TORONTO (Interstat) — José Caballero’s three-run homer in the ninth inning and Ben Rice’s two-run blast earlier in the frame lifted the New York Yankees to an 8-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre before a crowd of 41,596.

The Yankees, who improved to 43-27, took two of three in the series after dropping the opener Friday. The Blue Jays fell to 34-38.

The game was tied 3-3 entering the ninth, but New York erupted for five runs against Toronto reliever Braydon Fisher. Rice, who entered the game as the designated hitter, connected on his 19th home run of the season, a fly ball to right field that scored Paul Goldschmidt, who had reached on a throwing error by Fisher. After Jasson Domínguez walked and Jazz Chisholm Jr. also walked, Caballero crushed a 1-0 pitch to center field for his sixth homer, clearing the bases and giving the Yankees a five-run cushion.

Camilo Doval, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning, earned the win to improve to 3-0. Doval struck out two and did not allow a hit. Fisher took the loss, falling to 2-2, after allowing four earned runs on three hits and two walks in one-third of an inning.

New York grabbed an early lead in the second inning. Max Schuemann led off with a double, and Anthony Volpe followed with an RBI single to center. Ali Sánchez then doubled to center, scoring Volpe, and Goldschmidt added a single, but the Yankees stranded two runners.

Toronto answered in the third. Nathan Lukes singled, advanced to second on a single by Alejandro Kirk, and after a double play grounder moved him to third, Kazuma Okamoto singled to left, scoring Lukes. Okamoto advanced to second on a throwing error by third baseman Amed Rosario.

The Blue Jays tied the game in the fourth. Ernie Clement singled, and after Davis Schneider was called out on strikes following a successful challenge, George Springer singled to put runners on the corners. Lukes then singled to center, scoring Clement, and Springer moved to third.

The Yankees regained the lead in the sixth. Chisholm walked, and after a fielder’s choice erased him at home, Volpe singled to left, scoring Schuemann, who had reached on the fielder’s choice. But Toronto tied it again in the bottom of the sixth when Schneider led off with a solo homer to center, his second of the season.

From there, both bullpens held the score until the ninth. New York’s relief corps of Tim Hill, Brent Headrick and Doval combined for three scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and striking out four. Toronto’s Jeff Hoffman struck out two in a perfect eighth.

Key offensive performances included Caballero, who finished 1-for-5 with the homer and three RBIs. Rice went 2-for-5 with his homer and two RBIs. For Toronto, Lukes had three hits in five at-bats with an RBI, Schneider went 2-for-3 with a homer and an RBI, and Okamoto had two hits.

Blue Jays starter Patrick Corbin allowed two earned runs on seven hits over 3⅔ innings, striking out three. Spencer Miles, Toronto’s first reliever, worked 2⅔ innings, giving up one earned run on one hit while striking out two.

New York starter Will Warren lasted only 3⅓ innings, allowing two runs — one earned — on six hits with two walks and one strikeout. Hill, Headrick and Doval followed.

The game featured several notable defensive plays. In the first inning, Nathan Lukes grounded into a double play to erase a leadoff single by George Springer. Volpe and Caballero turned another double play in the third to help Warren escape a jam.

The most important sequence came in the ninth, when the Yankees broke open a tie game with a five-run outburst that turned a tight contest into a comfortable win. Caballero’s homer capped the rally and sealed the victory.

The Yankees return home to host the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, while the Blue Jays travel to Boston to open a three-game series.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of New York Yankees 6, Toronto Blue Jays 5. The ELO system gave the Yankees a 54.70 percent probability to win. New York was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over-under line of 8.5.