NEW YORK — The New York Yankees edged the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, pulling within three games of first place in the American League East.
A second-inning error by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. opened the door for New York. Cody Bellinger’s throw home in the sixth inning kept the lead safe. The bullpen handled the final three innings to lock down the win.
The Yankees (79-63) snapped Toronto’s four-game winning streak and improved to 4-8 against the Blue Jays this year. Toronto (82-60) still held the division lead, but the gap tightened.
Luis Gil threw six innings for New York, giving up one run on three hits and four walks. Chris Bassitt was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs in five-plus innings.
Guerrero error sparks Yankees rally in second
New York struck in the second inning after Guerrero failed to handle Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s grounder at first. The ball bounced off his glove and rolled into short right field, putting two runners on with no outs.
Jasson Dominguez followed with a single to center to score the first run. Dominguez entered the matchup 6-for-9 with three extra-base hits against Bassitt in past meetings.
Austin Wells added another run with a sacrifice fly to right, giving the Yankees a 2-0 edge after two innings.
“I feel at this point, every win is pretty big,” Bellinger said. “Especially when it comes against competition like the Blue Jays.”
Bellinger throws out tying run at plate
Toronto threatened in the sixth. Bo Bichette doubled with one out, and Nathan Lukes singled to right, sending Bichette toward the plate.
Bellinger charged the ball and uncorked a 95.3 mph throw to Wells. The catcher slapped on the tag to end the inning and keep the Yankees ahead 2-1.
“I got a good jump on it,” Bellinger said. “With two outs, I assumed they would be aggressive. I just wanted to make a good throw to Wells there. He did a good job of getting the ball and putting the tag on.”
Rain began falling during the play, leading to a 106-minute delay right after.
“I just wanted to ideally make a nice one-hop to him,” Bellinger said. “I thought he did a good job of getting the ball and putting the tag on.”
Yankees add insurance run after rain delay
The long delay ended Bassitt’s night after 80 pitches. New York pounced once play resumed.
Dominguez walked with one out. Anthony Volpe doubled to right-center, moving Dominguez to third. Wells hit his second sacrifice fly of the game to make it 3-1.
Wells now leads the majors with 11 sacrifice flies this year.
Bullpen closes out victory
Luke Weaver, Fernando Cruz and David Bednar combined for three scoreless innings to finish the game. Bednar struck out three of four batters to earn his 21st save.
“I don’t think there’s a bullpen better than us,” Cruz said. “We just need to come together and identify who needs to pitch and when and it’s over. It’s gonna be a short game.”
Though shaky at times this year, the bullpen delivered when needed.
“I still feel like our best is in front of us from a bullpen standpoint,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We have the ability down there. It’s about getting these guys in position to be successful.”
Gil works around control issues
Luis Gil allowed four walks but limited Toronto to three hits across six innings. He escaped trouble in the fourth after walking the first two batters.
The Blue Jays scored their lone run in that inning when the Yankees couldn’t turn a double play on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s grounder up the middle.
“I’m getting back to where I want to be,” Gil said through interpreter Marlon Abreu. “The good thing is I’m continuing to win, even if things aren’t exactly how I’d want.”
Division race tightens
The win helped the Yankees keep pace in the AL Wild Card while cutting into Toronto’s lead. New York had dropped seven of eight to Toronto before Saturday.
“We know what’s at stake,” Boone said. “We know how important these games are. But you also can’t make them bigger than what they are. It’s a game we’ve got to go play well, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The series wraps Sunday with Max Fried on the mound.
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