Vernon Wells hit a three-run homer and John Buck added a solo shot as the Toronto Blue Jays beat New York 7-5 Monday night, preventing the Yankees from taking over top spot in the American League East.

The Yankees remain a half-game behind Tampa Bay in the East after the Rays dropped a 4-0 home decision to the Baltimore Orioles.

Toronto took its division rival out of the game early, building a 7-0 advantage over the first three innings. Buck's 19th homer of the season led off the bottom of the second inning, while Wells swatted his 31st of the campaign to highlight a five-run third.

The Yankees stormed back, scoring a pair of runs on a Curtis Granderson homer in the fifth inning and a Mark Teixeira three-run blast in the seventh. Toronto shut down the New York lineup the rest of the way to earn its 81st win, all but assuring a fourth winning season in the past five years.

Mark Rzepczynski (3-4) earned the victory, allowing two runs over five innings while striking out nine. Kevin Gregg tossed a scoreless ninth for his 36th save of the season.

A.J. Burnett (10-15) was pummeled in defeat, surrendering all seven Toronto runs in just 2 1/3 innings of work.