Brett Gardner swatted a grand slam in an 11-run third inning as the New York Yankees cruised to an 11-3 drubbing of the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.

After scuffling through the first 12 innings of their weekend series with the visiting Blue Jays, the Bronx Bombers lived up to the moniker in a wild third inning that saw them send 15 men to the plate. Gardner's grand slam highlighted an inning that included a bases-loaded double and an RBI groundout from Alex Rodriguez, and a two-run double from Mark Teixeira.

That was more than enough run support for left-hander Andy Pettitte (10-2), who surrendered three runs on five hits over six strong innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Ricky Romero (6-5) absorbed most of the punishment in defeat, saddled with the loss after surrendering eight runs while recording just eight outs. He walked two and struck out three.

Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer, his 21st of the season, and Alex Gonzalez added a solo shot for the Jays.