TORONTO — In a lineup that houses Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, Melky Cabrera was the man the Yankees didn’t want to see bat in the ninth on Sunday.
When he homered leading off the first inning against CC Sabathia it was the former Yankees outfielder’s third homer in as many games against his former club and second in three games starting the home half of the first inning.
Yet, because David Robertson gave up a laser single to center to Brett Lawrie and walked pinch-hitter Adam Lind with one out in the ninth, Cabrera was going to bat if pinch-hitter Colby Rasmus didn’t bang into a game-ending double play.
So when Rasmus popped out, the switch-hitting Cabrera came to the plate and ripped a 1-2 curveball on a line to right that had to pebble some skin in the Yankees’ dugout.
“I knew he didn’t get it good but you see that type of swing and the way he is swinging …,’’ Robertson said of the final out that nestled in Ichiro Suzuki’s glove and sent the Yankees home with a 3-3 record after losing the first two games of the season to the lowly Astros in Houston.
“Better than 0-2,’’ Robertson said when asked about going 2-for-2 in save chances as Mariano Rivera’s replacement.
Of the three relievers Joe Girardi used after Sabathia gave him six innings, Robertson was the least effective.
Adam Warren, who could eventually pitch his way into later situations, worked a perfect seventh and Shawn Kelley, who is getting the first chance to replace Robertson in the eighth, survived a two-out triple by Edwin Encarnacion by retiring Dioner Navarro on a grounder to first baseman Kelly Johnson.
“I thought [Kelley] threw the ball well out of the bullpen last year,’’ Girardi said. “His stuff was as good as any pitcher we saw in spring [training]. We like his stuff.’’