DJ LeMahieu’s return to relevance continued Sunday with a game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th.
It came against a drawn-in five-man infield after Trent Grisham moved free runner Anthony Volpe to third with a sacrifice bunt to start the inning.
LeMahieu, slumping all year, had a career-high six-RBI game Wednesday against the Phillies and continued his heroics Sunday to end a 4-3, 10-inning win in The Bronx.
Mark Leiter Jr., who got the final out of the ninth, retired Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer to start the top of the 10th before he hit Daulton Varsho with a pitch.
But he recovered to whiff Alejandro Kirk.
They don’t play a game against a team with a winning record again until Aug. 20, when they host the AL Central-leading Guardians, who currently have the best record in baseball.
Gerrit Cole also delivered a mostly encouraging start in his first appearance since being scratched Tuesday with general body fatigue and having his start pushed back five days.
Cole allowed two runs in 5 ²/₃ innings.
The afternoon got off to a rough start for the Yankees, who left the bases loaded without scoring in the bottom of the first thanks to a Giancarlo Stanton strikeout and a lineout to shortstop by Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Cole faltered in the second, as Toronto had four straight hard-hit balls to start the inning.
Kirk doubled with one out and scored on Addison Barger’s two-bagger.
An RBI single by Ernie Clement gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.
Guerrero opened the third with another double off Cole, but was thrown out at third when he made a half-hearted attempt to steal.
Cole then settled down. After Guerrero’s double, he retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced and didn’t allow another hit before being pulled in the sixth.
The Yankees were blanked into the fifth by first-year right-hander Yasiel Rodriguez. He was pulled after 76 pitches and no one on in the fifth.
Left-hander Brendon Little entered ,after retiring Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in an appearance on Friday, he walked Soto and then walked Aaron Judge intentionally in front of Austin Wells.
Little then walked Wells on four pitches.
But with the bases loaded, Zach Pop came in and struck out Giancarlo Stanton.
The offense got going in the sixth, as Chisholm and Volpe opened with singles against Pop.
With Grisham at the plate, Chisholm and Volpe executed a double steal and Grisham’s bouncer to first scored Chisholm to make it 2-1 and move Volpe to third for LeMahieu, whose sacrifice fly to center tied the game.
Soto put the Yankees ahead with his 28th homer of the season, an opposite-field shot to the visiting bullpen in left-center.
But in the top of the eighth, Tommy Kahnle gave up a routine fly ball to left-center by Joey Loperfido to leadoff the inning.
Grisham was in position to make the catch, but with Aaron Judge charging over from left, Grisham dropped the ball for a two-base error.
A pair of one-out walks loaded the bases and Clay Holmes entered and gave up a game-tying sacrifice fly to Kirk.
