"The last time the Yankees left for a road trip, they were in crisis. As they boarded the bus for La Guardia Airport last night, they were full of confidence.

The Yankees dispatched the Blue Jays, 7-3, yesterday at Yankee Stadium, their seventh victory in their past nine games. Andruw Jones blasted two home runs. Mark Teixeira added another. And Mariano Rivera made his 1,000th career appearance.

As they begin a nine-game road trip in Seattle tomorrow night, the Yankees are a team believing it is hitting its stride.

"We expect to roll off a bunch of wins in a row," Teixeira said. "As long as we're pitching like we're pitching, we're capable of doing that."

The pitching held up again yesterday with Freddy Garcia continuing his leg of the Bronx Revival Tour before 43,201 fans.

Garcia used his usual blend of off-speed pitches to frustrate the Jays over 61/3 innings. He allowed three runs on eight hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

He improved to 3-4 this season, and continues to give the Yankees more than they could have dreamed of when they signed him to a minor-league contract in February.

"Everything we needed and more," is the way general manager Brian Cashman described Garcia's contributions. "He's allowing us to plug a major hole and answer our prayers."

Yunel Escobar led the game off with a triple, but Garcia got the next three batters out, including hot-hitting Jose Bautista. Garcia has shown a knack for stranding runners. Opponents are batting just .122 against him with runners in scoring position."