TORONTO _ Those who hope to see Luis Severino and J.A. Happ anchoring the Yankees' playoff rotation saw neither pitcher close to his best on Saturday afternoon.
By the time Happ had thrown five pitches, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge had hit back-to-back homers, part of a forgettable 22/3-inning outing by the left-hander in the Yankees' 8-5 victory over the Blue Jays in front of 44,352 at Rogers Centre.
Severino lifted his record to 14-2 but allowed two home runs in his five innings and left after throwing 97 pitches.
The victory potentially was a costly one for the Yankees. Center fielder Aaron Hicks left the game in the fifth inning with what the team called "cramping" in his left leg. Then closer Aroldis Chapman, who has been dealing with tendinitis in his left knee for at least a month, left after striking out the first batter he faced in the ninth. There was no immediate word on either player.
Happ, 35, very much a trade deadline target of the Yankees as they try to upgrade their starting rotation, was charged with six runs and allowed four hits and six walks. Because of the lack of quality starters available, Happ will remain very much in demand, though Saturday's performance made it 20 earned runs allowed in his last four starts, pushing his season ERA to 4.44.
Severino wasn't at his best, but he remains very much among the favorites to be the American League's starter in the All-Star Game. The right-hander, who was 11-1 with a 1.70 ERA in his previous 15 starts, allowed three runs and five hits and saw his ERA rise from 1.98 to 2.12. Kevin Pillar hit a two-run homer in the second to bring the Blue Jays within 4-2 and Randal Grichuk hit a solo shot in the fourth to make it 7-3.
Even without his best stuff, Severino made it 16 consecutive starts in which he's allowed three or fewer runs, the longest such streak by a Yankee since 1920.
Righty Jonathan Holder, who entered the game with a 0.28 ERA in 26 appearances since being recalled on April 21, allowed a run in the sixth that made it 7-4.
David Robertson and Dellin Betances each pitched a scoreless inning, and after Chapman departed, Chasen Shreve allowed a homer to Aledmys Diaz with two outs in the ninth to make it 8-5.
It took Happ 20 pitches to record his first out and 60 pitches to record his fifth out. Five pitches into the afternoon, the Yankees (57-29) had a two-run lead.
Gardner jumped on a first-pitch fastball and sent it into the seats in right-center for his sixth homer. Judge then sliced a 2-and-1 fastball to right-center, a touch short of where Gardner's landed, for his 25th homer and a 2-0 lead. It was Judge's sixth homer in his last nine games.
Happ walked Giancarlo Stanton and Hicks, then seemed to settle in, striking out Miguel Andujar and Didi Gregorius. But Brandon Drury, who got the start at second, dumped a single to center that bounced over the head of a hard-charging Pillar, resulting in a two-run double that made it 4-0. Curtis Granderson made a diving backhand catch in deep left field to rob Kyle Higashioka of an extra-base hit and end the 34-pitch inning.
The Yankees added three runs in the third to take a 7-2 lead.
After Didi Gregorius led off with a walk, Happ retired Drury on a flyout and struck out Higashioka on a pitch in the lower part of the strike zone, prompting CC Sabathia to yell at plate umpire Lance Barrett, who ejected him. After Happ walked Bird, John Gibbons brought on righty Jake Petricka to face Gardner, and the Blue Jays manager, himself angry with the strike zone, was summarily ejected by Barrett.
Gardner then laced a 1-and-0 fastball into the gap in left-center for a two-run triple, and he scored on a passed ball.
Andujar doubled and Gregorius singled him home in the ninth to make it 8-4.
