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Don’t look now, but the Yankees are closing in on first place in the AL East after winning a series over the Blue Jays.
They drew to within two games of front-running Toronto with 19 games left after Sunday’s 4-3 victory in The Bronx.
It featured a gritty outing by Max Fried, who struggled in the second and third innings but settled in for seven strong innings in another solid start.
Ben Rice provided most of the offense with a three-run shot in the first.
And Devin Williams, who’s had a mostly miserable first season with the Yankees, pitched a scoreless eighth inning against the heart of Toronto’s order to preserve a one-run lead before David Bednar closed it for a second straight game.
The win put the Yankees 17 games over .500, matching their season high, as they won for the 11th time in 14 games since dropping three straight to Boston last month.
And the last time they were closer to first place was on July 3, shortly after they surrendered the division lead to Toronto.
Asked if the division title is within reach, Fried said, “It’s definitely there, but we’ve got to go out there and take care of business.”
He noted the Yankees are done playing Toronto for the regular season.
But their recent play has changed the narrative for a team that was 6 ½ games back just over two weeks ago.
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“We are in a position to go get it,’’ Aaron Boone said of catching the Blue Jays. “Now we’ve got to go do it.”
This one came with plenty of drama — all the way to the end, as Bednar gave up a one-out hit to Nathan Lukes, but Austin Wells threw him out trying to steal second and got Myles Straw to end it, keeping George Springer from getting another at-bat.
And Williams survived a leadoff single by pinch hitter Addison Barger — who then swiped second — by striking out Vladimir Guerrero Jr., getting Alejandro Kirk on a groundout and after a walk to Ernie Clement, got Ty France to ground to third.
The Yankees got most of their offense early on, as Rice’s three-run homer off Max Scherzer in the first came after a 10-pitch at-bat and they added a run in the third with an RBI double from Cody Bellinger that scored Aaron Judge, but didn’t get a hit the rest of the way.
The Blue Jays got back in the game with a pair of runs in the second, with Toronto again running on Judge, who was in right field, still feeling the effects of the flexor strain in his elbow.
Clement doubled in part because of Judge’s arm, which set up both runs in the inning, as Lukes’ fly ball to medium right field drove in Clement to make it 3-2.
Anthony Volpe followed with an excellent play to his right on Straw’s grounder into the hole for the final out of the inning to preserve the lead.
Springer opened the third with a double to right and came in on a Guerrero double to left.
With runners on second and third and no one out, Fried got Kirk to bounce out, Clement on a soft liner up the middle thanks to a diving grab by Volpe and then France grounded to third to keep it 3-3.
The Yankees went ahead for good in the bottom of the inning with a one-out walk and stolen base by Judge and a booming RBI double to right-center from Bellinger.
Judge then saved a run in the fourth with a terrific diving catch on Springer’s sinking liner for the final out and Lukes on second.
And the Yankees held on the rest of the way.
Next up during a crucial 12-game stretch against potential playoff foes are the Tigers, who come to The Bronx Tuesday.
So far, the Yankees have taken series from the Astros — in Houston — and against the first-place Blue Jays.
“Just keep going, keep winning,’’ Wells said of the team’s approach to the stretch run. “I think at the end of the year, if we do that, we’ll be where we want to be.”