NEW YORK -- Over five seasons with the Blue Jays, Justin Smoak has always had a sense for the moment.

Smoak rises to the occasion in the tightest and latest moments of games, and he had at least one more of those moments left in his bat on Friday night at Yankee Stadium, as the veteran first baseman launched a two-run shot to right-center in the seventh inning to put the Blue Jays ahead for a 4-3 win over the Yankees.

The Blue Jays have won five games in a row, which ties a season high from July 28-Aug. 2.

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Smoak's 2019 stat line has looked more like his days with the Mariners than his days with Toronto, where he broke out with a 38-homer season and All-Star debut in 2017. His average hasn't touched .220 since July 5, but his team-leading 78 walks and 22 home runs have helped to keep his bat in the lineup. A steady glove and the unwavering respect of his young teammates as the clubhouse's quiet leader don't hurt, either.

"You know what's funny?" manager Charlie Montoyo said after the game. "Right before he went to hit, I told [pitching coach Pete Walker] to get [Sam Gaviglio] going because, if [Smoak] goes deep here, [Buddy] Boshers faces one guy and then Sammy's got the rest. [Walker] just made the phone call and Smoak went deep. It was a pretty cool moment for us in the dugout."

Smoak still owns the high-pressure moments like he always has, though, which isn't surprising for one of the more even-keeled players in baseball. Of Smoak's 191 career home runs, 51 have put his team ahead and, over the past three seasons, he's hit 21 homers in the ninth inning or later. That's seven more than any other hitter in Major League Baseball, with Mike Moustakas (14) closest.

"I think it just happens to be that, late in games the last few years, I've come up big," Smoak said. "Honestly, it's tough to do that because late in games these days, those guys are the best in the game. For me, I've just got to go out there and keep grinding through at-bats. Late in games, for some reason, I've been able to square some balls up."

Starter Jacob Waguespack was challenged with facing a great Yankees lineup in back-to-back starts and pushed through five innings after going just 3 2/3 last week at home. Waguespack opened with three scoreless innings, mixing in three strikeouts and plenty of weak contact, before Aaron Judge took him deep in the fourth inning for New York's first hit of the night.

Waguespack gave up a two-run shot to Tyler Wade in the fifth but stayed aggressive throughout, finishing the night with six strikeouts. The game plan to attack hitters early was similar to his strategy the last time out, but Waguespack executed better this time, hitting spots early in counts and keeping his misses out of the heart of the plate more consistently.

"My big adjustment was trying to stay a little taller and be more directional towards the plate," Waguespack said. "It's a common thing for me to adjust on each outing. That was my goal going in, and throwing strikes. It's a lot easier whenever you can get ahead and put guys away earlier, rather than fighting back from behind in counts."