Roy Halladay pitches one-hitter as Blue Jays beat Yankees 6-0, end New York’s win streak at 7

Halladay pitches one-hitter, Jays beat Yankees 6-0

TORONTO — After three straight subpar starts, Roy Halladay was back to being dominant Friday.

Halladay pitched a one-hitter to snap a three-start losing streak and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 6-0, ending New York’s winning streak at seven games.

“If we gave up one (run), we wouldn’t have won tonight,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, whose team was shut out for the fifth time this season.

The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner, Halladay struggled with his command in recent outings but had no such trouble against the Yankees, striking out nine and walking three to win for the first time since Aug. 14 at Tampa Bay.

“To feel like, at any moment, I could make a pitch if I had to makes a big difference,” Halladay said.

Aaron Hill doubled twice and had two RBIs, and Adam Lind had three hits for the Blue Jays, who won for the first time in five games.

The AL East-leading Yankees lost for the first time on their current seven-game road trip. New York has won 14 of 18 away from home.

The complete game was the sixth of the season for Halladay (14-8), tying him with Kansas City’s Zack Greinke for the major league lead, and the 46th of his career.

“He’s just a cut above a lot of other people,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said.

Former teammate Eric Hinske saw a new wrinkle from Halladay.

“He threw a lot of changeups, which is kind of out of the norm for him,” Hinske said. “If he’s got another pitch in his arsenal, that’s not good for us. He’s one of the best in the game and he had everything going right tonight.”

It was Halladay’s second one-hitter. He also had one in his second career start, Sept. 27, 1998, against Detroit.

Halladay had matched a career high by losing three straight coming in but was sharp from the get-go in this one. The right-hander was perfect through the first 4 2-3 before walking Jorge Posada on a 3-2 pitch in the fifth. Halladay struck out Robinson Cano to end the inning.

Shortstop Ramiro Pena broke up Halladay’s no-hit bid in the sixth, doubling into the right-field corner on an 0-1 curveball.

“I thought it was a decent pitch early in the count,” Halladay said. “It was down. You can second guess yourself on things like that. Knowing he’s going to be aggressive you can probably be down with it even more.

“Our game plan was to be aggressive, to go after guys,” Halladay added. “That’s the reason you put yourself in those situations. I don’t think you’re ever going to be upset giving up a hit on a pitch you make aggressively.”

Johnny Damon popped out before walks to Hinske and Mark Teixeira loaded the bases for Alex Rodriguez, who struck out looking.

“Especially after you walk two guys, you try and be aggressive,” Halladay said. “Obviously he’s a good hitter. I think the tendency sometimes is to be too careful and that’s where you get yourself into trouble. I just tried to be aggressive and we got ahead and were able to make a good pitch, for us, to get him out with.”

That was the first of 10 straight outs by Halladay, who needed no help in closing things out.

Joba Chamberlain (8-5) allowed three runs and six hits in three innings and has not won in five starts. He threw 59 pitches, walked two and struck out two.

“He was aggressive with his fastball tonight and did the things that we wanted,” Girardi said. “Unfortunately we didn’t score any runs.”

The Yankees have placed strict limits on Chamberlain’s workload in his first full season as a starter to protect his arm and keep him fresh for the playoffs. The 23-year-old was pulled after three innings and 35 pitches in his last start, an Aug. 31 home win over the Chicago White Sox.

“I really, honestly don’t think about it,” Chamberlain said. “I don’t think about it until they come down and say it’s done.”

Toronto jumped on Chamberlain with two in the first, forcing him to throw 28 pitches. Hill and Adam Lind hit back-to-back doubles and Lind scored on a fielding error by Pena.

Chamberlain gave up two singles but needed just 11 pitches to get through the second. He labored again in the third, though, throwing 20 pitches and falling behind 3-0 on Joe Inglett’s RBI single.

Chamberlain is 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays this season.

Hill made it 6-0 with a bases-loaded double in the seventh.

NOTES: New York was held to one hit or less for the first time since a 7-0 loss to Oakland on June 30, 2007. … Yankees RHP Mariano Rivera (groin) will throw a light bullpen Saturday and could pitch again Sunday, Girardi said. … New York SS Derek Jeter and OF Nick Swisher got the day off. Jeter jammed a finger on his right hand diving for a ball Thursday but the injury is not considered serious. … Toronto 1B Lyle Overbay (finger) was held out of the lineup and is day-to-day. … Marco Scutaro snapped a career-worst 0 for 19 slump with a single in the second.