Giancarlo Stanton hit a long home run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the host New York Yankees overcame an early four-run deficit to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 in a rain-shortened game Friday night.
Stanton capped the comeback from the early hole when he drove a 1-2 fastball from Luis Santos 431 feet into a standing-room section in right-center field above New York’s bullpen.
A few minutes after Stanton’s 31st homer, the game was delayed by rain. After the 85-minute delay, the game ended.
Slumping Gleyber Torres drove in the tiebreaking run in the fifth off Joe Biagini when the Yankees manufactured their way into a 6-5 lead. With runners at first and third following a hit-and-run single by Miguel Andujar, Torres hit a hard ground ball to shortstop Richard Urena.
Urena recorded the force play, but Torres beat the throw from second baseman Devon Travis as Aaron Hicks scored to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead.
Neil Walker hit a three-run home run in the fourth for the Yankees, who rebounded from scoring two runs in their previous two losses to Tampa Bay.
Didi Gregorius hit an RBI triple and Andujar roped a run-scoring double in the first as the Yankees beat Toronto for the 10th time in 14 meetings.
Kendrys Morales and Kevin Pillar hit RBI singles for the Blue Jays, who encountered their third consecutive rain delay. After being delayed by 2 hours, 14 minutes Thursday in Kansas City, Toronto reached the New York area around 6 a.m. ET Friday.
Aledmys Diaz hit a two-run single to cap the four-run first inning, and Travis hit a tying single in the fifth that knocked out starting pitcher Lance Lynn.
The Blue Jays lost for the eighth time in 12 games after general manager Ross Atkins said manager John Gibbons would finish the remainder of the season.
Lynn endured the worst of his three starts as a Yankee, allowing five runs on six hits in four-plus innings. Chad Green pitched two scoreless innings and earned the win. David Robertson pitched a scoreless seventh for his third save.