About the only thing the New York Yankees didn't do was complete the sweep.

Frank Thomas singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Yankees in front of 32,632 fans at the Rogers Centre on Thursday.

Frank Thomas singles in the winning run in Thursday's 2-1 Blue Jays win.
(J. P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)

Alex Rios stroked Yankees reliever Chris Britton's first pitch of the ninth inning for a single, stole second base and scored on Thomas's decisive single up the middle.

"We needed a win," Thomas said. "It's been two walkoffs against us in the past five days — it feels good to [win a] walkoff."

Thomas also doubled in Russ Adams, who had walked, to open the scoring in the first inning, as the Blue Jays (73-73) salvaged the finale of the three-game series and snapped a five-game losing streak in the process.

"We're better than a .500 team," Thomas said. "But right now, we're a .500 team and we need to finish better than that."

Blue Jays reliever Scott Downs (3-2) notched only two outs but was credited with the win, while Britton (0-1) was tagged with the loss.
 
Toronto starter A.J. Burnett lasted eight innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. 

Burnett took the mound with a 3-1 mark and 1.90 earned-run average in six starts since being activated from the disabled list on Aug. 12.

"I was trying to attack them and give them a look at everything I have every at-bat, try to keep them guessing a little bit," he said. "It takes a lot out of you pitching against that team, just because of who it is and the fact they work the count so well."

Damon homers in defeat

Johnny Damon smacked his 11th home run of the season in the top of the sixth inning for the Yankees (83-63), who lost for the first time in seven outings.

"They shut us down offensively," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

The loss dropped the Yankees 5½ games behind the idle Boston Red Sox atop the American League East Division, but they lead the Detroit Tigers by 4½ games in the AL wild-card race; Toronto trails by 10.

New York rookie Ian Kennedy pitched effectively in just his third major-league start, surrendering just one run and one hit — Thomas's RBI double — with four walks and seven strikeouts over seven innings.

"Kennedy was remarkable, absolutely remarkable," Torre said.

"The kid impressed me," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

Fellow rookie Phil Hughes and veteran Mike Mussina pitched equally well as New York took the first two games by scores of 9-2 and 4-1.

Eight rookie pitchers have started for the Yankees this season, breaking a franchise record that stood since 1907 — when they were nicknamed the Highlanders.

With files from the Canadian Press