TORONTO — As they fade into another September sunset, the Toronto Blue Jays continue to find inspiration from an unlikely source.

In his second start and third appearance since spending 38 months on the disabled list, Dustin McGowan passed his biggest test yet in a solid five-inning session against the New York Yankees.

The outcome was not settled until the bottom of the ninth, long after McGowan and Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia were gone. Jose Molina, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, delivered an RBI single to give the Jays a 5-4 walkoff win.

Adam Lind broke out of a long slump with three hits, including a three-run double and another two-bagger to open the ninth. After Brett Lawrie was intentionally walked, Colby Rasmus bunted into a forceout at third base.

Molina then drove a Cory Wade pitch to the wall in right-centre field, scoring Lawrie.

McGowan left with a 4-3 lead and the prospect of his first win since June 22, 2008. He allowed three hits, including a two-run homer by Eric Chavez, walked two and struck out four.

It was McGowan’s longest outing of the season, including 12 rehab starts in the minors. As the Jays approach the off-season with a cloudy rotation picture, McGowan’s progress represents an unexpected bonus.

Bidding for his 20th win, Sabathia gave up 10 hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings, matching his shortest start of the season.

Lind, who came in batting .173 in his previous 18 games, whacked a three-run double off Sabathia to put the Jays up by one in the bottom of the fifth.

But the Yankees tied it in the sixth against Jesse Litsch on Nick Swisher’s two-out single.

In the sixth and eighth innings, the Jays loaded the bases but could not score. Both times, Edwin Encarnacion came up with two outs and hit the ball hard, directly to Yankee outfielders.

New York manager Joe Girardi walked Jose Bautista intentionally with second base open in the eighth to get to Encarnacion, who hit a long fly ball to Swisher in right field.

Casey Janssen lowered his ERA to 1.94 with a perfect eighth and ninth.

Aided by Jose Bautista’s throw that cut down Robinson Cano trying to stretch a single, McGowan faced only 10 batters in the first three innings.

Before the Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the fourth, McGowan induced two ground balls that had double-play potential, but the Jays could not convert. On the first one, Mark Teixeira hit a bouncer to Brett Lawrie, playing in short right field on the pronounced shift, but Lawrie made a long underhand flip to second that enabled Teixeira to beat the relay.

Toronto loaded the bases against Sabathia with two outs in the sixth, but reliever Luis Ayala retired Encarnacion on a hard line drive to centre.

McGowan was originally scheduled to start Sunday, but that changed after Brett Cecil cut his left index finger while cleaning a blender on Wednesday in the visitors’ clubhouse at Fenway Park.

Cecil is expected to start Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels.

He cut his thumb making chicken salad in spring training 2010 and missed a start. On Friday afternoon, he joked that the Jays might do well to hire a “personal assistant” for him.

“I’m scared of a butter knife right now,” he said.

Colby Rasmus, just back from a rehab stint at double-A New Hampshire, returned to centre field and went 0-for-5. Adam Loewen, who had played there the past two games, will play left field or designated hitter on Saturday, manager John Farrell said.

Yunel Escobar missed his fourth straight game after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow a week ago. The swelling has gone down but his range of motion has not returned, Farrell said.

National Post

© Copyright (c) National Post

CHICAGO (AP) – Brandon Morrow finished the season on a strong note and joined an elite group of Toronto Blue Jays’ pitchers from the past.

Morrow became the fourth pitcher in Toronto history to record 200 strikeouts in a season and a ninth-inning rally propelled the Blue Jays over the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Wednesday in the season finale.

The 27-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on five hits over six innings of work. He walked five and struck out seven. His strikeout of Tyler Flowers in the fifth inning as No. 200 and he finished the season with 203, fanning four of his last five batters.

“It’s something I was always looking to, especially this last game, I knew I needed four,” said Morrow, who started the day with 196 strikeouts. “That kind of led to some of the walks early on in the game. I settled myself down and I ended up getting it and a few more. It was a good day.”

Morrow joined Roy Halladay (three times), Rogers Clemens (twice) and A.J. Burnett as the only pitchers in Blue Jays history to reach the 200-strikeout plateau.

“Any time you strike out 200 guys in a season, it demonstrates you’ve got tremendous stuff,” said Blue Jays manager John Farrell, a former major league pitcher himself.

“He learned a lot about himself this year, and we’re going to need him moving forward to be that pitcher he’s shown the last three starts.”

Morrow, who didn’t factor in the decision, brought a scoreless streak of 15 innings into the game, but a Gordon Beckham solo homer in the fourth inning halted that streak at 18 2-3 innings.

He posted a 0.86 earned run average over his last three starts – 21 innings pitched – to rebound from a five-start stretch in which Morrow posted a 9.47 ERA. He finished 11-11.

“I kept talking about finishing strong,” he said. “These last three outings, it’s great to get two wins and three quality starts to finish the year.”

Trailing 2-1 in the ninth inning, the Blue Jays benefited from a wild outing from Chris Sale (2-2), who walked three straight hitters with runners on second and third to force in the tying and go-ahead runs.

The win brought Toronto back up to .500 to finish the season, its first with Farrell at the helm.

Kelly Johnson doubled to start the ninth with Toronto trailing 2-1 and moved to third on David Cooper’s single. Colby Rasmus sacrificed Cooper to second before J.P. Arencibia was walked intentionally to load the bases. Sale (2-2) then walked Mark Teahen and Adam Loewen back-to-back, putting the Blue Jays ahead.

“If you hadn’t seen the first 161 games of the year, you could really look at this game and epitomize or wrap up our entire season,” Farrell said.

