NEW YORK -- One run would have been enough for left-hander David Price.

The Toronto Blue Jays wound up with four on a historic swing by first baseman Justin Smoak and it was plenty.

Price allowed three singles in seven innings and Smoak became the first Blue Jay to hit a grand slam at Yankee Stadium on Saturday in a 6-0 victory over the New York Yankees.

Price (11-4) allowed a combined 16 runs in his previous 4 1/3 innings against the Yankees when he pitched for Detroit, but this time New York rarely came close to mounting a threat.

This time, Price allowed his first two hits in the fourth, giving up a leadoff single to designated hitter Alex Rodriguez and a two-out base hit to right fielder Carlos Beltran before retiring nine in a row.

"I made better pitches," said Price, who turned in his second career scoreless start against the Yankees. "I got ahead more often. When I was behind, I was able to make a better pitch and that's what it boils down, especially as pitchers.

"You've got to be able to execute and for the most part that's what I did."

Price struck out seven, issued three walks and threw 71 of 110 pitches for strikes. He put two on in the seventh but ended his second outing with Toronto by getting second baseman Brendan Ryan on a pop-up.

"He's been great," Smoak said. "From day one, I think everyone was excited to have a guy that just goes out there and do what he does. We know if we can get a few runs up on the board... . After that homer, 4-0 lead, with Price on the mound, you know it's pretty much game over."

Added Blue Jays manager John Gibbons: "He's pretty good. That's what we envisioned when we pulled that trade off. That what he does."

The game was still scoreless after those hits allowed by Price, but soon the complexion changed for Toronto, which won its seventh straight and 10th in 11 games.

"It feels good," Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista said. "We're accomplishing what we come out to every single day, and that's winning ballgames, and we've done a pretty good job of that the last two weeks."

Price's effort helped the Blue Jays (60-52) beat the Yankees (61-48) for the sixth time in eight meetings this season and climb to within 2 1/2 games of first place in the AL East.

The Blue Jays face the Yankees 11 more times this season.

"He's being David Price," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "Locating, mixing his pitches, using his changeup, his backdoor cutter to righties. He's locating away from guys, inside. So he was just being who he is."

Toronto began getting to right-hander Ivan Nova (4-4) as he approached the 100-pitch mark.

The Blue Jays had the bases loaded after third baseman Josh Donaldson walked, Bautista singled and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion walked on Nova's 100th pitch.

"Nova threw the ball well and we got to him in the sixth," Price said. "It was really one pitch. When you're in those types of games, it's the first guy to blink first and our offense did a really good job."

Two pitches after Nova hit 100, Smoak drove a 0-and-1 curveball into the right field seats adjacent to the Yankees bullpen. It was Smoak's first career grand slam and the first by a Blue Jay in 285 games all-time in New York.

"That was pretty cool, especially with all the teams and hitters that have come through Toronto," Smoak said.

Said Gibbons: "Unbelievable. In as many games and slugging teams that the Blue Jays have had, it's pretty remarkable,"

Smoak's historic home run came three innings after Gibbons was ejected for the fifth time this season and second time in his career by umpire Greg Gibson.

Gibbons was tossed when he came out of the dugout to discuss a check-swing strikeout by Donaldson.

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki hit his third home run with the Blue Jays, driving a 3-and-2 pitch from reliever Bryan Mitchell into the left field seats with two out in the seventh.

Catcher Russell Martin added a run-scoring single with two out in the eighth.

After scoring 90 runs in a stretch of 10 games, the Yankees lost for the third time in four games. They have been held to four runs in the last 36 innings and have gone scoreless since first baseman Mark Teixeira opened the second inning with a home run on Friday.

Nova allowed four runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings and was unable to get his fourth straight win.

"When you're in a 0-0 game, and you have to face that part of the order, you have to be careful," Girardi said. "You can't lay it in there and he lost the strike zone."

NOTES: Toronto DH Edwin Encarnacion extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an eighth-inning single, doing so after appearing to hurt his hand on a swing. Encarnarcion was looked at by a trainer, took one practice swing and resumed his at-bat. ... Gibbons said 2B Devon Travis (left shoulder) is making progress, but going slower than the Blue Jays hoped. Travis has missed 46 games because of two stints on the disabled list because of left shoulder injuries. ... Yankees LF Brett Gardner, who is 3-for-22 in his career against LHP David Price, had the day off from the starting lineup and entered the game as a pinch hitter.