Bautista's HR in 8th off Robertson beats Yanks, 3-2

TORONTO - Ivan Nova gave the Yankees pretty much everything they could have asked for in his first big-league start.

Robinson Cano gave the Yankees pretty much what he's been giving them all season.

But in the eighth inning, David Robertson did something he hadn't done since early July - give up a run - and that was the difference last night in a 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Jose Bautista, who hit a two-run homer in the third and helped cause a bench-clearing incident in the sixth, drove Robertson's 0-and-1 pitch into the seats in left to break a 2-2 tie and give him an MLB-best 40. Robertson (2-4) had not allowed a run since July 2 against Toronto, a streak of 19 appearances.

"I was trying to throw a fastball away, the pitch just sort of ran in there,'' Robertson said. "Ended up middle in and he just hit it hard.''

The Yankees got the leadoff runner on against closer Kevin Gregg in the ninth when Cano walked. But Gregg retired three straight, including pinch hitter Derek Jeter, for his 28th save.

Bautista was in the middle of most of the excitement, giving the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead in the third by hammering Nova's 2-and-1 pitch into the second deck in left.

But the 23-year-old Nova, who escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the first, wasn't rattled. He allowed six hits and two runs in 51/3 innings while walking one and striking out three; a solid performance, though it remains to be seen if it will be enough to get another start.

"That's too early to talk about,'' Joe Girardi said.

Besides Bautista's homers, the most popular postgame topic was the slugger's reaction to Nova's second pitch of the sixth, a fastball that was wildly high. Bautista watched the pitch sail well over Francisco Cervelli's head and began barking at Nova. Plate umpire Jerry Meals warned both benches.

Bautista kept screaming at Nova, who, with arms outstretched, yelled back. When Bautista took several steps toward the mound, the benches emptied.

"It wasn't on purpose,'' Nova said of what he told Bautista. "I have to pitch inside so I can get a lot of outs.''

Girardi was happy with how the young pitcher handled things.

"I don't want any of our pitchers to back down,'' Girardi said. "You go at hitters and you make hitters uncomfortable. People have been doing this for years. That's baseball.''

Mark Teixeira was perplexed by Bautista's reaction. "It wasn't in, it was a ball right down the middle to the backstop,'' Teixeira said, "so I don't know what that was all about.''

The Jays' Brandon Morrow allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, striking out 12.

Cano gave Nova a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI double, making the second baseman 19-for-48 (.396) with 20 RBIs when hitting cleanup in Alex Rodriguez's absence. But Morrow and three relievers made runs tough to come by. The Blue Jays' hitters had their troubles, too, except for Bautista.

"We just missed location on a couple pitches and he didn't miss them,'' Girardi said. "I thought we threw the ball well tonight, just a couple pitches beat us.''