LaberFred » Citadel to overcome.We werent as sharp on offense,

TORONTO -- One playoff avenue closed for the New York Yankees. Their second may soon slide shut, as well.Francisco Liriano and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, Troy Tulowitzki had four RBI and the Toronto Blue Jays routed the Yankees 9-0 Friday night to maintain a one-game lead in the AL wild-card standings.New York lost for the ninth time in 12 games, following a seven-game winning streak, and was eliminated from contention in the AL East.The Yankees are four games behind Detroit for the second wild care with nine games left.Things are kind of slipping away at this point, outfielder Brett Gardner said. Were not out of it, but were definitely not in a good position.Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer and Edwin Encarnacion got his 124th RBI, tied with Bostons David Ortiz for the AL lead, as the Blue Jays won their sixth straight home game over New York.Toronto has won five of eight after going 3-9 starting September.Gary Sanchez had two hits for the Yankees, who were shut out for the second straight night and the fifth time this month. New York has gone 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position in their last two games and stranded 17 runners.Its not what you want, manager Joe Girardi said. Its frustrating.Girardis frustration was plainly evident. He cut short his postgame media session and angrily walked out of his office following a question about bullpen usage.Liriano (8-13) escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Chase Headley to end a 27-pitch first inning, then left runners at the corners after the first two batters reached in the third. That was the start of a stretch that saw the left-hander retire nine straight.Liriano allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six for his second win with Toronto.Liriano was was really, really good, manager John Gibbons said. Hes got one of the better arms in baseball.Reliever Joaquin Benoit walked Aaron Hicks to begin the seventh but pinch-hitter Brian McCann grounded into a double play. Brett Cecil worked the eighth and Danny Barnes finished.Tulowitzki opened the scoring with a two-out, bases-loaded single off Bryan Mitchell (1-2) in the first and Encarnacion made it 3-0 with a bases-loaded walk in the second.Mitchell allowed three runs -- one earned -- and six hits in six innings.Jose Bautista hit a two-run double off Blake Parker in the seventh and Tulowitzki added a second two-run single.Donaldson homered off Ben Heller in the eighth, his 36th.DECISION PENDINGGirardi said he has not decided who will start in place of RHP Masahiro Tanaka (strained forearm) in Mondays series finale. Tanaka leads the American League with a 3.07 ERA.HAL AND THE BABY BOMBERSYankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner watched some of New Yorks top prospects work out Friday at instructional league in Tampa, Florida. Steinbrenner also looked at the on-going multi-million renovation project at the Yankees minor league complex, which includes new indoor hitting and pitching cages, and clubhouse improvements.FALL LEAGUEThe updated list of Yankees set to play in the Arizona Fall League are RHPs Dillon Tate, Brody Koerner and J.P. Feyereisen, INFs Greg Bird, Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres, and OF Tyler Wade.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: 2B Starlin Castro (right hamstring) hit in the cage before the game and plans to run on the field Saturday. Manager Joe Girardi said he does not expect Castro to return during the series against Toronto.UP NEXTNew York LHP CC Sabathia (8-12, 4.19) faces RHP Marcus Stroman (9-9, 4.50) Saturday. Sabathia, who will start on five days rest, is 3-8 with a 5.49 ERA in his past 17 starts. Stroman has lost his past four starts and is winless since Aug. 14. Terry McLaurin Youth Jersey . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Joe Theismann Womens Jersey . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Da-Ron-Payne-Jersey/ .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Derrius Guice Womens Jersey . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Charles Mann Youth Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- It was North Carolinas strangest blowout win in a long time.Mitch Trubisky passed for 184 yards and three touchdowns to help the Tar Heels beat The Citadel 41-7 on Saturday.T.J. Logan had a touchdown catch and a 100-yard kickoff return for a score for North Carolina (8-3), which forced a season-high four turnovers.We were worried about that football team, North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. We knew they were a really good football team, that they would control the clock and that our guys were going to have to steal a few possessions. Defensively, we did that.North Carolina won even though its high-octane offense was quiet for much of the day. The Tar Heels converted just 1 of 8 third downs and were outgained by the Bulldogs 371-356.Perhaps most surprisingly, the Tar Heels intercepted a pass.Dominquie Green ended North Carolinas interception drought when he picked off a pass and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. The Tar Heels had been the only FBS team not to intercept a pass this season.Ryan Switzer added a 72-yard touchdown as North Carolina won for the 11th time in its last 12 home games.The Citadel (10-1) rushed for 344 yards, possessed the ball for more than 42 minutes and ran 33 more plays than North Carolina.Grant Drakeford had a 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs, whose school-record 10-game winning streak came to an end.We were nowhere near playing where we wanted today, Citadel coach Brent Thompson said. We needed a day like today to remind us that if you dont play well and you turn the ball over and you make a lot of mistakes, youre not going to win very many football games.THE TAKEAWAYThe Citadel: The Bulldogs stumbled in their stiffest test of the season to date. Lacking an effective passingg attack, they were unable to rally after falling behind early.ddddddddddddThe Citadel must try to avoid similar circumstances in the postseason as opponents load up to try to stop its vaunted running game.North Carolina: Coming off a deflating loss and playing an undefeated opponent with an unconventional offense, the Tar Heels won a dangerous game without much difficulty. Their advantages in speed and overall talent were too much for The Citadel to overcome.We werent as sharp on offense, but we picked it up in other areas, Trubisky said.HE SAID ITFedora h oad grown tired of talking about his teams lack of interceptions, but he cracked a joke about the end of the streak.I was told that were the only team in the country that has returned all of their interceptions for touchdowns, he said. Thats a pretty big deal right there, I would think.HIGHLIGHT REELLogans 23-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter was impressive. He ran through the middle of the defense uncovered, and it appeared that Trubisky threw the ball too far in front of him. But Logan dived and speared the ball with his right hand before rolling over with control of it in the end zone. His kick return for a score to begin the second half was his school-record fourth kickoff return for a touchdown.UP NEXTThe Citadel: The Bulldogs will play in the FCS playoffs after earning the automatic berth from the Southern Conference.North Carolina: Still alive for the ACCs Coastal Division title, the Tar Heels host rival N.C. State on Friday. North Carolina needs to win and needs Virginia Tech to lose at home to Virginia in order to play in the conference championship game for the second year in a row. ' ' '