Chris Stewart hits a three-run home run in the sixth inning of the first game. (REUTERS)
The Yankees expected their new, power-heavy lineup to produce more home runs and for the most part, it has.
Though the offense has become deeper, the impact wasn’t supposed to be felt all the way to Chris Stewart and Jayson Nix.
But the light-hitting catcher delivered a three-run homer in the sixth inning of an 8-4 win over Toronto in the first game of a split doubleheader Tuesday in The Bronx and the fill-in third baseman tied the nightcap with a solo homer in the seventh and then won it in the ninth with a run-scoring single off Darren Oliver in a 3-2 victory.
“I don’t do that too often, especially in that spot,” said Stewart, who has hit four homers this season and hadn’t gone deep since May 15. “We just keep on rolling.”
It has seemed that way lately. The Yankees have won nine of 12 since dropping four straight earlier in the month that coincided with Alex Rodriguez’s return. They have scored at least eight runs in five of their last seven games.
“It’s a lot different, hitting the ball out of the ballpark and getting 10-12 hits a night,” manager Joe Girardi said after the first game. “So it’s changed a lot since some of those guys are back.”
Players such as Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and the addition of Alfonso Soriano.
“We’re feeding off each other right now,” Stewart said, whose homer gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead.
Stewart’s shot followed another three-run homer from Robinson Cano which helped erase the 4-0 deficit the Yankees found themselves in after Ivan Nova’s rough second inning.
With almost no margin for error, the Yankees continued their improved play following Sunday’s dramatic victory in Boston.
“We’re in a situation now where we need to win games,” said Cano, who had four hits in Game 1 and an RBI single in the nightcap. “Our offense has been great. You could see a different lineup with these guys now. You’ve got the guys anytime, anyhow, that they can change the game with one swing. Now you can take advantage of it when they throw the ball over the plate.”
Even Stewart.
“I was talking to Soriano and said, ‘We just need a blooper here for another run’ and [Stewart] hit it out of the ballpark,” Cano said.
Ivan Nova and the bullpen made sure the lead stood up.
After surrendering four runs in the second, the right-hander settled down to shut the Blue Jays down over the next 4¹/₃ innings. Nova improved to 7-4, though he saw his seven-game streak of pitching at least seven innings come to an end.
He left with a lead before Shawn Kelley gave them a brief scare in the seventh in relief of Boone Logan when he walked two batters in a row to load the bases with two out. But Kelley recovered to get Brett Lawrie on a deep fly ball to center to end the inning.
Ichiro went 2-for-5 in the Game 1 win, leaving him one shy of 4000 combined for his career in Japan and the majors. He did not get an at-bat in the nightcap, but scored the winning run as a pinch runner for Mark Reynolds.
Despite their improved play, Girardi said he knows the Yankees still have a rough road ahead to contend for the postseason.
“I don’t look too far ahead,” Girardi said of getting back into the wildcard race. “Let’s just look at the game in front of us.”
dan.martin@nypost.com