“We finished an even .500, but it was the character this team has demonstrated all year long. We benefited from some wildness in the ninth inning, and it was enough to hold on.”

NOTES: Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who hit 43 homers and could finish as the major league home run league champion in back-to-back seasons, wasn’t shy when asked who should be the AL MVP. “If I couldn’t vote for myself, then Miguel Cabrera,” he said of the Tigers star.” But if he could vote for himself, would he? “Wouldn’t you?” Bautista said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Chris Sale returns to the mound after walking in the go-ahead run, Toronto’s David Cooper, left, during the ninth inning of the season finale for both clubs. (Charles Rex Abrogast/Associated Press)

Brandon Morrow finished the season on a strong note and joined an elite group of Toronto Blue Jays’ pitchers from the past.

Morrow became the fourth pitcher in Toronto history to record 200 strikeouts in a season and a ninth-inning rally propelled the Blue Jays over the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Wednesday in the season finale.

The 27-year-old right-hander allowed two runs on five hits over six innings of work. He walked five and struck out seven. His strikeout of Tyler Flowers in the fifth inning as No. 200 and he finished the season with 203, fanning four of his last five batters.

“It’s something I was always looking to, especially this last game, I knew I needed four,” said Morrow, who started the day with 196 strikeouts. “That kind of led to some of the walks early on in the game. I settled myself down and I ended up getting it and a few more. It was a good day.”

Morrow joined Roy Halladay (three times), Rogers Clemens (twice) and A.J. Burnett as the only pitchers in Blue Jays history to reach the 200-strikeout plateau.

“Any time you strike out 200 guys in a season, it demonstrates you’ve got tremendous stuff,” said Blue Jays manager John Farrell, a former major league pitcher himself.

“He learned a lot about himself this year, and we’re going to need him moving forward to be that pitcher he’s shown the last three starts.”

Morrow, who didn’t factor in the decision, brought a scoreless streak of 15 innings into the game, but a Gordon Beckham solo homer in the fourth inning halted that streak at 18 2/3 innings.

He posted a 0.86 earned run average over his last three starts – 21 innings pitched — to rebound from a five-start stretch in which Morrow posted a 9.47 ERA. He finished 11-11.

“I kept talking about finishing strong,” he said. “These last three outings, it’s great to get two wins and three quality starts to finish the year.”

Trailing 2-1 in the ninth inning, the Blue Jays benefited from a wild outing from Chris Sale (2-2), who walked three straight hitters with runners on second and third to force in the tying and go-ahead runs.

The win brought Toronto back up to .500 to finish the season, its first with Farrell at the helm.

Kelly Johnson doubled to start the ninth with Toronto trailing 2-1 and moved to third on David Cooper’s single. Colby Rasmus sacrificed Cooper to second before J.P. Arencibia was walked intentionally to load the bases. Sale (2-2) then walked Mark Teahen and Adam Loewen back-to-back, putting the Blue Jays ahead.

“If you hadn’t seen the first 161 games of the year, you could really look at this game and epitomize or wrap up our entire season,” Farrell said.

“We finished an even .500, but it was the character this team has demonstrated all year long. We benefited from some wildness in the ninth inning, and it was enough to hold on.”

CHICAGO White Sox reliever Chris Sale issued a pair of bases-loaded walks in the ninth inning and Chicago’s disappointing season ended Wednesday with a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

It seemed to be a fitting finish for the White Sox, whose year spun out of control. Earlier in the day, Ozzie Guillen was announced as the new manager of the Florida Marlins — the White Sox released him from his contract Monday.

Expected to be a contender in the AL Central, the White Sox wound up 79-83 with pitching coach Don Cooper serving as interim manager the last two games.

And now the search for a new manager begins with general manager Ken Williams saying he has a short list and a preferred candidate. Hitting coach Greg Walker also announced before the game Wednesday he was stepping down.

The Blue Jays’ victory gave them an 81-81 mark under rookie manager John Farrell as they finished fourth in the tough AL East.

Kelly Johnson doubled to start the ninth with Toronto trailing 2-1 and moved to third on David Cooper’s single. Colby Rasmus sacrificed Cooper to second before J.P. Arencibia was walked intentionally to load the bases. Sale (2-2) then walked Canadians Mark Teahen and Adam Loewen back-to-back, putting the Blue Jays ahead.

The rally denied Chicago starter Phil Humber his 10th victory after he gave up just two hits and a run in 6 2/3 innings while fanning a career-high nine.

Shawn Camp (6-3) pitched the eighth for the win. Frank Francisco worked the ninth for his 17th save in 21 chances.

The White Sox went ahead 2-1 in the fifth when Alexei Ramirez doubled down the third baseline and a fan picked up the ball after it went into foul territory. Alejandro De Aza had opened with a single and raced home on the play.

But, instead of sending De Aza back to third after the fan interference, umpires ruled he was far enough around the bases and would have scored regardless, so the run counted. Farrell came out for an explanation, but there was no long argument.

Toronto’s Eric Thames, the second batter in the game, hit an RBI double after a leadoff walk to Mike McCoy. The Blue Jays didn’t get another hit until Teahen singled off Ramirez’s glove at short in the seventh to finish Humber.

Chicago had tied it in the fourth on Gordon Beckham’s 10th homer, ending a streak of 18 scoreless innings by Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow. Morrow gave up five hits and two runs in six innings.

Chicago’s Adam Dunn, who needed six plate appearances in the final game to finish with the worst qualifying batting average in modern big league history, sat out the game. He finished with a .159 average in 496 plate appearances, had a club-record 177 strikeouts and hit only 11 homers after signing a four-year, $56-million US contract.

