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Aug 10, 2009 - 5:06 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Toronto (52-57) at New York (68-42), 7:05 p.m. EDT

A sweep of their archrivals over the weekend gave the New York Yankees their largest lead in the AL East in nearly three years.

They'll look to pad that advantage against another division opponent they've dominated as the Yankees open a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

New York (69-42) is coming off a four-game sweep of Boston over the weekend, closing the series with an 5-2 win Sunday. Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira each homered, while Andy Pettitte pitched seven scoreless innings.

Rodriguez's homer was his 574th, moving him ahead of Harmon Killebrew for ninth on the all-time list.

With Sunday's win, New York moved 6 1/2 games ahead of Boston in the AL East - its largest lead in the division since winning the AL East title by 10 games in 2006. The club has never failed to win the division when leading by more than six games.

"It's great for us, but we can't stop, we can't think we've won anything," Mariano Rivera said.

The Yankees, who have won seven in a row overall, outscored the Red Sox 12-2 in the final three games, getting three dominating pitching performances by their starters. Pettitte, A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia didn't allow a run over a combined 22 1-3 innings, conceding eight hits.

New York looks to extend its winning streak, which includes two victories at Toronto last week, as it begins another series with the Blue Jays (53-57). The Yankees are 7-2 against Toronto, winning three of four at Yankee Stadium in early July.

While their series against Boston showed how dominating their pitching can be, the Yankees have relied more on their power at the plate against Toronto, averaging 5.7 runs and hitting 15 homers. Hideki Matsui is 9 for 21 with four home runs and 10 RBIs against the Blue Jays this season, while Damon has hit three homers, three doubles and one triple in 34 at-bats.

Sergio Mitre (1-0, 7.50 ERA) and Marc Rzepczynski (1-3, 3.74) will oppose each other for the second time in a week when they take the mound.

Mitre did not receive a decision in New York's 8-4 win over Toronto on Wednesday. He allowed three runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings. Rzepczynski, meanwhile, was charged with the loss after giving up four runs while striking out seven over six innings.

The Yankees have won three of Mitre's four starts since he was called up from Triple-A despite him yielding 16 runs over 18 innings.

Toronto, meanwhile, is 1-5 in its rookie left-hander's starts.

The Blue Jays won two of three against Baltimore over the weekend, including a 7-3 victory Sunday. Marco Scutaro had four hits, including a two-run homer in the third inning. Kevin Millar and Vernon Wells also homered for the Blue Jays, while Roy Halladay pitched eight solid innings for his 12th win.

Scutaro is hitting .404 in the last 12 games with 11 runs scored. He's hitting 5 for 17 (.294) in four games in the Bronx this season.

Toronto is looking to win three straight for the first time since June 21-24.