New York @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2015 ) NY Yankees 6, Toronto 4

Following Monday's series-opening loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said his club had to win the next two games to have any chance of claiming the American League East title. New York eked out a 6-4 victory Tuesday and looks to inch closer to the first-place Blue Jays in Wednesday's rubber match in Toronto.

Rookie Greg Bird, playing every day after first baseman Mark Teixeira was lost for the season, has homered in three consecutive games and gone deep five times in the last seven contests. Bird has seven RBIs in the last three games after belting a tiebreaking three-run shot in the 10th inning Tuesday to draw the Yankees within 2 1/2 games of Toronto. Carlos Beltran has homered twice and knocked in seven runs in the last four contests for New York while Edwin Encarnacion has five blasts in the past 10 games for the Blue Jays. Toronto sends Marcus Stroman to the mound to oppose Ivan Nova in the series finale.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, ESPN, YES (New York), RSN (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Ivan Nova (6-8, 5.11 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Marcus Stroman (2-0, 3.00)

Nova was removed from the starting rotation after he was battered by the Blue Jays for six runs in 1 2/3 innings on Sept. 12, but Masahiro Tanaka's injury opened the door for him to make another start. Nova has permitted at least three runs in seven consecutive starts, which includes back-to-back outings against Toronto on Aug. 8 and 14. He split a pair of decisions against the Jays, winning at Toronto with seven innings of three-run ball.

Stroman will make his third start since returning from surgery on a torn ACL sustained during spring training. The former first-round draft pick won his season debut against the Yankees on Sept. 12, allowing three runs on four hits over five innings to improve to 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA in four career starts against New York. Stroman was much sharper in his last turn against Boston, going seven innings and yielding one run on six hits.

WALK-OFFS

1. Bird, who is riding a seven-game hitting streak, has clubbed six go-ahead homers since Aug. 19.

2. Encarnacion gave Toronto three players with at least 35 homers, the first team to accomplish that since the Chicago White Sox in 2006.

3. Beltran has 390 career homers, tying him for 60th on the all-time list with former Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles.

PREDICTION: Yankees 4, Blue Jays 3