Toronto @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 17, 2016 ) Toronto 7, NY Yankees 4

The New York Yankees finally found a way to score on Sunday and ended up winning their most important game of the season up to that point. The host Yankees will kick off their next most important series of the season as they try to keep their wild-card hopes alive in the opener of a three-game series against the American League East-leading Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

New York failed to score in back-to-back losses to Baltimore on Friday and Saturday but got on the board early Sunday and earned a 5-2 win to pull within 3 1/2 games of the second AL wild card. The Yankees are still having some trouble generating offense – all six of their hits on Sunday were singles – but are opening up a 10-game homestand on Monday and are slightly better (.257 batting average versus .248) in their own building. The Blue Jays avoided a sweep themselves with a 5-3 win at Tampa Bay on Sunday and moved one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the East. Toronto took two of three at New York last month and will work to avoid overlooking the Yankees with a series looming against the Red Sox this weekend.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Toronto), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (9-13, 4.43 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (11-4, 3.12)

Dickey was held out of the decision in his last start, when he was reached for five runs – three earned – on six hits and three walks in six innings against Minnesota on Aug. 28. The knuckleballer is struggling with his consistency this season but is at least keeping the ball in the yard of late with one home run allowed in his last five starts. Dickey started at New York on Aug. 15 and was on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision after yielding one run in five frames.

Tanaka had a four-start winning streak come to an end with a no-decision at Kansas City on Tuesday, when he was lifted after five innings and 71 pitches due to an extended rain delay. The Japan native was coming off back-to-back scoreless outings in which he totaled 14 2/3 innings and notched 14 strikeouts with one walk. Tanaka faced Toronto twice in the first half and went 0-1 despite allowing a total of three earned runs in 11 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Yankees SS Didi Gregorius (forearm, wrist) sat out Sunday and is day-to-day.

2. Toronto RF Jose Bautista is 2-for-14 with five strikeouts in the last three games.

3. New York RF Aaron Judge has three hits and 23 strikeouts in his last 12 games.

PREDICTION: Yankees 6, Blue Jays 2