Yankees' Domingo German dominates Blue Jays in victory

July 13 (UPI) -- New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German pitched six shutout innings in his second start since returning from the injured list last week.

German struck out seven Blue Jays hitters and scattered three hits in the Yankees' 4-0 victory at Yankee Stadium. The 26-year-old right-hander threw 54 of his 78 pitches for strikes before handing the ball to reliever Tommy Kahnle.

"You always want to be economical out there," German said. "You want to go as deep as you can in a game. Coming back from the injury, I knew I didn't have that many pitches. I tried to make an effort to get through the innings as quickly as possible."

German missed a month with a left hip injury. He started the season 9-1 with a 2.60 ERA but was placed on the injured list after three straight subpar efforts.

German moved to 11-2 with a 3.40 ERA after Friday's victory. He has 90 strikeouts in 82 innings in his first full year as a Major League starter.

"He's got pretty nasty stuff," teammate Brett Gardner said. "Just his composure out there; he acts like he's been here before. No situation is too big for him."

New York is 58-31 this season. The first-place Yankees have a 6 1/2 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East Division.