When the Yankees assembled their team in the offseason and later made adjustments to the bullpen at the trade deadline, this is likely the caliber of performance they envisioned.

The pivotal moment of the game was Cody Bellinger’s throw home, which caught Bo Bichette at the plate on a single to right field, preventing the tying run from scoring in the top of the sixth inning.

Subsequently, the bullpen, which had struggled for much of the year, delivered three scoreless innings — with Fernando Cruz and David Bednar securing the final seven outs in a 3-1 victory over Toronto, bringing the Yankees within three games of first-place Toronto in the AL East.

They also got six strong innings from Luis Gil, who walked four batters in six innings, 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 overall, as well as seven of their last eight against the Yankees.

It started when the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the second, with some help from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose bat has hurt the Yankees and most of the rest of the league of late.