NEW YORK -- Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are making their move in the AL playoff race -- thanks in large part to all the wins they are piling up against Toronto. Christian Eriksen Hotspur Jersey . Pettitte pitched six effective innings, and Curtis Granderson homered to help the surging Yankees win 5-3 on Thursday after a 3 1/2-hour rain delay, their 10th straight victory over the Blue Jays. New York took advantage of a missed call by the umpires to win its fifth consecutive game and 10th in 12 overall. "Were feeling good about ourselves, and you knew this was going to happen," Pettitte said. "It was just a matter of when, and you hope its not too late." Eduardo Nunez hit a two-run single for the Yankees, who improved to 12-1 against Toronto this season with their second four-game sweep of the Blue Jays. New York moved within 3 1/2 games of the second AL wild-card spot heading into a weekend series at Tampa Bay. "Weve got a good shot," Granderson said. "We still control our destiny." The Yankees have won 13 home games in a row against Toronto, their longest streak against one team since a 14-game run vs. Kansas City from August 2002 to April 2006. The last-place Blue Jays have lost five straight and 11 of 15. The only other opponent to sweep a pair of four-game series from them in one season was the 1978 Milwaukee Brewers. Toronto had a lead in every game of this series, just as it did during New Yorks four-game whitewash at Yankee Stadium in late April. The Blue Jays have dropped 22 of 24 in the Bronx, dating to 2011. Their 10-game skid vs. New York is their longest against one team in a single season since losing 11 in a row against Boston in 2002. "Its hard. Yankee Stadium is a tough place. The sad part is were in every game, basically all year. We just couldnt put them away with a lead," said manager John Gibbons, ejected in the fifth. Rodriguez made a pair of important defensive plays at third base and worked a walk that started a rally. Pettitte (9-9) gave up four hits and three walks to win his second consecutive start after going 0-3 in his previous five. His only blemish was J.P. Arencibias leadoff homer in the fifth. With his 254th victory, the 41-year-old lefty tied Jack Morris and Hall of Famer Red Faber for 42nd place on the career list. After the Blue Jays scored twice off Shawn Kelley in the seventh, Boone Logan struck out pinch-hitter Adam Lind with two on to preserve a 5-3 lead. Preston Claiborne, just recalled from the minors, worked a scoreless eighth, and David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth for his second save. Mariano Rivera was rested after appearing in three games over the previous two days. "Each day youre able to make up a little ground, it seems more attainable -- and thats good for the guys in that room," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. The start was delayed for 3 hours, 32 minutes -- though it wasnt raining when play was supposed to begin. Light, steady showers fell throughout much of the delay, and the game didnt start until the storm front cleared. The sun broke through as Pettitte trotted out to the mound to begin his warmups. Aided by an incorrect call, the Yankees took a 2-1 lead against J.A. Happ (3-3) on a confusing play in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Vernon Wells hit a sinking liner to centre that was caught by a tumbling Rajai Davis just before it hit the ground. But the umpires ruled it a trap as Nunez scored the go-ahead run. Thinking the ball had been caught, Chris Stewart tried to scramble back to second and was thrown out by Davis -- after he fumbled the transfer. Gibbons came out to argue the ball was caught. Instead, Wells was credited with an RBI on an 8-4 fielders choice. "We scored a run, thats all that matters," he said. Gibbons was ejected, for the fifth time this season, by first base ump Scott Barry. Toronto pitcher Mark Buehrle was tossed by third base umpire Ted Barrett for yelling from the bench. "We looked at the replay and it looked to us like it bounced, but probably inside his glove," said Barrett, the crew chief. "So on replay, probably would have been ruled a catch." One inning later, Rodriguez drew the first of three straight Yankees walks before Nunez delivered a two-run single. Toronto third baseman Brett Lawrie made an outstanding play on Stewarts RBI groundout that made it 5-1. Rodriguez charged in to throw out Lawrie on a slow bouncer in the fourth, saving a run. The third baseman, who returned this month from hip surgery and a strained quadriceps, also grabbed a sharp grounder and stepped on the bag to start an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the fifth. "Just smoked, right down the line. I mean, I just put my glove down. That ball caught me, almost," he said. "That was a big play." Granderson led off the bottom half and homered into the second