NEW YORK, N.Y. - Blue Jays manager John Gibbons had no idea why the umpires were meeting on the infield grass to discuss a close play at first base when the Yankees didn't even protest the call.
When crew chief Jeff Kellogg overturned the ruling, he was livid.
Gibbons was ejected so he had to watch the finish of Toronto's 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees after wasting an early three-run lead on Thursday night in his office.
"I asked (Kellogg) how could they overturn it if there is no appeal by the other side?" Gibbons said. "I thought the rule was that there had to be an appeal by the other side for them to get together. That was my interpretation of the rule."
It was Gibbons' second ejection in two games for the disappointing Blue Jays, off to a 9-14 start after bulking up their roster during the off-season.
With one out and a runner on first, Ben Francisco hit a soft grounder on the grass in front of third. Brett Lawrie fielded and made a low throw that first base umpire Chad Fairchild initially said first baseman Edwin Encarnacion made a clean scoop and Francisco was out.
But Kellogg, who was the second base umpire, felt he had a better view of the play than Fairchild. He called the group together and overturned the call. TV replays showed Encarnacion trapped the ball and didn't have possession.
"My sense was that the ball was resting on the ground and his glove was around the top of the ball," Kellogg said.
Gibbons argued with Kellogg, tossed his hat and was ejected for the 22nd time in his career.
Gibbons added: "You kind of wish they had done that when Galarraga was pitching the perfect game."
He was referring to Detroit's Armando Galarraga, who lost a perfect game in 2010 on a blown call at first base with two outs in the ninth inning.
Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer, Vernon Wells homered again against Mark Buehrle and Francisco Cervelli also connected for New York, which beat the Blue Jays for the third time within a week. The Yankees took two of three in a weekend series in Toronto.
Derek Jeter, out until probably mid-July because of a broken ankle, watched a no-frills New York lineup improve to 12-9. The Yankees captain said he was meeting some of his teammates for the first time.
Hiroki Kuroda (3-1) settled after giving up homers to Encarnacion and Lawrie in the first two innings, giving up six hits and three runs in six innings. He didn't allow a hit after Munenori Kawasaki doubled with two outs in the second.
"All I thought about was, 'Just hang in there,'" said Kuroda, through a translator, of his poor start.
Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson each pitched a scoreless inning, and Mariano Rivera was perfect in the ninth for his seventh save in seven chances.
The game drew 31,445, the fourth time this month a record low has been set at new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.
The left-handed Buehrle, pitching against Kuroda for the second time within a week, struggled against a team that came in hitting .199 against lefties, yielding five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. Buehrle (1-1) has lost seven straight decisions against the Yankees dating to 2004 with the Chicago White Sox and is 1-9 in 14 starts against New York.
Encarnacion hit a two-run drive in the first, and Lawrie led off the second with a flyball into the second row of the short porch in right field for his first home run of the season.
Wells, a former Toronto star who was among the players New York acquired in March, homered leading off the second with a drive just beyond the 408-ft mark in centre field. Wells is 24 for 50 (.480) against Buehrle.
Jayson Nix and Brett Gardner reached on singles, and Cano sent a long drive to right-centre for his seventh homer of the year.
"It was a fastball in, he hit it out," Buehrle said. "He's a great hitter and he hit out. That's the thing about this game that sometimes makes it frustrating. They get two infield hits, and I put it right where I want to and it's three runs."
Cervelli homered to deep left in the fourth.
NOTES: The Blue Jays placed 1B Adam Lind on the paternity list and recalled RHP Brad Lincoln from Triple-A Buffalo. Lincoln pitched a scoreless inning. ... Toronto LHP Ricky Romero is scheduled to start Saturday, his first outing since his demotion during spring training to work on his mechanics. He'll pitch for Class A Dunedin.
