Yanks rally, then hold breath before Bednar nails it down to open ALDS rematch

NEW YORK – The Yankees had scattered to the winds last autumn, watching from living-room couches and elsewhere as the Blue Jays continued their postseason journey. With each passing inning, they became more steadfastly convinced that it could have been – should have been – them on that stage.

Tied atop the American League East with 94 victories, their head-to-head issues with Toronto tipped the tiebreaker in determining the division crown. They believed those results would flip with more chances, but until they proved it, that was just talk.

Their first look at the defending AL champions produced a fresh result. Cody Bellinger bounced a game-tying two-run homer off the top of the center-field wall, Jazz Chisholm Jr. clipped the left-field foul pole with a go-ahead shot and David Bednar bent but did not break as the Yankees rallied for a 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday evening at Yankee Stadium.

After blowing a three-run lead in Sunday’s loss to the Mets, Bednar entered in the ninth Monday to protect a 7-5 lead. Bednar allowed one run on a pinch-hit double by Jesús Sánchez and issued a one-out walk to Yohendrick Piñango, but he rebounded to strike out George Springer and retire Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a ground ball to Chisholm to earn his 11th save.

• Cole's next start could be in Bronx after touching 99.6 mph at Triple-A

Both Yankees homers came in the seventh inning off Yariel Rodríguez as New York returned home for a week-long homestand against division rivals, looking to shrug off what manager Aaron Boone described as a “terrible” 2-7 road trip. The Yankees are willing to try whatever it takes; as Chisholm proudly showed, he was wearing Giancarlo Stanton’s baggy pants for the blast.

Paul Goldschmidt launched Patrick Corbin’s first pitch for a leadoff homer. The advantage didn’t last; Ernie Clement, one of the Jays’ most productive hitters in last year’s playoffs, put Toronto on top with a three-run blast off starter Ryan Weathers in the fourth inning.

The Yanks got those runs back, with Anthony Volpe deftly sliding around a tag on J.C. Escarra’s sacrifice fly and Goldschmidt banging a run-scoring double off the right-field wall. Springer responded in the fifth with a solo blast, and Clement knocked in another run with a fielder’s choice in the sixth.

Last year, Toronto won eight of the 13 regular-season meetings against the Yankees, then ended New York’s season in a four-game AL Division Series.