NOTES: Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who hit 43 homers and could finish as the major-league home run champion in back-to-back seasons, wasn’t shy when asked who should be the AL MVP. “If I couldn’t vote for myself, then Miguel Cabrera,” he said of the Detroit Tigers star.” But, if he could vote for himself, would he? “Wouldn’t you?” Bautista said. … White Sox LHP Mark Buehrle, who has pitched at least 200 innings in every season since 2001 and will be a free agent, reiterated that he had no idea if he would re-sign with the only team he’s ever played for. Buehrle said his preference is to return but added it might be interesting to see how another organization works. Either way, he said the White Sox don’t owe him anything. He signed a four-year, $56-million deal in 2007. “They’ve given me plenty, they’ve given me a chance to play baseball and given me tons of money,” Buehrle said. … Attendance was 20,524, running the season total at U.S. Cellular Field to 2,001,262. … Morrow struck out seven, giving him 203 for the season and making him the fourth Blue Jays pitcher to fan at least 200.

The Associated Press

Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays drove in the winning run in extra innings to end a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Ricky Romero pitched nine strong innings but didn’t get the win. Adam Lind didn’t get a hit but drove in the winning run.

Somehow it all worked out for the Toronto Blue Jays as they defeated the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Lind’s fielder’s choice grounder in the 10th inning on Monday.

The Blue Jays are now 10-0 in extra inning games at home.

“Being able to get deep in games and stuff like that as a starting pitcher makes you proud,” said Romero who was deprived of his 16th win when the Blue Jays couldn’t score in the ninth.

“I’m not worried about stats and stuff like that I’m worried about going deep in games and giving the team a chance to win the game,” Romero said. “As long as I do that I know I’ve done my job.”

The game turned when Angels right-fielder Torii Hunter, who moved in as a fifth infielder in the 10th inning, couldn’t get the out at home on Lind’s grounder.

With Mike McCoy at third base and Jose Bautista at first with one out, left-hander Scott Downs (6-3), a former Blue Jay, got a ground ball toward first base from Lind.

First baseman Mark Trumbo couldn’t reach the ball but Hunter did and his throw home was just up the first base line as McCoy scored the winning run.

It made a winner of Casey Janssen (6-0), who pitched the 10th and overcame a leadoff double by Vernon Wells, also a former Blue Jay.

Hunter was brought into the infield when the Angels failed to turn the double play on Bautista’s grounder to third. They only were able to get the force on Eric Thames, who had followed McCoy with a single, when second baseman Howie Kendrick juggled the throw.

Blue Jays manager John Farrell liked the strategy of bringing Hunter to the infield but was glad it did not work this time.

“They had someone in the field right in front of the ground ball,” he said. “When you’re in a do-or-die situation and you’ve got a ground ball pitcher on the mound it’s a very effective strategy, particularly with the match-up.

“It’s very difficult to lift the ball on Downs and they covered all the spots that they felt defensively they were going to be in place for.”

Hunter had also been moved into the infield in the ninth, but when there were two out he went back to right field where he hauled in J.P. Arencibia’s line drive to force extra innings.

Arencibia drove in two runs with a two-out ground ball single to right in the fourth that put Toronto in front 2-1.

But the game came down to Lind’s grounder and Hunter’s throw.

“That’s a tough play,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “You’re going to your left. It’s a base hit if Torii’s not there. He got it and tried to make a quick crow-hop to get the ball home and just pulled his throw a little bit.”

Hunter agreed: “Tough play, man. My momentum was carrying me to my left. I had everything going on. The base runner was in my way, Trumbo got in my way and my momentum just wouldn’t let me set my feet. I should have made that play. I should have set my feet and made that play.”

The Blue Jays had a chance to win the game for Romero in the ninth. Edwin Encarnacion led off with a single against reliever Bobby Cassevah.

Downs took over and Dewayne Wise ran for Encarnacion. Kelly Johnson put down a bunt that hugged the line for a hit as Downs watched it roll, hoping it would go foul. It didn’t.

Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., sacrificed to put runners at second and third.

Pinch-hitter Jose Molina took a curveball for a third strike before Arencibia lined out to Hunter to end the inning.

That left Romero, who had 20 groundball outs through nine innings, with nothing to show for his effort. He allowed six hits and no walks while striking out five.

He has a career-high 217 1-3 innings pitched for the season.

“My sinker was working today and they kept pounding it into the ground,” Romero said. “Towards the end I started using my second and third pitches and I was able to stick to my game plan.”

His record stayed at 15-10 but his earned-run was lowered to 2.98. He has allowed only 170 hits in 31 starts.

“I was just praying, I was trying to get something up and out over the plate because anything middle in is going to cut and break your bat,” Hunter said.

Angels starter Jerome Williams left the game after 6 1-3 innings with the score tied at 2-2. He allowed six hits, three walks and two unearned runs while striking out three.

Hunter led off the second with his 21st homer on a 3-2 fastball.

The Blues Jays were able to turn a single, two walks and an error into a pair of unearned runs in the fourth on Arencibia’s groundball single through the right side of the infield.

Trumbo tied it for the Angels when he led off the fifth with his 28th homer. He leads major-league rookies in home runs and with 83 RBIs. Arencibia in second at 78 RBIs along with 23 homers.

Read More: Freddy Garcia (P – NYY), New York Yankees, New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays, Sep 18, 2011 1:07 PM EDT

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) – Adam Lind homered twice and Brandon Morrow tossed eight shutout innings, as the Toronto Blue Jays delayed Mariano Rivera’s pursuit of history and earned a 3-0 victory over the New York Yankees in the rubber match of a three-game series at Rogers Centre.

