Soccer star David Beckham was no lucky charm for the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

With the English soccer star looking on, the red-hot New York Yankees halted the Jays' eight-game home winning streak with a 5-4 victory on a sweltering day at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, left, and teammate Hideki Matsui were part of a four-run sixth inning that sank the Blue Jays in Toronto on Monday.
(Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

Outfielder Melky Cabrera collected three hits, and Andy Pettitte pitched 5 2/3 innings to earn his eighth win of the season for the Yankees, who improved to a major-league best 19-7 since the all-star break.

"In tight ball games against them the way they've been swinging, it's going to be tough," lamented Jays manager John Gibbons. "Tack-on runs are big, especially when you're facing that lineup. It turned out to be the difference today."

The Yankees (62-50) remain a half game back of Detroit in the American League Wild Card race after the Tigers defeated Tampa Bay 6-4 on Monday night.

The Blue Jays (56-55), who were coming off a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers, sit six games behind New York and Detroit.

Beckham, who on Sunday sat out with an ankle injury as his Los Angeles Galaxy teamates battled Toronto FC to a draw in MLS action, spent some of his off day on Monday chatting with Blue Jays players in the clubhouse before taking in the game.

Beckham saw some retaliation from the Blue Jays in the second inning, when starter Jesse Litsch sailed a ball behind Yankees star Alex Rodriguez — provoking a glare from the third baseman and a buzz from the crowd of 42,714.

Message pitch

The pitch appeared to be a message to Rodriguez from the last time New York was in town in late May. While running the bases, Rodriguez distracted since-released Toronto third baseman Howie Clark by yelling at him as he camped under a fly ball. A confused Clark let the ball drop, and Rodriguez's antics drew criticism from Toronto players following the game.

Litsch, though, denied intentionally throwing at Rodriguez.

"It was just a two-seamer that got away from me, basically," the young righthander said. "I'm not going to give away the inside. I go inside a lot."

Rodriguez declined comment on the play, and also on his hard slide into second in the fourth inning, while unsuccessfully trying to keep shortstop John McDonald from completing a double play. Rodriguez slapped the ground and also seemed to complain to the umpire afterwards.

After a slow start, the Yankees got to Litsch (5-4), who failed in his attempt to win his third consecutive start. The 22-year-old rookie lasted five-plus innings, allowing three runs and three walks on six hits.

Litsch held a 3-1 lead heading into the sixth, but was yanked after allowing the first two batters to reach base.

Reliever Scott Downs promptly coughed up an RBI single to Hideki Matsui, and two batters later Robinson Cano smacked a go-ahead two-run double to centre to score Rodriguez and Matsui.

Cabrera followed with an RBI single to right field to complete the four-run inning and give the Yankees a 5-3 edge they would not relinquish.

Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill reduced New York's lead to one run by smacking his 12th homer of the season in the eighth, but Yankees closer Mariano Rivera struck out sluggers Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and Frank Thomas in the ninth to earn his 431st career save.

Pettitte just good enough

Yankees starter Andy Pettitte wasn't at his best against Toronto, but pitched well enough to keep New York rolling. The lefty surrendered three runs while striking out seven to win improve to 11-4 in 16 starts at Rogers Centre.

The streaking Yankees have won seven of their last eight games, scoring 79 runs during that stretch.

"We just have a lot of confidence right now," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "Hopefully, we can continue to build on it."

The Yankees opened the scoring in the third when Johnny Damon brought home Cabrera, who had tripled, with a ground out to second base.

The Jays replied with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead on a double by Thomas that scored Rios and Reed Johnson.

Toronto missed a chance to break the game open in the fifth when they had runners at second and third with no one out, but were only able to score one run on Wells's RBI infield hit.

With files from the Canadian Press