TORONTO _ The numbers are just silly at this point.
DJ LeMahieu entered Thursday night already with absurd numbers this season with runners in scoring position and actually improved upon them.
He came up twice in such situations and delivered both times, helping the Yankees avoid a sweep by the Blue Jays in a 6-2 victory in front of 25,657 at Rogers Centre.
LeMahieu, arguably the club MVP at this point of the season, went 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs, which improved him to an absurd 26-for-53 with 31 RBIs this season with RISP.
The right-handed hitting LeMahieu, signed to a two-year $24 million free-agent deal over the winter, doubled in a run in the Yankees' four-run second against Edwin Jackson that included a three-run homer by Aaron Hicks.
J.A. Happ, making his first start in this building since the Blue Jays traded him to the Yankees before last year's July 31 deadline, made it two straight good starts (he allowed one run over five innings vs. Boston on Friday night).
Happ (6-3, 4.48) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings, which matched his season-best. He struck out four and did not walk a batter, the only run coming on Eric Sogard's leadoff homer in the sixth.
Chad Green pitched a scoreless eighth but allowed three straight singles in the ninth, loading the bases with none out. Aroldis Chapman came on and retired the side, with one of the inherited runners scoring.
After Jackson walked two in a laborious 30-pitch first in which he escaped with no damage, Happ had to pitch out of trouble.
Sogard started with a double to center. Happ got Vlad Guerrero Jr. to ground out to short and Justin Smoak flied to left. Randal Grichuk, with three homers the first two games of the series, flied to right to end the 22-pitch inning.
An error by Guerrero opened the door for the Yankees in the second and they barreled through. Jackson retired the first two batters before Thairo Estrada, starting at short with Gleyber Torres getting the night off to rest a sore left shoulder, grounded to third. Guerrero's throw sailed a bit and plunked Estrada on the left side of his batting helmet, causing a momentary injury delay as the shortstop was evaluated by Aaron Boone and a member of the training staff. Cameron Maybin singled, making it nine hits in his last 22 at-bats, and LeMahieu did what he's been doing with regularity with RISP. He got a hit, ad double off the wall in center.
Hicks stepped in next and pounced on a first-pitch fastball, hammering it to right, his third homer making it 4-0. The hit gave Hicks, who started slowly after coming off the injured list May 12, 14 RBIs in his last 14 games.
The Yankees drove Jackson (0-4, 11.90) from the game two innings later. Gio Urshela, who came in with a team-best .325 average, drilled a 1-and-2 pitch out for his fourth homer that made it 5-0. Maybin doubled with one out, meaning another chance with a RISP for LeMahieu and, of course, another hit, this one a sharp single to center that made it 6-0. Jackson allowed six runs (two earned) and six hits over 3 1/3 innings.