Rivera notched his 601st save on Saturday to tie Trevor Hoffman’s all-time mark and was not needed in Sunday’s contest, as the Yankees mustered little offense with Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira all on the bench for a day of rest.

Morrow (10-11) entered the contest 0-4 in his previous five starts, but limited New York to four hits with a walk and eight strikeouts to win for the first time since August 17 at Seattle.

“I spotted my fastball pretty good and I had a good curveball today,” Morrow said.

Frank Francisco worked around a one-out double in the ninth to notch his 16th save.

The Yankees still lead the AL East by 4 1/2 games over the Red Sox, who dropped an 8-5 decision to the Tampa Bay Rays. New York just wrapped up a 10-game road trip at 4-6 and will start an eight-game homestand with a makeup game against Minnesota on Monday. Tampa Bay then visits for four before Boston invades the Bronx next weekend.

Freddy Garcia (11-8) went the first 4 2/3 innings for New York and was charged with three runs on five hits and three walks. The veteran righty has been roughed up for 15 runs in 12 1/3 innings over his last three outings. Still, he had been 4-0 over his last seven starts and suffered his first loss since a 7-1 setback to Toronto on July 15.

“He just missed his spots,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of his starter.

Eduardo Nunez had three of the five Yankee hits. He also had a baserunning gaffe after a sixth-inning single, trying to race to second after right fielder Jose Bautista threw behind him. Edwin Encarnacion easily took the throw at first and fired to second for the out.

The Yankees had two on with one out in the top of the first and tried to pull off a double steal, but trailing runner Robinson Cano was thrown out at second and Alex Rodriguez flied to right to end the threat.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the second when Lind led off the inning with his 25th home run of the season. Lind then clubbed his second of the game with one out in the fourth to make it 2-0.

The Jays tacked on another in the fifth and chased Garcia in the process. J.P. Arencibia walked with one out and raced all the way to third when Garcia threw away Mike McCoy’s bunt single. Eric Thames followed with a sacrifice fly and Toronto went on to load the bases when Bautista singled and Lind walked. Luis Ayala took over on the mound and got Encarnacion on a fly ball to center.

Lind had a chance to blow the game open in the seventh with the bases loaded and one out against Raul Valdes, but was caught looking at a third strike. Encarnacion then grounded to third to keep it a three-run game.

The Yankees, though, got only a two-out single from Chris Dickerson in the eighth and a one-out double from Nunez in the ninth.

---

---

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — J.P. Arencibia’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth drove in the winning run as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to edge the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 on Saturday.

Toronto tied the game earlier in the inning on a wild pitch.

Baltimore took a 4-3 lead on Vladimir Guerrero’s double in the eighth but closer Kevin Gregg, a former Blue Jay, couldn’t hold the lead in the ninth.

Gregg (0-3) gave up a two-out walk to Kelly Johnson and single to Jose Molina. Chris Woodward ran for Molina and former Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen of Surrey, B.C. batted for Dewayne Wise and was hit by a pitch.

Arencibia pinch-hit for Mike McCoy and a wild pitch brought Johnson in with the tying run before Arencibia won it for the Jays (73-73).

Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez didn’t figure in the decision after allowing nine hits and three runs over seven innings. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed one walk and fanned four before Jesse Litsch (6-3) took over in the eighth in a 3-3 tie.

Robert Andino led off the eighth against Litsch with a double and scored on a one-out double by Guerrero to give the Orioles (58-86) a 4-3 lead.

Orioles starter Rick VandenHurk allowed three runs and three hits in 2 1-3 innings, surrendering homers to Jose Bautista — his major league-leading 41st of the season — and Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. He was replaced by Zach Phillips.

Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar left in the second after being hit on the left elbow with a pitch from VandenHurk. X-rays were negative and he’s listed as day to day.

McCoy ran for Escobar and took over at shortstop.

Consecutive first-inning singles by Nick Markakis, Guerrero and Chris Davis put Baltimore ahead 1-0.

A leadoff walk to Escobar and Bautista’s homer in the bottom of the inning gave Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Kyle Hudson bunted for a single and took on second on Alvarez’s throwing error to lead off the second. Shortstop Pedro Florimon, playing his first major-league game, also bunted but was called out on a close play that brought manager Buck Showalter out to argue.

Hudson took third on the sacrifice and scored on Matt Angle’s single.

Lawrie countered in the bottom of the second with his ninth homer since making his major-league debut in Baltimore on Aug. 5.

The Orioles tied it again in the third on Guerrero’s single and Davis’s double. Davis was thrown out at home by centre-fielder Wise on a single by Josh Bell.

NOTES: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 17,742.. ….Toronto DH Edwin Encarnacion didn’t play due to a left shoulder strain picked up when he struck out in the seventh inning of Friday’s 2-0 loss to Baltimore … Orioles centre-fielder Adam Jones did not start Saturday because his left ankle was swollen after taking a foul a ball Friday night … Dustin McGowan (0-0, 6.75 earned-run average) will make his first start for the Blue Jays since July 8, 2008 when he faces Tommy Hunter (3-3, 5.28 ERA) on Sunday.

 

 

This one ended with another implosion by closer Kevin Gregg, who blew his seventh save in 27 chances and third in his last six opportunities.

“The guys did an outstanding job. The whole team put together a great effort today. Unfortunately, I spoiled it at the end,” said Gregg, who surrendered two runs in the bottom of the ninth on two singles, a walk, a wild pitch and a hit batter.

The Orioles (58-86) had a chance to guarantee a series win at Rogers Centre for the first time since June 2008, but now must win Sunday’s rubber match against the Blue Jays (73-73) to accomplish that.

