Mark Teixeira hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and Aaron Hicks added a game-winning blast as the Yankees avoided a four-game sweep, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 on Monday night.
Leading 3-2 heading to the ninth, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons called on Jason Grilli (7-6) to close it out because Roberto Osuna was unavailable after pitching the previous two days.
Teixeira tied it 3-all with a one-out drive into the second deck drive in right. After flipping his bat, Teixeira yelled "Blown save!" at Grilli after returning to the dugout.
Didi Gregorius singled and Hicks followed with a two-run homer.
New York scored five runs in a bat-around ninth, matching their total from the 35 previous innings in the series.
After Dellin Betances loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half, Tommy Layne, the eighth Yankees pitcher of the game, came on and got Josh Donaldson to fly out. Edwin Encarnacion drove in a run with a walk and pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro delivered a bloop single, making it 7-5. Layne forced Darwin Barney out at home plate on Russell Martin's grounder, then wrapped up his first save by getting Troy Tulowitzki to foul out.
Adam Warren (7-5) worked two innings for the win.
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Toronto still leads the AL wild card race, one game ahead of Baltimore. The Orioles were off Monday.
In a testy, emotional game, four Yankees coaches and players were ejected following two benches-clearing incidents in the first two innings.
Yankees starter Luis Severino was ejected in the second inning after hitting Justin Smoak, sparking the second melee.
The scrap came after Toronto left-hander J.A. Happ threw consecutive inside pitches to Chase Headley in the top of the inning, hitting him with the second. That led to a warning from plate umpire Todd Tichenor.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected for arguing the warning. New York pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bench coach Rob Thomson were ejected along with Severino following the second melee.
Donaldson, hit on the elbow by a pitch from Severino in the bottom of the first, walked in from his position and exchanged words with the New York dugout after Headley was hit.
Both benches and bullpens cleared that time, too, but no punches were thrown.
Making his first start since Aug. 14 in place of injured right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (right forearm), Severino was on a limit of 50 pitches. Instead, he was ejected after throwing his 34th. Severino allowed one run and one hit, walked two and struck out one.
New York's late rally denied Happ his 21st win. Happ allowed two runs and six hits in 7 1-3 innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: After sitting out the past seven games with a sore right hamstring, 2B Starlin Castro pinch hit for Ronald Torreyes in the eighth. Donovan Solano replaced Castro in the field. ... Tanaka will be examined by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad when the Yankees return home Monday. Tanaka has not thrown in the past five days.
UP NEXT
Yankees: LHP Luis Cessa (4-3, 4.30) starts against Red Sox LHP David Price (17-8, 3.91) as New York begins its final homestand of the season. Cessa has lost his past three starts and is winless since Aug. 26.
Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (13-2, 3.12) starts Tuesday as Toronto opens a pivotal three-game series against wild card rival Baltimore. RHP Kevin Gausman (8-11, 3.57) starts for the Orioles. Sanchez has not received a decision in any of his past three starts, with Toronto losing all three.
