NEW YORK _ For the first time in three outings with the Yankees, Lance Lynn didn't have it.
Fortunately for him, an offense that had been swinging dead wood the previous two games found some pop to take Lynn off the hook Friday night at Yankee Stadium, leading to a 7-5 rain-shortened victory.
The Yankees, who had lost three of four and were 25-24 in their last 49 games coming in, led 7-5 when rain halted play with one out in the bottom of the seventh, just after Giancarlo Stanton hit his 31st homer of the season, a shot to right-center. After a delay of 1 hour 25 minutes and rain in the forecast for at least another couple of hours, the game was called.
"I've had no issue with the guys' focus and approach and preparation, but that urgency needs to continue to be there and maybe even heightened a little bit as we start to drive down the stretch here," Aaron Boone said before the game. "We need to get another roll where we're playing like we know we're capable of and right now I feel like we're battling through that a little bit."
The Yankees (76-46) stayed 10{ games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.
Trailing 4-2 entering the fourth against former Patchogue-Medford HS ace Marcus Stroman, who almost never pitches well at the Stadium, the Yankees took the lead on a three-run homer by Neil Walker.
After the Blue Jays (55-67) tied it in the top of the fifth, the Bombers took a 6-5 lead in the bottom half on a Gleyber Torres groundout.
Lynn, who came in 1-0 with a 0.54 ERA in three appearances with the Yankees (two starts), allowed four runs in the first inning en route to allowing five runs and six hits in four innings.
But Chad Green was terrific in relief, throwing two scoreless innings, and David Robertson struck out two in a perfect seventh.
Stroman, 2-5 with a 5.84 ERA in eight previous starts at the Stadium, allowed five runs and six hits in four innings. Friday made it seven straight Stadium starts in which Stroman failed to complete six innings.
The night did not have a promising start for the Yankees as the Blue Jays sent nine to the plate in a 37-pitch inning by Lynn.
Lynn, who had walked three in his most recent start, walked two of the first three batters he faced. The fourth, Kendrys Morales, inside-outed a 1-and-1 fastball down the leftfield line for an RBI single that made it 1-0. Left fielder Brett Gardner threw to second, where Justin Smoak made a too-wide turn, but Torres dropped the ball as he tagged Smoak. Lynn struck out Russell Martin for the second out, but Kevin Pillar flared one to right that landed in front of a sliding Walker for an RBI single that made it 2-0. Lynn walked Randal Grichuk to load the bases and Aledmys Diaz smacked a 0-and-1 fastball back up the middle for a two-run single that made it 4-0.
The Yankees came right back. Aaron Hicks walked with two outs in the bottom of the first, and when Didi Gregorius slashed a liner to left-center, center fielder Pillar took a bad angle on the ball, turning a single into an RBI triple as the ball rolled to the wall. Miguel Andujar then doubled to right to make it 4-2 and give him 56 extra-base hits, most among MLB rookies.
It stayed that way until the fourth. Torres, in a 2-for-26 skid, doubled with one out and Greg Bird, in a 7-for-56 slide, worked a 10-pitch walk. Up stepped Walker, who hammered a 0-and-1 fastball to right for his seventh homer.
Curtis Granderson led off the fifth with a double to left-center and Devon Travis smoked a grounder to first that Bird couldn't quite get his glove on for an RBI single that tied it at 5 and ended Lynn's night.