“I think there are a lot of great things that went on in that game today that I’ll dwell on without having blinders on,” said Orioles Manager Buck Showalter. “But I’m sure our clubhouse is frustrated about not finishing it off. Right there is a game that could have gone either way.”

Of the 16 Orioles who appeared in Saturday’s contest, only four — Nick Markakis, Vladimir Guerrero, Robert Andino and Gregg — were on the club’s 2011 opening day roster.

With a day game following a night game and a brutal recent schedule, Showalter rested regulars Matt Wieters, J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds and scratched Adam Jones prior to the first pitch because of a swollen left ankle.

Led by Guerrero’s three hits — including a run-scoring double in the eighth that broke a 3-3 tie — the Orioles managed to outhit the Blue Jays, 12-5. They could have scored another run in the third, when Chris Davis was thrown out trying to score from second on a single.

Ultimately, they couldn’t create more breathing room for the enigmatic Gregg (0-3).

With a 4-3 lead and one out in the ninth, the beleaguered closer entered and struck out rookie Brett Lawrie before failing to secure the game-ending out. Gregg allowed a wild pitch to tie the game and pinch-hitter J.P. Arencibia singled home pinch-runner Chris Woodward for the Jays’ victory.

“Obviously, I struck out the first guy and then go out there and end up walking a guy, a groundball base hit, hit a guy and another base hit,” Gregg said. “Obviously, you start strong and then that happens. Yeah, it wasn’t good.”

Gregg’s outing ruined an impressive run by five Orioles relievers — Zach Phillips, Chris Jakubauskas, Troy Patton, Willie Eyre and Clay Rapada — who combined for six scoreless and hitless innings.

“We were definitely aware of what was going on down there. We knew the innings were stacking up scoreless-wise,” said Jakubauskas, who pitched one perfect inning. “You feed off the last guy. The last guy has gone 2¹/
₃ scoreless you kind of want to jump on his back and see how many zeroes you can throw up in a row.”

That bullpen quintet — none of which was with the team on opening day — allowed one walk and struck out four in relief of starter Rick VandenHurk, who lasted just 2¹/
₃ innings in his first big-league start since last September.

VandenHurk gave up three runs on two walks, a hit batter and three hits, including homers by Jose Bautista (his major-league-leading 41st this year) and Lawrie (his ninth since an Aug. 5 call-up and fourth versus the Orioles). VandenHurk threw only 25 of his 53 pitches for strikes.

“Overall, I didn’t throw enough strikes, that’s what it comes down to,” VandenHurk said. “Everybody saw the ball-strike ratio. It’s not good enough.”

The game’s outcome, though, hinged on Gregg, a former Blue Jay who was being taunted with chants of “Gregg you [stink]” by some in the announced crowd of 17,742.

“You’ve got to roll with the punches. Save opps [have] been coming at a premium, so it is something you’ve got to deal with,” Gregg said. “It’s not the first one I’ve messed up and it probably won’t be the last one.”

Notes: Jones, who fouled a ball off his ankle Friday night but remained in the game, said the swelling increased overnight, but he was hoping to play Sunday. . . . Showalter had to shift Saturday’s lineup around, inserting Josh Bell at third base while moving Markakis from first to right, Matt Angle from right to center and Chris Davis from third to first. … RHP Jason Berken (right forearm/elbow) is expected to be activated from the disabled list Monday. He was scheduled to fly into Baltimore after a final side session in Sarasota on Saturday. … SS Pedro Florimon made his big-league debut Saturday and went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and also committed an error. He nearly had his first hit on a sacrifice bunt in the second inning but was called out at first. Replays showed he appeared to be safe.

— Baltimore Sun

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 10, 2011

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t get anything going against Baltimore’s relievers for six full innings. But when Kevin Gregg came on to wrap up the save, the Orioles’ bullpen didn’t just bend, it broke.

Pinch-hitter J.P. Arencibia hit a game-winning single with two out in the ninth as the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Orioles 5-4 on Saturday, snapping Baltimore’s winning streak at three games.

“We had a chance to win the game, we were one out, one pitch away,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s a frustrated clubhouse right now.”

The blown save was Gregg’s seventh in 27 chances, and he’s failed in three of his past six opportunities.

“Every one of them is tough, no matter how it happens,” he Gregg said. “You don’t like walking off the field like that.”

Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 41st home run, a two-run blast in the first, and Lawrie also went deep for the Blue Jays.

Jesse Litsch (6-3) pitched two innings for the win.

Trailing 4-3 to begin the inning, Toronto’s David Cooper struck out against Clay Rapada before Showalter called Gregg (0-3) in to finish. Gregg struck out Brett Lawrie but couldn’t wrap it up, walking Kelly Johnson, giving up a single to Jose Molina and hitting pinch-hitter Adam Loewen to load the bases. The closer then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Johnson to score the tying run. Arencibia followed with a game-winning single to left.

“We got into a situation there where we didn’t have much margin for error,” Showalter said.

The collapse came after five Orioles relievers had combined to pitch six no-hit innings, allowing just one walk.

“The guys did an outstanding job,” Gregg said. “The whole team put together a great effort and unfortunately I spoiled it at the end.”

After Rick VandenHurk left in the third, rookie Zach Phillips pitched 1 2/3 innings, Chris Jakubauskas worked one inning, Troy Patton went 2 1/3, Willie Eyre got one out and Clay Rapada got two outs.

“We were definitely aware of what was going on,” Jakubauskas said. “We knew that the innings were stacking up, scoreless-wise. Each guy who goes in, you feed off the last guy.”

