Corey Kluber navigated through trouble in a successful debut for the New York Yankees and Gary Sanchez homered for the second straight game Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Limited to one inning last season with the Texas Rangers due to a shoulder injury, Kluber allowed two runs and five hits in four innings. He struck out five and walked three in a 74-pitch outing.

Kluber pitched with men on base in each inning but effectively used his sinker at various points.

He got a double play for his first two outs after Marcus Semien and Cavan Biggio opened the game with hits. The right-hander also got a double play for the first two outs of the second after grazing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a pitch, and then worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by retiring Danny Jansen.

Kluber exited with a 3-2 lead after Semien hit a 1-2 sinker into the left-field seats to start the fifth.

Sanchez, coming off a disastrous .147 batting average last season, homered a few rows into the left-field seats to lead off the fourth when he hit a 2-2 slider from Ross Stripling (0-1) to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

DJ LeMahieu reached three times, and his RBI infield single drove in New York's first run in the second. Aaron Hicks added an RBI infield single in the fourth and Jay Bruce celebrated his 34th birthday with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the sixth.

Jonathan Loaisiga (1-0) followed Kluber and struck out three in two scoreless innings. Lucas Luetge allowed an RBI grounder to Semien after throwing two wild pitches in the seventh.

Darren O'Day put two on while getting two outs in the eighth. Chad Green recorded the final four outs and notched his fifth career save.

Toronto used the running game to score its first run. After Jansen took third on a wild pitch by Kluber in the third, he scored when Sanchez committed a throwing error on Semien's stolen base.

Stripling allowed three runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.

--Field Level Media