Yankees crush record-tying 5 HRs in 4th inning vs. Blue Jays

Start spreading the news: The New York Yankees are back.

The Bronx Bombers continued to feast on Toronto Blue Jays pitchers Thursday by slugging a record-tying five home runs in the fourth inning.

Brett Gardner got the fun started with a two-run homer. A blast from DJ LeMahieu followed, then Luke Voit added another - his MLB-leading 20th of the season - to give the Yankees three consecutive homers on three straight pitches off Blue Jays right-hander Chase Anderson.

Giancarlo Stanton sliced the fourth homer to the opposite field two batters later. Gleyber Torres then hit New York's fifth round-tripper of the frame, a shot that mercifully chased Anderson from the game.

The Yankees have destroyed Toronto pitching this week, outscoring the Blue Jays 43-15 over the three-game set while hitting at least six homers in each game (Gary Sanchez hit their sixth of Thursday's game in the seventh inning). They're just the third team since at least 1901 to hit at least five long balls in three straight games - joining the 1977 Red Sox and last year's Yankees squad - and the first ever to hit six in three consecutive contests, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

New York's 19 homers over the past three games are also an MLB record for a single series, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The Yankees hit six Tuesday and Thursday, and seven Wednesday.

The five-homer inning, meanwhile, was only the seventh in MLB history, according to Baseball Almanac, and the first since the Washington Nationals recorded one in 2017. The Yankees are only the second American League team to accomplish the feat after the Minnesota Twins did so against the Kansas City Athletics on June 9, 1966.

Anderson tied the MLB record for homers allowed in an inning, according to Sportsnet Stats. He now shares the dubious mark with former Milwaukee Brewers hurler Michael Blazek. The five homers allowed constituted a Blue Jays single-inning record.

New York emerged with a 10-7 win after Toronto staged a furious ninth-inning rally and got the tying run to the plate. The Yankees have now won eight in a row.