deck in right, tying it at 1. NOTES: Yankees CF Brett Gardner was rested. He entered for defence in the ninth. ... New York OF Ichiro Suzuki doubled off third base for his 4,001st hit between the majors and Japan. ... Rodriguez was back in the lineup after a night off Wednesday. He got his second stolen base of the season. ... SS Derek Jeter (strained right calf) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... RHP Hiroki Kuroda (11-8, 2.41 ERA), who leads the AL in ERA, faces Rays rookie Chris Archer (6-5, 2.95) on Friday night. ... Due to the long delay, the Yankees offered free seats for the Sept. 2-4 series against the Chicago White Sox to fans holding tickets for Thursday. ... Gibbons said CF Colby Rasmus, on the DL since Aug. 11 with a strained left abdominal muscle, will begin baseball activities Monday. Harry Kane Hotspur Jersey . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks. Michel Vorm Hotspur Jersey . When Reyes signed a US$106-million, six-year deal with Miami last month, there was speculation Ramirez was unhappy about being supplanted at short. But new manager Ozzie Guillen sold Ramirez on the idea. http://www.footballhotspurstore.com/Women-Mousa-Dembele-Tottenham-Hotspur-Jersey/ . David Perron had a career high four-point night with two goals and two assists as the Oilers experienced an offensive explosion, blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 to record a rare home win for their second victory in a row.INDIANAPOLIS -- Adreian Payne and Michigan State have that March look again, and the Spartans think their best basketball is in front of them. Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. The third-seeded Spartans (25-8) won consecutive games for the first time since an 11-game run ended in January. They will meet the top-seeded Wolverines in the final on Sunday. "Were just scratching the surface," Payne said. "We didnt play at a high level before just because we havent had time for everyone to play together for a long period of time. This tournament has been great because weve been able to play with each other more and were starting to look better." Dawson scored in double figures for the second straight game after getting off to a slow start in his return from a broken right hand. He went 6 for 8 from the field as the Spartans shot 56 per cent against the defence-minded Badgers. The Spartans went on a 16-1 run in the first half and took a 37-16 lead when Gary Harris scored with 5:39 left before halftime. "I thought we played some of our best basketball of the year in that first five minutes," coach Tom Izzo said. "Wisconsin is very good. I thought we played awfully well." Frank Kaminsky had 28 points and Sam Dekker added 11 points and seven boards for the second-seeded Badgers (26-7), who were outrebounded 32-28 by the Spartans. Michigan State was swept by Michigan during the regular season, but it has a perfect record in conference title games. The Spartans last championship came in a win over Ohio State in 2012. The first half against Wisconsin was one of the best periods Michiigan State has played all season. Lucas Moura Jersey. . Traevon Jacksons layup helped Wisconsin close to 21-15 with 10:43 left in the first half, but the Spartans responded with a 16-1 run that included three three-point plays. Payne scored and Denzel Valentine hit a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 26-15 lead. Then Dawson was fouled on a layup and made the ensuing foul shot. Bronson Koening made a free throw for the Badgers before Payne and Travis Trice had consecutive three-point plays. Trice then forced a turnover and Harris scored on a fast-break layup to increase the lead to 21 with 5:39 left in the first half. It was pretty much a total breakdown for the Badgers in the first half, a surprising start for a team that was being mentioned as a possibility for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. "Ball movement, body movement, shot selection, its never just one thing," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "Its a combination of things. We werent very fluid, but we found that fluidity." Wisconsin trailed 43-26 at the break, but it rallied in the second half. Dekkers dunk capped an 8-2 spurt that trimmed Michigan States lead to 51-41 with 15:02 remaining. The Badgers got within seven when Jackson made a pair of free throws with under four minutes to play and again when Jackson hit a 3 with 51 seconds remaining. But the rally fizzled from there. "We dug ourselves a hole in the first half and we were trying to climb out of that hole that entire second half," Kaminsky said. "We didnt have enough left in the tank to get over that." Jackson finished with 10 points for Wisconsin, which shot 28 per cent in the first half. The Badgers have dropped two of their last three games and lost for the first time this season on a neutral court. ' ' '