NEW YORK — Russell Martin homered twice and drove in four runs against his former team, and the Toronto Blue Jays went deep five times to beat the New York Yankees 11-5 Friday night in the opener of their weekend showdown for first place in the AL East.

Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak each hit a two-run shot in a five-run first inning to build a big lead for David Price. Edwin Encarnacion added a titanic drive after the Blue Jays chased rookie starter Luis Severino in the third.

Seeking its first playoff appearance in 22 years, Toronto increased its division lead to 2 1/2 games.

Mets 5, Braves 1

ATLANTA — Rookie Steven Matz pitched five strong innings, Yoenis Cespedes had a home run and three RBIs and New York took another step toward a division title with a win over Atlanta.

With Washington losing to Miami 2-1, the Mets lead the NL East by a season-high 8 1/2 games.

It was the Mets’ fifth straight victory.

Matz allowed one run and six hits as he improved to 3-0 in four career starts and lowered his ERA to 1.88 against an anemic Braves offense that is last in the majors in runs.

Rookie Matt Wisler (5-7) took the loss for the Braves after allowing two runs in five innings.

Wisler has lost six straight decisions for the Braves, who have dropped 22 of their last 25 games.

Marlins 2, Nationals 1

MIAMI — NL batting leader Bryce Harper struck out three times and stranded five runners, and fading Washington lost its fourth straight game.

The Nationals out-hit the Marlins 7-5 but went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and their lone run was unearned.

Cubs 5-7, Phillies 1-3

PHILADELPHIA — Jake Arrieta pitched eight strong innings for his major league-leading 19th win, and Starlin Castro homered to lead Chicago past Philadelphia in the first game of a doubleheader.

In the second game, Kyle Schwarber homered twice to lead the Cubs in a sweep of the doubleheader.

Arrieta (19-6) won his eighth straight start, allowing six hits with seven strikeouts and two walks to become the first Cubs pitcher to win that many in a row since Milt Pappas won 11 consecutive games in 1972.