The Orioles opened the scoring with three straight two-out singles in the first, matching the number of hits they collected in eight innings against Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez when he beat them at Baltimore on Aug. 31 for his first major league win. Nick Markakis and Vladimir Guerrero grounded singles to center before Chris Davis lined an RBI base hit to right.

The run snapped Alvarez’s scoreless innings streak at 14.

Toronto answered in the bottom half when Bautista hammered a 3-2 pitch into the second deck in left, scoring shortstop Yunel Escobar ahead of him.

An error by Alvarez helped Baltimore tie it in the second. Kyle Hudson reached on a bunt single and moved to second when Alvarez’s throw sailed into foul territory down the right field line. Pedro Florimon sacrificed Hudson to third and he scored on a two-out single by Matt Angle.

Toronto promptly reclaimed the lead when Lawrie homered to left on VandenHurk’s first pitch of the bottom half, his ninth.

Baltimore tied it again with another two-out rally in the third. Guerrero singled to right and scored when Davis doubled up the alley in right-center. Josh Bell followed with a single to center but Davis ran through third base coach John Russell’s stop sign and was thrown out at the plate for the third out.

Robert Andino doubled to begin the eighth against Litsch, took third on a grounder and scored when Guerrero doubled to center.

Guerrero went 3 for 4 and has eight hits in has past 13 at bats.

“Very quietly, he’s finishing with a little flurry,” Showalter said.

Making his first start of the season after two relief appearances, VandenHurk allowed three runs and three hits in 2 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.

“I just didn’t throw enough strikes,” he said. “That’s what it comes down to.”

Alvarez allowed three runs and a season-high nine hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Escobar left in the second after being hit on the left elbow by a pitch from VandenHurk. He was replaced by Mike McCoy. X-rays were negative and Escobar is day to day.

Notes

Orioles OF Adam Jones was scratched from the lineup with a sore left ankle. Jones fouled a ball of his ankle Friday night and it swelled up overnight, but Showalter said Jones might play Sunday. … Blue Jays OF prospect Melvin Garcia has been suspended 50 games for using a performance-enhancing substance. Garcia is the third Blue Jays minor leaguer to be suspended this season. RHP Aderly De La Cruz and LHP Luillyn Guillen received 50 games bans July 14.

TORONTO (AP)—The Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t get anything going against
Baltimore’s relievers for six full innings. But when Kevin Gregg(notes) came on to wrap
up the save, the Orioles’ bullpen didn’t just bend, it broke.

Pinch-hitter J.P. Arencibia(notes) hit a game-winning single with two out in the
ninth as the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Orioles 5-4 on Saturday, snapping
Baltimore’s winning streak at three games.

“We had a chance to win the game, we were one out, one pitch away,”
manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s a frustrated clubhouse right now.”

The blown save was Gregg’s seventh in 27 chances, and he’s failed in three
of his past six opportunities.

“Every one of them is tough, no matter how it happens,” he Gregg said.
“You don’t like walking off the field like that.”

Jose Bautista(notes) hit his major league-leading 41st home run, a two-run blast in
the first, and Lawrie also went deep for the Blue Jays.

Jesse Litsch(notes) (6-3) pitched two innings for the win.

Trailing 4-3 to begin the inning, Toronto’s David Cooper(notes) struck out against
Clay Rapada(notes) before Showalter called Gregg (0-3) in to finish. Gregg struck out
Brett Lawrie(notes) but couldn’t wrap it up, walking Kelly Johnson(notes), giving up a single
to Jose Molina(notes) and hitting pinch-hitter Adam Loewen(notes) to load the bases. The
closer then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Johnson to score the tying run.
Arencibia followed with a game-winning single to left.

“We got into a situation there where we didn’t have much margin for
error,” Showalter said.

The collapse came after five Orioles relievers had combined to pitch six
no-hit innings, allowing just one walk.

“The guys did an outstanding job,” Gregg said. “The whole team put
together a great effort and unfortunately I spoiled it at the end.”

After Rick VandenHurk(notes) left in the third, rookie Zach Phillips(notes) pitched 1 2-3
innings, Chris Jakubauskas(notes) worked one inning, Troy Patton(notes) went 2 1-3, Willie
Eyre(notes) got one out and Clay Rapada got two outs.

“We were definitely aware of what was going on,” Jakubauskas said. “We
knew that the innings were stacking up, scoreless-wise. Each guy who goes in,
you feed off the last guy.”

The Orioles opened the scoring with three straight two-out singles in the
first, matching the number of hits they collected in eight innings against
Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez(notes) when he beat them at Baltimore on Aug. 31
for his first major league win. Nick Markakis(notes) and Vladimir Guerrero(notes) grounded
singles to center before Chris Davis(notes) lined an RBI base hit to right.

The run snapped Alvarez’s scoreless innings streak at 14.

Toronto answered in the bottom half when Bautista hammered a 3-2 pitch into
the second deck in left, scoring shortstop Yunel Escobar(notes) ahead of him.

An error by Alvarez helped Baltimore tie it in the second. Kyle Hudson(notes)
reached on a bunt single and moved to second when Alvarez’s throw sailed into
foul territory down the right field line. Pedro Florimon(notes) sacrificed Hudson to
third and he scored on a two-out single by Matt Angle(notes).

Toronto promptly reclaimed the lead when Lawrie homered to left on
VandenHurk’s first pitch of the bottom half, his ninth.

Baltimore tied it again with another two-out rally in the third. Guerrero
singled to right and scored when Davis doubled up the alley in right-center.
Josh Bell(notes) followed with a single to center but Davis ran through third base
coach John Russell’s stop sign and was thrown out at the plate for the third
out.

