TORONTO — After a pregame players meeting provided a jolt of positive energy, J.A. Happ helped the Toronto Blue Jays rebound.

Happ got his 18th win, Melvin Upton Jr. hit a two-run homer and the Blue Jays stopped a four-game losing streak by beating the Boston Red Sox, 3-2, on Saturday.

Toronto closed within one game of the American League East-leading Red Sox.

“It was a big win, no doubt,” Happ said. “We had better energy than we've had in a while today. From first pitch to last it seemed like our dugout was really into this one.”

Toronto, whose players met behind closed doors for about an hour before the game, avoided matching its longest skid this season.

“It was just nice to get everybody together and talk about it and get back on the same page,” catcher Russell Martin said. “I think it was just to reassure, to make sure that everybody is in a good mindset and focusing on what they need to focus on.”

Happ declined to discuss specifics but said the meeting was “overwhelmingly positive.”

Upton and Devon Travis both made costly errors in Friday's 13-3 loss but followed with good days at the plate Saturday. Travis had three hits for the Blue Jays and is 6-for-9 in the first two games of the series. Upton hit his 20th homer, a two-run drive in the second off Eduardo Rodriguez (2-7).

Yankees 5, Rays 1: Even when a pitcher tried to walk him on purpose, Gary Sanchez almost hit a home run.

That's how good things are going for the rookie — and his team, too.

Sanchez homered and nearly launched another as Tampa Bay messed up an intentional walk, leading hard-charging New York to its season-best seventh straight win.

“The guys feel really good about themselves,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

No wonder, with how they're playing and moving up in the playoff race.

The Yankees closed within three games of AL East-leading Boston, their closest to the lead since mid-April, and were one game behind Baltimore for the second wild-card spot. The Orioles beat Detroit, 11-3, leaving the Tigers with the same record as the Yankees.

Masahiro Tanaka (13-4) struck out 10 and took a shutout bid into the eighth inning. Chris Archer (8-18) tied the Tampa Bay record for losses in a season, set by Tanyon Sturtze in 2002.

It was scoreless in the sixth when Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run homer and Sanchez followed with a long drive.

In the eighth, after Ellsbury's double put runners on second and third with no outs, the Rays seemed set to walk Sanchez.

“I knew they were going to walk me,” Sanchez said through a translator. “At the same time, I wanted to be ready.”

In case, maybe, a soft toss floated near the strike zone.

“It's not something pitchers are always doing a lot and comfortable,” Girardi said.

He was right.

Catcher Bobby Wilson moved wide as reliever Enny Romero lobbed in his first pitch at 52 mph, but the ball drifted close to the plate. Alertly, Sanchez socked it to the warning track into deep center field for a sacrifice fly.

“Yeah, I know. I was supposed to throw a base on balls on four pitches, intentional walk,” Romero said.

Romero said his hand was sweaty and the ball started to slip. But, he said, “I can't stop, because if I stop, it's a balk.”