The Toronto Blue Jays pounded out nine doubles on Wednesday night to avoid a sweep against the New York Yankees and once again inch over the .500 mark.

Lyle Overbay, left, greets Alex Rios at home plate in the sixth.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Toronto hammered New York 15-4 in the closing game of the series. While the Blue Jays never homered in the 16-hit outing, the nine doubles tied a franchise record.

The club rebounded from a one-sided loss to the Yankees on Tuesday, and moved six games back of Detroit in the American League wild card race.

"It's the right way to react to what happened," said Vernon Wells. "Anytime you can do that after a loss like [yesterday] is huge.

"That's what you have to do in a situation like this when you're playing one of your rivals and you need a big win."

The Blue Jays (57-56) scored five runs in the third to open up an insurmountable lead, and added five more in the sixth for good measure.

Wells had four runs batted in to lead the way offensively, Frank Thomas knocked in three, while Aaron Hill, Gregg Zaun and John McDonald each drove in a pair of runs.

Jorge Posada, left, and Chien-Ming Wang had no answers for Toronto batters on Wednesday.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Matt Stairs, Lyle Overbay and Alex Rios each crossed the plate three times. Overbay broke out of a slump in a big way, finishing 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and RBI.

Every player in the starting lineup recorded a hit save third baseman Troy Glaus, who walked and scored twice. Glaus is mired in an 0-for-21 slump.

New York starter Chien-Ming Wang (13-6) did not reach the fifth inning for the first time this season. Wang was tagged for eight runs on nine hits in just under three innings of work.

"He was getting behind in some counts, which was uncharacteristic," said New York manager Joe Torre.

Toronto ace Roy Halladay (13-5) cruised along with the early run support, allowing just six hits in seven innings while striking out eight batters. Halladay has now won seven straight decisions at home since losing to Boston on May 10.

Halladay made three mistakes on the night, leading to a pair of home runs from Robinson Cano, and one by Hideki Matsui.

"You realize what a good team they are and you're not always going to stick it to them," Halladay said. "Every once in a while it's a nice feeling."

Brian Wolfe and Jeremy Accardo followed Halladay with a solid inning of relief each.

New York (63-51) was playing without star Alex Rodriguez, who was hit in the calf by a pitch on Tuesday. Wilson Betemit played third base in his stead, while catcher Jorge Posada took Rodriguez's usual No. 4 spot in the batting order.

"My guess is, with the off day tomorrow, he'll be all right," manager Joe Torre said of Rodriguez.

Bobby Abreu of the Yankees was ejected Wednesday in the fourth inning after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Derryl Cousins.

Cano now has 13 home runs and 68 RBI on the season for the Yankees.

4 straight hits

Toronto began the bottom half of the first with four consecutive hits to go up 3-0. Stairs scored on a double from Rios, who later scored along with Overbay on a base hit by Wells.
 
With Jason Giambi on first, Cano brought the Yankees to within one run in the second with his shot over the right-field wall.

Wells and Zaun each drove in runs with their doubles, while McDonald and Hill brought in a pair each in the sixth.

Wells and Rios are tied with the team lead with 31 doubles. Thomas leads the club with 68 RBI, followed by Rios (65) and Wells (64).

Halladay struggled in his final inning, giving Matsui's long homer to centre-field as well as Cano's second long ball of the game.

Toronto has a day off before starting a four-game series against the Royals in Kansas City on Friday. Shawn Marcum (8-4, 3.63 ERA) is scheduled to get the start for the Blue Jays.

With files from the Canadian Press & Associated Press