TORONTO (AP) Jesse Litsch's first pitch of the second inning went behind Alex Rodriguez's legs, an apparent message. The Yankees responded with some hard play and another win.

Robinson Cano hit a go-ahead, two-run double in a four-run sixth inning, Andy Pettitte won consecutive starts for the first time this season and the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 yesterday to extend their winning streak to four.

Yankees manager Joe Torre and some New York players moved to the top step of the dugout after the pitch to A-Rod, who stared back at plate umpire Mark Carlson and later worked out a walk. When the Yankees last played in Toronto on May 30, Rodriguez distracted infielder Howie Clark on a key popup late in the game, yelling something as he approached third base.

Litsch denied throwing at Rodriguez.

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

Torre said it was a little late for sending messages, given that the Yankees and Blue Jays met in the Bronx last month.

"They played us four games at our place," Torre said. "Unless they didn't care about doing it there and they did it here, that doesn't make sense."

In the fourth, Rodriguez slid hard into shortstop John McDonald while trying to break up a double play in the fourth, swiping his left arm in anger and yelling at second base umpire Derryl Cousins.

Rodriguez said after the game that he couldn't remember the pitch behind him, then walked away without answering when asked about the play at second base.

McDonald also had little to say on the matter.

"I didn't hear anything," he said. "I was just running off the field."

In the fifth, Johnny Damon collided with Aaron Hill on a forceout, appearing to clip the second baseman on the leg.

"I had to hustle and I screamed at him 'Heads up' because I don't think he was expecting to see me there that quick," Damon said. The Yankees' Jorge Posada and Toronto's Matt Stairs were each hit by pitches, but no warnings were issued.

Two days after hitting his 500th home run, Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk, moving his average back up to .301.

New York improved to 19-7 since the All-Star break, moved 12 games over .500 for the first time this year and stopped Toronto's home winning streak at eight.

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

The Yankees, 9½ games back in the wild-card race after play on July 7, began the day just a half-game behind Detroit, the AL wild-card leader.

"It's been a crazy year overall but we're in a nice place right now," Rodriguez said. "We've just got to keep building momentum."

Designated hitter Jason Giambi, out since June 1 with a left foot injury, finished a minor league rehab stint on Sunday. He will join the Yankees on Tuesday and could be activated.