TORONTO (AP) — Fired up by a furious playoff race, Yankees catcher Russell Martin is finishing the season strong.
Martin hit a three-run homer, Eric Chavez added a two-run shot and New York maintained its one-game lead atop the AL East by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 11-4 on Friday night.
The victory let New York keep its slim lead over second-place Baltimore, which used six first-inning runs to beat Boston 9-1.
Martin, who has six home runs and 16 RBIs this month, said he's feeding off New York's battle with Baltimore.
"This is the type of baseball that I enjoy," he said. "It's high intensity. This is why you play the game."
He acknowledged, however, that the Orioles are proving a difficult opponent to put away.
"We want them to lose as much as possible but they don't really seem like they want to give in," Martin said. "It's going to be coming down to the wire."
Martin came into the final month batting just .198, but has heated up since and is hitting .298 over his past 19 games.
"Just trying to make a bad season look better," he said. "It's September, it's time to get going."