of Felipe Aguilar of Chile, who carded a 69. David Horsey of England was also on 5 under through 15 holes to join Warren atop the leaderboard before play was stopped. Nike Air Max 270 Online Bestellen .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the ongoing Redskins name debate, a truly dominant pitching performance, the bargain basement standards of the LPGA and MLBs latest fine import. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is down to the Washington Redskins name debate, and not just because theres any debate at all over the most clearly racist name in sports. No, its because the debates getting dumber by the second, as it ratchets up. A sitting U.S. Congressman - low bar, I know - compared Barack Obama to Kim Jong-Il, or -Un, after a federal trademark case declared the name derogatory. A Fox News host - low bar, I know - compared the name to the New York Giants offending tall people. This happens often, and its always, always stupid, people. Its like the Yankees, or the Lakers, or the Dallas Cowboys of stupid. Calling Dallas the Cowboys, of course, should only be offensive to competent and/or humble cowboys, one and all. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Clayton Kershaw, superstar pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who brought the no-hitter back into vogue with a performance for the ages Wednesday night at Coors Field. And I know what youre thinking: another no-hitter, big deal. Theres been so many of them in recent seasons that weve all grown a little bored of pitchers we didnt know or care about throwing another no-no. But it was different against the Colorado Rockies. This is a big name - Kershaw - striking out 15 batters, walking no one, in total command, only reaching the count of three balls on one batter and had it not been for an error by Hanley Ramirez, were talking perfect game here. Add Vin Scully broadcasting to the ooccasion and baseball doesnt get any better than that.dddddddddddd Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down not to 11-year-old Lucy Li, who qualified for the U.S. Open, but to womens professional golf, whose thimble-deep talent pool made it possible for an 11-year old to qualify. The sixth-grader, who looked like she should be entered in a hopscotch tournament and not slugging it out on Pinehurst no. 2, shot a pair of credible 78s, a score that matched marquee names Natalie Gulbis and Laura Davies but left her far off the cut. Nice two-day story. But rather than celebrate the presence of a sprite in the event, shouldnt the USGA, and by extension the LPGA, be mortified a novice qualified? The kid is precocious, but she isnt exactly Mozart. Dave Naylor, TSN: And my thumb is up to Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees for proving that sometimes a player really is worth all the hype. You may remember how Tanakas transfer from Japan was the major story of the MLB off-season. You may also remember that when the first Major Leage hitter he faced in Melky Cabrera took him deep … some were wondering if the Yankees had just uncovered the next “Dice-K” Matsuzaka. Well right now Tanaka leads the American League in wins and ERA and is among the leaders in innings-pitched, as well as strikeouts and walks per nine innings. And hes looking like a good bet to win both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year honours. Coming off a perfect 24-0 record in Japan last season, experts cautioned not to expect the same thing from Tanaka in the major leagues. And they were right. After all, on May 20th against the Cubs he did something he never did all of last season in japan. He took the loss. ' ' '