Aroldis Chapman’s second pitch was lined for a single. His fourth pitch was laced down the right-field line for a double, his assigned lead now dangling by the slimmest of margins. Nothing has come easily for the Yankees of late, and so it should have been no surprise they would have to grind for this one.

With help from catcher Gary Sánchez, whom Gerrit Cole lauded as the game’s most valuable player, Chapman wriggled free to nail down his 14th save by preserving a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday night at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y., securing a much-needed series win.

• Box score

“It was definitely a tough inning,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “It started with the two base hits, so they definitely made me work. I’m glad everything worked out and we were able to get the victory.”

With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández having opened the ninth with hits, Chapman fought back to whiff Randal Grichuk on four pitches. Chapman then induced pinch-hitter Santiago Espinal to tap to the mound; Chapman threw to Sánchez, who pegged Guerrero scrambling back to third base – a play upheld by review.

“For me, [Chapman is] the best closer in the game,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You’ve just got to keep making pitches, especially when you’re up against a good offense. They took some really good at-bats against him and he just kept making pitches. When you’re the best, you’re out there with confidence.”

With New York one out away, plate umpire CB Bucknor was hit in the mask by Chapman’s first pitch to Lourdes Gurriel Jr., a ball Bucknor ruled was foul. Though Bucknor did not immediately signal foul, Hernández returned to third base on a play that the umpires affirmed was not reviewable. Gurriel flied out to end the game.

“I definitely believe [it was a foul ball],” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “There were two sounds when that play happened, which usually indicates foul tip off the bat and then hitting my glove. I heard it clearly. The umpire heard it as well. I think it was the right call.”

Gary in a pinch
The ninth-inning drama came after the sizzling-hot Sánchez came off the bench to deliver a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning. Sánchez has 11 hits in his last 31 at-bats (.355) with four homers and nine RBIs, and his surge could prompt the Yankees to rethink the pairing of Cole and backup Kyle Higashioka.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t pair them up, it’s just nice knowing, ‘Hey, that’s a day off and he’s got to be ready for a big spot late,’” Boone said. “We’ll see as the season unfolds; I’m sure he’ll be back there at some point to catch him. We have a lot of confidence in Higgy, too.”

Though Cole’s reaction to Sánchez’s 10th homer of the season was one of stone-faced intensity, surrounded on the bench by gleeful coaches and teammates, the right-hander said that Sánchez’s final three innings were worthy of recognition.

As Cole described, Sánchez’s homer delivered “a serious surge of adrenaline, and then I’d better lock it in immediately, because we have the lead. He hit it into the night, a majestic shot, and I’m like, ‘I’ve got to get focused. We need a shutdown inning here.’”

Catching Cole for the first time since Opening Day, Sánchez helped the righty finish a strong eight-inning effort in which he retired the last seven Jays and 22 of the final 25.

“Honestly, it’s not hard to catch him,” Sánchez said. “It was a matter of just getting on the same page and attacking hitters.”

Coming alive late
Waiting for offensive support, Cole held the Blue Jays to Marcus Semien’s leadoff homer and a Cavan Biggio solo shot in the fifth.

Cole scattered four hits, three of which came in the first inning, and leaned upon his changeup to overcome a spin rate deficiency on his fastball and curve -- a stat monitored in the wake of MLB’s upcoming crackdown into “sticky stuff.” Cole threw a 101.5 mph fastball in the eighth inning, and his final pitch was a 94.6 mph changeup.

“Spin rate is not everything,” Cole said. “You can still pitch well if you don’t have a high spin rate.”

New York’s bats were held in check by right-hander Ross Stripling, who navigated a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the first inning by yielding only a Giancarlo Stanton sacrifice fly. Stripling retired 13 consecutive batters after that sac fly, pitching scorelessly until Sánchez cleared the left-field wall.

“You never know when the team is going to need you,” Sánchez said. “Things worked out well tonight.”