Everything goes right for Yankees as they crush Blue Jays to avoid another series loss

TORONTO — At least for one day, all was right again in the Yankees’ universe.

Aaron Judge continued to mash at another level, crushing his 31st home run of the season.

Juan Soto was a last-minute addition to the lineup after proving that his bruised right hand was healthy enough.

And Gerrit Cole looked more like Gerrit Cole in his third and longest start of the season.

Heck, even the bottom of the order had itself a day.

All of it led to an 8-1 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, as the Yankees secured a split of the four-game set and avoided a fifth straight series loss.

Perhaps most encouraging was Cole tossing five innings of one-run ball while striking out six.

He built up to 90 pitches and pitched closer to his ace level in his latest step forward after missing the first two and a half months of the season with an elbow injury.

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“That was Gerrit out there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Felt like he had a great presence to him, that quiet intensity, but also very much in control of the game and his rhythm. … Another big step. But I thought his energy and mound presence was excellent today.”

About 10-15 minutes before first pitch, the Yankees (54-32) got a boost when Soto was inserted into the lineup after going through his pregame work to test out his hand and getting cleared to play.

It paid immediate dividends, as Soto lined a 106.3 mph single in his first at-bat and then came around to score as Judge demolished a Kevin Gausman fastball to center field for a two-run shot.

“It was a shot in the arm,” Boone said of Judge’s blast. “Especially 20 minutes before with putting Juan in the game and then he has a typical Juan at-bat and smokes a ball in the hole there. And then Judgey hits a fly ball off the batter’s eye. So it was definitely a good shot of energy on getaway day to help get us going and salvage a series.”

It marked the first time in the last 11 games that the Yankees struck first.

They have shown a knack for coming back to win games this season, but they made it easier on themselves by taking a 2-0 lead instead of facing an early deficit.

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“Whenever you’re able to get a guy like Gerrit a couple runs, it makes for a pretty good outing for him,” Judge said.

That allowed Cole to pitch more aggressively from the start and he made sure the early lead stood up.

After getting tagged for four home runs in a rough start against the Mets on Tuesday at Citi Field, the right-hander was much sharper Sunday.

His fastball velocity was much steadier, averaging 95.8 mph, and for the most part he commanded it better, despite two of his fastest pitches hitting Danny Jansen and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

”I thought it was good cruising speed all game,” Cole said. “Found a nice sweet spot to settle in. … I thought it was a good blend of stuff and command. Pitched pretty smart for the most part. So it was a good day.”

Cole said he feels “pretty close” to pitching like himself, noting that Sunday marked his sixth start (three on a rehab assignment, three in the majors), which would put him around April 1 in a normal year.

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Besides having three of the best players in the majors playing like themselves, the Yankees also got key contributions from the rest of the lineup.

Ben Rice had another strong day of at-bats, going 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI double.

Gleyber Torres collected his third straight multi-hit game after his two-day “reset.”

DJ LeMahieu had another solid effort, going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.

And Trent Grisham helped break the game open in the fifth inning with a two-run double.

But it was Judge who set the tone by getting halfway to his AL-record 62 home runs in his 84th game.

He enters July batting .316 with a 1.144 OPS, 31 home runs and 82 RBIs.

“It’s incredible what he’s doing, it really is,” Boone said. “Kind of a ho-hum 2-for-4 today with one off the batter’s eye.”

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