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Buehrle still winless vs Yankees in over a decade

By WTOP Staff

BEN WALKER
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Buehrle took a few steps off the mound, turned around and didn’t bother to watch Jacoby Ellsbury’s home run sail deep to right field.

He’s seen this all too often.

Buehrle lost his 12th straight decision to the New York Yankees, a winless streak that’s over a decade after the Toronto Blue Jays fell 5-3 Friday night for their season-worst sixth straight loss.

“That is the way it goes, it is almost getting to the point where you want to laugh it off,” he said.

Buehrle, who has pitched a perfect game and has 198 career victories, dropped to 0-4 against the Yankees this season and 1-14 overall.

“They have Buehrle’s number,” manager John Gibbons summed up.

Buehrle (12-10) hasn’t beaten the Yankees in 17 starts since April 2004. His losing streak against New York is the longest by any pitcher against a single opponent since Bobby Witt dropped 12 in a row to Cleveland from 1991-99, STATS said.

Buehrle gave up five runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings. He has at least one start left, and needs to pitch six more innings to reach 200 for the 14th straight year.

The left-hander was the first pitcher to earn 10 wins this season, doing it on June 1 and helping Toronto take the AL East lead, but that was long ago.

“I do not know where to pinpoint where things went wrong this year,” he said. “We had streaks where we could be in the playoff standings, looking like the best team in baseball, then we had weeks where we looked like the worse team in baseball.”

New York won its third in a row to preserve its faint AL wild-card hopes.

Ellsbury opened with a double off the wall and Derek Jeter and Brian McCann followed with singles, a rough start for Buehrle. Ellsbury’s two-run shot made it 3-2 in the third.

The cheers for Jeter kept getting louder and louder during his final homestand, and fans chanted his name throughout the ninth inning.

Jeter delivered two singles, giving him back-to-back multihit games for the first time since late July. The retiring captain later hit a long fly that really got the crowd hollering before it was caught on the warning track.

The 40-year-old shortstop also alertly tricked speedy Jose Reyes off second by bluffing a throw to first, trapping him in a rundown. Reyes doubled twice and singled, and also made a throwing error.

Ellsbury drove in three runs. He hustled to beat a double-play relay as the Yankees took a 5-2 lead in the fourth inning, and left before the fifth with a strained right hamstring.

Hiroki Kuroda (11-9) gave up Edwin Encarnacion’s two-run homer off the left-field foul pole in the first, and little else.

Reliever Esmil Rogers, who was waived twice this season by Toronto, retired Encarnacion on a bases-loaded grounder to end the seventh. Adam Warren pitched 1 2-3 innings for his third save.

NICE JOB, KID

Canadian rookie Dalton Pompey got his first major league hit for Toronto in the second. Jeter got the ball back from the outfield and tossed it into the dugout, then gave the 21-year-old newcomer a slap on the back when the inning ended.

“He said ‘Congrats, I hope for a great career for you,'” Pompey said. “And I said, ‘Thanks, it is a pleasure to meet you.’ And he said, ‘Likewise, keep swinging it.’ So it was good words from him.”

“I just talked to Derek Jeter,” Pompey said. “Surreal, right?”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: Encarnacion had an MRI on his back before the game. Gibbons said it flared up this week in Baltimore.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: Rookie RHP Marcus Stroman (10-6, 3.80) starts on Saturday. He is currently appealing a six-game suspension imposed this week by Major League Baseball for throwing at the head of a Baltimore hitter in his last start. Gibbons said the team wants to get the matter resolved before the end of the season so there is no carry-over next year.

Yankees: LHP Chris Capuano (2-3, 4.55) is set to pitch against the Blue Jays for the sixth time this year. He faced them three times in relief with Boston, and has started twice against them for New York.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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