TORONTO -- With his spot in the Toronto Blue Jays' starting rotation on the line and demotion to the minors looming, Mark Hendrickson delivered his best game in almost a month. Hendrickson pitched six solid innings and Carlos Delgado drove in his major league-leading 74th run as Toronto beat Pittsburgh 5-4 last night to complete a three-game interleague sweep of the Pirates.

Hendrickson (5-5) struggled recently and Toronto manager Carlos Tosca hinted the left-hander could end up with the Blue Jays' AAA affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., if he didn't pitch well last night.

The six-foot-nine former NBAer answered Tosca's challenge, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings, as he won for the first time since May 16.

"Word around the clubhouse was this was a pressure-packed start for me," Hendrickson said with a smile. "I made it into a do-or-die situation and I wanted to go out and stay focused.

"It was amazing. I had a pretty good night's sleep, a pretty good day and when I got out there tonight I was relaxed. I think I was more focused tonight than I was in a long time."

Hendrickson struggled in his previous four starts, pitching just 16 innings and allowing 29 hits with an earned-run average of 8.44. He got off to a good start last night, and after walking Kenny Lofton to start the game retired the next eight batters.

"There was a lot of pressure on him," said Toronto catcher Tom Wilson, who homered in the sixth inning. "He knew what was at stake and he went out and pitched a good ball game for us."

Toronto (37-30), which began the night 1 1/2 games behind Boston for first in the American League East, moved seven games over .500 for the first time since May 7, 2001, and won its season- high sixth straight at SkyDome.

Jays have won four in a row.

BLUE JAYS 5

PIRATES 4