Robert Andino(notes) doubled to begin the eighth against Litsch, took third on a
grounder and scored when Guerrero doubled to center.

Guerrero went 3 for 4 and has eight hits in has past 13 at bats.

“Very quietly, he’s finishing with a little flurry,” Showalter said.

Making his first start of the season after two relief appearances,
VandenHurk allowed three runs and three hits in 2 1-3 innings. He walked two and
struck out one.

“I just didn’t throw enough strikes,” he said. “That’s what it comes down
to.”

Alvarez allowed three runs and a season-high nine hits in seven innings. He
walked one and struck out four.

Escobar left in the second after being hit on the left elbow by a pitch from
VandenHurk. He was replaced by Mike McCoy(notes). X-rays were negative and Escobar is
day-to-day.

NOTES: Orioles OF Adam Jones(notes) was scratched from the lineup with a sore left
ankle. Jones fouled a ball of his ankle Friday night and it swelled up
overnight, but Showalter said Jones might play Sunday. … Florimon made his
major league debut. … Blue Jays OF prospect Melvin Garcia has been suspended
50 games for using a performance-enhancing substance. Garcia is the third Blue
Jays minor leaguer to be suspended this season. RHP Aderly De La Cruz and LHP
Luillyn Guillen received 50 games bans July 14.

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t get anything going against Baltimore’s relievers for six full innings. But when Kevin Gregg came on to wrap up the save, the Orioles’ bullpen didn’t just bend, it broke.

Pinch-hitter J.P. Arencibia hit a game-winning single with two out in the ninth as the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Orioles 5-4 on Saturday, snapping Baltimore’s winning streak at three games.

“We had a chance to win the game, we were one out, one pitch away,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s a frustrated clubhouse right now.”

The blown save was Gregg’s seventh in 27 chances, and he’s failed in three of his past six opportunities.

“Every one of them is tough, no matter how it happens,” he Gregg said. “You don’t like walking off the field like that.”

Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 41st home run, a two-run blast in the first, and Lawrie also went deep for the Blue Jays.

Jesse Litsch (6-3) pitched two innings for the win.

Trailing 4-3 to begin the inning, Toronto’s David Cooper struck out against Clay Rapada before Showalter called Gregg (0-3) in to finish. Gregg struck out Brett Lawrie but couldn’t wrap it up, walking Kelly Johnson, giving up a single to Jose Molina and hitting pinch-hitter Adam Loewen to load the bases. The closer then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Johnson to score the tying run. Arencibia followed with a game-winning single to left.

“We got into a situation there where we didn’t have much margin for error,” Showalter said.

The collapse came after five Orioles relievers had combined to pitch six no-hit innings, allowing just one walk.

“The guys did an outstanding job,” Gregg said. “The whole team put together a great effort and unfortunately I spoiled it at the end.”

After Rick VandenHurk left in the third, rookie Zach Phillips pitched 1 2-3 innings, Chris Jakubauskas worked one inning, Troy Patton went 2 1-3, Willie Eyre got one out and Clay Rapada got two outs.

“We were definitely aware of what was going on,” Jakubauskas said. “We knew that the innings were stacking up, scoreless-wise. Each guy who goes in, you feed off the last guy.”

The Orioles opened the scoring with three straight two-out singles in the first, matching the number of hits they collected in eight innings against Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez when he beat them at Baltimore on Aug. 31 for his first major league win. Nick Markakis and Vladimir Guerrero grounded singles to center before Chris Davis lined an RBI base hit to right.

The run snapped Alvarez’s scoreless innings streak at 14.

Toronto answered in the bottom half when Bautista hammered a 3-2 pitch into the second deck in left, scoring shortstop Yunel Escobar ahead of him.

An error by Alvarez helped Baltimore tie it in the second. Kyle Hudson reached on a bunt single and moved to second when Alvarez’s throw sailed into foul territory down the right field line. Pedro Florimon sacrificed Hudson to third and he scored on a two-out single by Matt Angle.

Toronto promptly reclaimed the lead when Lawrie homered to left on VandenHurk’s first pitch of the bottom half, his ninth.

Baltimore tied it again with another two-out rally in the third. Guerrero singled to right and scored when Davis doubled up the alley in right-center. Josh Bell followed with a single to center but Davis ran through third base coach John Russell’s stop sign and was thrown out at the plate for the third out.

Robert Andino doubled to begin the eighth against Litsch, took third on a grounder and scored when Guerrero doubled to center.

Guerrero went 3 for 4 and has eight hits in has past 13 at bats.

“Very quietly, he’s finishing with a little flurry,” Showalter said.

Making his first start of the season after two relief appearances, VandenHurk allowed three runs and three hits in 2 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.

“I just didn’t throw enough strikes,” he said. “That’s what it comes down to.”

Alvarez allowed three runs and a season-high nine hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Escobar left in the second after being hit on the left elbow by a pitch from VandenHurk. He was replaced by Mike McCoy. X-rays were negative and Escobar is day-to-day.

NOTES: Orioles OF Adam Jones was scratched from the lineup with a sore left ankle. Jones fouled a ball of his ankle Friday night and it swelled up overnight, but Showalter said Jones might play Sunday. … Florimon made his major league debut. … Blue Jays OF prospect Melvin Garcia has been suspended 50 games for using a performance-enhancing substance. Garcia is the third Blue Jays minor leaguer to be suspended this season. RHP Aderly De La Cruz and LHP Luillyn Guillen received 50 games bans July 14.

TORONTO (AP)—Baseball has taught Jeremy Guthrie(notes) not to worry about things
beyond his control, so the Orioles pitcher insists he’s not concerned about an
ugly win-loss mark.

