Yankees finally figure out how to beat Blue Jays after lengthy rain delay, inch closer in AL East chase

When the Yankees put their team together in the offseason and then revamped the bullpen at the trade deadline, this is probably the kind of performance they had in mind.

The biggest play of their 3-1 win over first-place Toronto came from Cody Bellinger, whose throw home nailed Bo Bichette at the plate on Nathan Lukes’ single to right field to prevent the tying run from scoring in the top of the sixth Saturday.

And then the bullpen, which has been a mess for much of the year, delivered three scoreless innings — with Fernando Cruz and David Bednar getting the final seven outs, as the Yankees got back to within three games of Toronto in the AL East.

They also got six strong innings from Luis Gil, who walked four batters, but allowed just one run as he continued his strong run of starts.

Mixed in with a 1:46 rain delay following the top of the sixth, the Yankees finally figured out how to beat a Blue Jays team that had won four straight games, as well as seven of its last eight against the Yankees.

“I feel at this point, every win is pretty big,’’ Bellinger said.