TORONTO — At least for one day, all was right again in the Yankees’ universe.
Aaron Judge continued to mash, crushing his 31st home run of the season. Juan Soto was a last-minute addition to the lineup after proving that his bruised right hand was healthy enough. And Gerrit Cole looked more like Gerrit Cole in his third and longest start of the season.
Heck, even the bottom of the order had itself a day.
All of it led to an 8-1 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre as the Yankees secured a split of the four-game set and avoided a fifth straight series loss.
Eight of nine Yankees in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit in a balanced attack, the second time in the last three games their offense has broken out against the Blue Jays (38-45).
Just minutes before first pitch, the Yankees (54-32) got a boost when Soto was inserted into the lineup after going through his pregame work to test out his hand and getting cleared to play.
It paid immediate dividends, as Soto lined a 106.3 mph single in his first at-bat and then came around to score as Judge demolished a Kevin Gausman fastball to center field for a two-run shot.
It marked the first time in the last 11 games that the Yankees struck first. They have shown a knack for coming back to win games this season, but they made it easier on themselves Sunday by taking a 2-0 lead instead of facing an early deficit.
Cole made sure it stood up as he tossed five innings of one-run ball while building his pitch count up to 90. After getting tagged for four home runs in a rough start against the Mets on Tuesday at Citi Field, the right-hander was much sharper, striking out six and walking only one.
Cole’s fastball velocity was also much steadier, averaging 95.8 mph, and for the most part he commanded it better, despite two of his fastest pitches hitting Danny Jansen and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Gausman appeared to retaliate to the Guerrero hit-by-pitch by hitting Judge with a fastball on his back in the fourth inning, but it never escalated from there.
Ben Rice had another strong day of at-bats, going 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI double, with both of his walks keying rallies.
Gleyber Torres also had his third straight multi-hit game since his two-day “reset,” while DJ LeMahieu had an encouraging day going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
The Yankees led 4-1 in the fifth inning when LeMahieu roped an RBI double to knock Gausman out of the game. Trent Grisham followed with a two-run double off lefty reliever Genesis Cabrera to break it open at 7-1.
