But this time, closer Roberto Hernandez held on. Barely, but he held on.

Hernandez loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning but got Alex Gonzalez on a grounder to shortstop for the final out as the Kansas City Royals snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at SkyDome.

The Royals (3-9), last in the AL Central, travel to Minnesota to take on the surprising Twins (9-2), who have won six straight to jump to the top of the division. Brian Meadows (0-2, 9.00) will pitch for the Royals tonight. Joe Mays (2-0, 1.80) goes for the Twins in the first game of the three-game series. KC returns home Friday to host Toronto.

Hernandez, who had blown his last two save opportunities -- allowing nine runs over 1 1/3 innings -- was able to protect Kansas City's two-run advantage on Sunday after allowing four ninth-inning runs in Saturday's loss.

"I was biting at the chompers to get in there and get a redeemer from (Saturday)," Hernandez said.

After Tony Batista fouled out to begin the final frame, Darrin Fletcher singled to left and Jose Cruz singled to right. Brian Simmons flied out, but Shannon Stewart walked and represented the winning run.

Gonzalez, however, bounced out on a 1-1 pitch from Hernandez, who recorded his second save for a Royals team that led the major leagues in blown saves last year.

"I was trying to pinch myself, thinking we're in another nightmare, the same one we saw (Saturday)," Kansas City's Mike Sweeney said. "Thankfully Roberto pitched well and we got out of it."

It was a big win for Kansas City, which had dropped five straight road games.

"It (the win) was huge coming off a tough loss (Saturday)," said Sweeney. "I think the last game we won on the road was in Winter Haven, Florida. We haven't won a game since spring training. For us to win on the road is a big step."

Kansas City had dropped five straight to the Blue Jays, who took two out of three over the weekend.

HOT BATS: Mark Quinn has put together an 11-game hitting streak. Quinn's hitting .404 with five home runs and 11 RBI. Sweeney's 2-for-4 day on Sunday raised his average to .167, but he has homered in three straight games.