NEW YORK -- Probably the best thing to happen to the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night was watching the skies above Yankee Stadium open up.

It led to a 42-minute rain delay and for the Blue Jays it meant their hitters would not have to face Michael Pineda again.

The delay proved worth waiting through as Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin sparked an eight-run top of the eighth inning and Toronto stormed back from a six-run deficit for a 12-6 victory over the New York Yankees.

"I don't know but thank god it came around," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "But what a game. Pineda was great. He held us in check after getting shut out last night and we just came to life. Some big nights out of a lot of guys."

Encarnacion followed Josh Donaldson's 12-pitch walk by lining a 1-0 slider from Adam Warren (1-1) over the left-field fence for his 34th home run to tie the game at 6. Martin came through three batters later by sending a 1-2 fastball over the right-field wall for an 8-6 lead and Toronto kept going.

"It just felt like the momentum was shifting in our direction," Martin said. "When everybody gets that good feeling and is kind of anxious to get back up to the plate, it's a good sign. We definitely got a little bit lucky, we got Pineda out of the game. It looked like he would have his A game today, so just got to point to the sky and thank whoever's up there for helping out."

Toronto added three more on a bases-loaded single by Devon Travis, a bases-loaded forceout by Encarnacion and an RBI single by Michael Saunders.

"It's tough, but you just have to focus on executing pitches," Warren said. "That first at-bat, I felt like I kept executing and he kept fouling them off, and you just have to go to the next guy when that happens. I didn't do that, and they just beat me tonight."

It was Toronto's biggest comeback since erasing an 8-1 deficit at Boston on June 12, 2015 and getting a 13-10 win. The Blue Jays scored their most runs and had their most hits (15) since getting 18 in a 17-1 win vs. Cleveland on July 3.

They also hit four home runs for the eighth time but first instance since July 5 and beat the Yankees for the eighth time in 11 meetings this season.

Martin had his 12th career multi-home run game while Troy Tulowitzki homered and had four hits for the Blue Jays (67-52), who lead Baltimore and Boston by a half-game in the AL East.

After striking out 13 times in Monday's 1-0 loss, the Blue Jays went five more innings without scoring. They had four hits off Pineda and had one runner in scoring position.

After Pineda threw his 68th pitch, heavy rains began pelting the field and the tarp was applied with the Yankees holding a 5-0 lead. New York added another run in the sixth but the Blue Jays began their comeback with four in the sixth of Anthony Swarzak when Travis scored on a throwing error by third baseman Chase Headley ahead of the home runs by Tulowitzki and Martin.

Gary Sanchez recorded his first career multi-home run game for the Yankees, who have dropped 11 of their last 15 home games with Toronto. Sanchez hit a solo home run off Marco Estrada in the second and reached the second deck in left field with a three-run shot in the fourth.

Didi Gregorius also homered and had an RBI single for New York, which is 5 1/2 games behind Boston for the second wild card spot.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees blew a six-run lead for the first time since Sept. 28, 2011 at Tampa Bay.

Pineda was in line to win for the fourth time in his last six starts but the delay changed things for him and the Yankees.

"It's unfortunate because Michael was really good tonight, I would've loved to have sent him back out there, but with what he went through with that shoulder, we just felt we couldn't do it," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "His pitch count was around 70 and it was frustrating. I was hoping it would be a quicker rain delay, but when it got to be 45 to 50 minutes, it was frustrating."

Estrada allowed four runs and five hits in four innings. Feldman (6-4) benefited from the comeback and picked up the win by striking out five in three innings.

"Everything kind of clicked there that inning and it was fun to watch," Feldman said.

NOTES: New York RHP Nathan Eovaldi will be out for the rest of the season and likely most of the 2017 campaign because of a second Tommy John surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament and an operation on his right elbow tendon. ... Toronto activated OF Ezequiel Carrera from the 15-day disabled list and designated OF Junior Lake for assignment. ... New York LF Brett Gardner (sore right ankle) missed his fourth straight game but could start Wednesday depending on how he feels in pregame baseball activities. ... Toronto CF Kevin Pillar (left thumb) did some hitting in the batting cage and also has taken fly balls and ground balls. He could go on a rehab assignment this weekend.