Hernandez, Yankees Stop Skids

The struggling New York Yankees needed a stopper. Orlando Hernandez filled that role after a chat in a hotel elevator with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre.

Hernandez pitched two-hit ball for eight innings Thursday night, ending his three-game losing streak, as the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1, at Boston. Mariano Rivera closed as New York won for the second time in nine games and salvaged the finale of the three-game series.

A day earlier, Stottlemyre told Hernandez how badly the team needed a victory.

“Mel was patting him on the back, telling him he’s a stopper,” Manager Joe Torre said. “He didn’t quite understand it, but we got the translation through to him.”

Hernandez (4-4) gave up a single by Reggie Jefferson with one out in the fifth and a leadoff triple by Nomar Garciaparra in the seventh.

Garciaparra scored on Troy O’Leary’s sacrifice fly, making the score 2-1. But the Yankees made the score 3-1 in the eighth on Bernie Williams’ home run.

Toronto 7, Detroit 0--Rookie Roy Halladay pitched his first shutout, Tony Fernandez went four for four with two runs batted in and Shawn Green hit his 14th homer for the Blue Jays at Toronto.

Halladay (3-2) gave up seven hits, struck out six and walked none for his first victory since April 18. During that span, he had two losses and three no-decisions.

It was Halladay’s first start against the Tigers since last Sept. 27, when Bobby Higginson broke up his no-hit bid with a two-out, pinch-hit homer in the ninth.

Kansas City 7, Oakland 1--Jeff Suppan pitched a five-hitter at Kansas City as the Royals completed their first three-game sweep at home in nearly four years.

The Royals, whose 29-51 home record last year was the worst in the majors, hadn’t swept a three-game series in Kauffman Stadium since doing it against the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 29-31, 1995.

Suppan (3-3) had a two-hit shutout before weakening in the ninth. He gave up three consecutive hits, including Ben Grieve’s run-scoring single, before getting Matt Stairs to ground into a double play and retiring Tim Raines on a groundout.