NEW YORK (AP) — J.A. Happ had made eight previous starts at Yankee Stadium plus a relief appearance in the final game of the 2009 World Series. This was different.

“It was kind of weird looking down and seeing the pinstripes on me,” he said, “but I’m happy to get used to it.”

James Anthony Happ made the midseason impact the Yankees hoped for, pitching one-run ball over six innings to win his New York debut 6-3 over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

“It’s a significant dude to the rotation,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in California surfer-speak, “that helps in not just the days he pitches, hopefully, but also just makes our staff and our bullpen as a whole a little bit better,”

Three days after New York acquired the 35-year-old left-hander from Toronto for infielder Brandon Drury and outfield prospect Billy McKinney, Happ took a shutout into the fifth before Salvador Perez’s opposite-field home run into the Yankees bullpen in right-center. Happ (11-6) allowed three hits, struck out two and walked one, and the first-time All-Star ended a four-start winless streak.