New York @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 14, 2015 ) NY Yankees 4, Toronto 3

One swing of the bat can turn the balance in the American League East, and Carlos Beltran proved as much on Friday. The first-place New York Yankees will try to put some distance between themselves and the Toronto Blue Jays and earn a series win when they visit for the second of a three-game set on Saturday.

The Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning on Friday, but Chase Headley chased starter David Price with an RBI double and Beltran greeted reliever Aaron Sanchez with a three-run blast as New York claimed a 4-3 win and took a half-game lead in the East. The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for Toronto, which had erased an eight-game deficit in the East over the previous two weeks. The two teams will play eight more times this season as they go back and forth down the stretch. The Blue Jays swept New York last weekend and will send one of those starters to the mound again when Marco Estrada goes for his second straight win over Masahiro Tanaka.

TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (New York), RSN (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (8-5, 3.79 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Marco Estrada (10-6, 3.21)

Tanaka has a tendency to give up home runs and was hurt by the long ball on Sunday, when he was reached for solo blasts by Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista over six innings in a 2-0 loss to Toronto. The Japan native has surrendered eight blasts in his last five outings. Tanaka is 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in five career starts against the Blue Jays while yielding five blasts in 28 1/3 total frames.

Estrada got the better of Tanaka on Sunday by holding New York to three hits while striking out six in 6 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. The former Milwaukee Brewer is looking for his fourth straight win after yielding a total of three runs and eight hits in 18 2/3 innings over is previous three turns. Estrada was not as strong at Yankee Stadium on May 5, when he was reached for five runs (four earned) and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings to absorb the loss.

WALK-OFFS

1. Beltran’s pinch-hit blast on Friday extended his hitting streak to nine games.

2. Toronto went without a homer on Friday, snapping a streak of 12 straight games with at least one blast.

3. New York OF Chris Young is 0-for-15 over his last six games.

PREDICTION: Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4