NEW YORK (Interstat) — The Toronto Blue Jays seized control of their American League Division Series on Wednesday, methodically defeating the New York Yankees 5-2 in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium to take a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five playoff.

A crowd of 47,823 watched as the Blue Jays, leveraging a relentless 12-hit attack and a parade of six effective relievers, moved within one victory of advancing to the American League Championship Series. The Yankees, held to just six hits, now face elimination.

Toronto’s bullpen was the story, with five pitchers combining for 7 1/3 scoreless innings after starter Yariel Rodríguez recorded just one out. Seranthony Domínguez earned the win, pitching 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief to improve to 5-4. Jeff Hoffman recorded the final four outs to notch his 35th save of the season, despite allowing a run in the ninth.

The Blue Jays wasted no time, striking for a first-inning run against Yankees starter Cam Schlittler. George Springer led off the game with a double and scored two batters later on a line-drive single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

New York evened the score in the third inning when Ryan McMahon launched a solo home run to right field off Blue Jays reliever Brendon Little.

Toronto reclaimed the lead in the fifth. Ernie Clement and Andrés Giménez hit back-to-back singles, and Clement then scored on a sacrifice fly by Springer, making it 2-1.

The game turned in the seventh inning, with the Blue Jays capitalizing on a Yankees mistake to extend their lead. With one out, Clement singled and Giménez reached on a fielder’s choice that turned into a two-base error by Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., putting runners on second and third. After a strikeout, Nathan Lukes delivered the decisive blow, lining a two-run single to center field to score both runners and give Toronto a 4-1 advantage.

The Blue Jays added an insurance run in the eighth against reliever David Bednar. Alejandro Kirk led off with a double, moved to third on a flyout and scored on a sharp single by pinch-hitter Myles Straw.

The Yankees mounted a threat in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with two outs against Domínguez and Hoffman, but Austin Wells flew out to left field to end the inning.

New York scratched across a run in the ninth on an RBI single by Aaron Judge that scored Jasson Domínguez, but Hoffman struck out Cody Bellinger to end the game.

Schlittler took the loss for the Yankees, falling to 5-4. He was charged with two earned runs on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings. Key relief performances came from Eric Lauer, who recorded five outs for Toronto without allowing a hit, and Louis Varland, who added 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the Blue Jays.

The series now shifts back to Toronto for a decisive Game 5 on Friday. The Blue Jays will look to close out the series at home, while the Yankees will fight to extend their season and force a return trip to New York.