Record aside, Guthrie remains focused on his own performance. He had every
reason to be happy Friday night.

Guthrie pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Vladimir Guerrero(notes) and Nick
Markakis(notes) each drove in a run and Baltimore beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0, their
third straight victory.

“You can’t ever lose a game if you give up zero runs,” Guthrie said.
“That’s the ultimate job a pitcher can do.”

The major league leader in losses, Guthrie (7-17) came in having won just
once in his past six starts and was seeking to avoid setting a career high for
defeats. The right-hander made sure of that in a stellar outing. He walked three
and struck out five.

“It was all about Jeremy tonight,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.
“He was solid. He commanded the fastball. When it’s there for him, he presents
a lot of issues.”

Catcher Matt Wieters(notes) was pleased with Guthrie’s effort.

“He had all four pitches working,” Wieters said. “He was able to keep his
tempo and keep his pace all night. It seemed like he was in control throughout
the whole game.”

As much as he’d like to avoid losing 20, Guthrie said he learned years ago
not to get too wrapped up with his own record.

“Baseball teaches you that so many things are out of your control,” he
said. “My first season in Baltimore was a big lesson. I felt like I had a
chance to win a lot of games. To get a ‘W’ next to your name, a lot of things
have to happen. You’re dependent on four things: your execution, your defense,
your offense and the bullpen. I can only control one of four, which means I have
25 percent control over getting a ‘W’ or an ‘L’ next to my name at the end of
the day.”

Pedro Strop(notes) worked the eighth and Jim Johnson(notes) pitched around a leadoff walk
to close it out in the ninth for his fourth save in eight opportunities.

Baltimore opened the scoring with an unearned run in the sixth, taking
advantage of a throwing error by Blue Jays second baseman Kelly Johnson(notes). Robert
Andino(notes) led off with a single but was erased at second on J.J. Hardy’s(notes) fielder’s
choice. Johnson overthrew first base as he tried to complete the double play,
allowing Hardy to move to second. One out later, Guerrero drove in Hardy with a
single to left.

“He hit a great pitch, curveball down,” Blue Jays left-hander Brett Cecil(notes)
said. “That’s just the type of hitter he is. Seems like you can never fool
him.”

The Orioles benefited from another missed double-play opportunity by Toronto
in the eighth. With one out and runners at the corners, Nick Markakis grounded
into a fielder’s choice, with Hardy forced out at second. Markakis beat the
relay throw from Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar(notes) on a bang-bang play at first,
allowing Ryan Adams(notes) to score from third. Toronto manager John Farrell did not
dispute umpire Jim Wolf’s call.

The hard-luck loser was Cecil (4-9), who has not won since July 29 against
Texas, a span of eight starts. Cecil allowed two runs, one earned, and seven
hits in 7 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out a season-high nine.

“(Cecil) was really good,” Showalter said. “The key to being in that
ballgame is the pitching job our guy did to try and match up with him because
you’re not going to beat him unless you get a similar outing from your guy.”

Cecil had to jump over the jagged end of Adam Jones’(notes) bat after the Orioles’
outfielder got sawn off in the fourth inning. The barrel of the bat bounced off
the mound, with Cecil kicking his legs up to avoid being struck. Jones
eventually struck out.

After missing two games with a sore right wrist, Adam Lind(notes) doubled to begin
the second and advanced to third on Brett Lawrie’s(notes) sacrifice. But Johnson struck
out and J.P. Arencibia(notes) grounded out.

A throwing error by first baseman Mark Reynolds(notes) and a walk to Yunel Escobar
gave the Blue Jays runners at first and second with one out in the eighth, but
Strop got Eric Thames(notes) to ground into a double play.

“That was probably the one legitimate and true opportunity we had to mount
something,” Farrell said.

Blue Jays right-hander Kyle Drabek(notes) made his first appearance since June 12,
coming out of the bullpen to work the ninth. Drabek was sent to Triple-A Las
Vegas after going 4-5 with a 5.70 ERA in 14 starts.

NOTES: Jose Bautista(notes) slammed his bat into the padded railing at the top of
the dugout steps after striking out swinging to begin the seventh. … Guthrie
also lost 17 games in 2009. … Guthrie passed 1,000 innings for his career.
He’s pitched 1,001 1-3 innings over eight seasons. … Toronto was shut out for
the eighth time this season. … Orioles INF Chris Davis(notes), who was activated of
the DL Tuesday after missing more than three weeks with an injured right
shoulder, took extra BP before the game but was held out of the starting lineup.
Davis had played the past three games. … Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said
RHP Jason Berken’s(notes) return is “imminent.” Berken has been out since Aug. 22
with a strained right forearm. … Toronto OF Colby Rasmus(notes) (right wrist) will
play two rehab games with Double-A New Hampshire Saturday and Sunday and is
expected to come off the DL and rejoin the Blue Jays Tuesday in Boston. Toronto
is off Monday. Rasmus has not played since Aug. 23.

TORONTO — Adam Loewen picked a fine time to collect his first souvenir as a major-league hitter.

On his first day in the big leagues as an outfielder, the former pitcher whacked a sharp single to help spark an eighth-inning uprising that lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to an 11-10 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Boston pitcher Daniel Bard hit a batter and gave up Loewen’s first major-league hit to put runners at the corners. Three walks later, Toronto pulled into an 8-8 tie. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a three-run double off Matt Albers.

The Red Sox scored two in the ninth off Frank Francisco, who staggered to his 13th save.

“I grew up watching the Blue Jays and wanting to play for the Blue Jays,” Loewen said. “I think any Canadian kid back at home dreams the same thing, and for it to actually come true is an unbelievable feeling.”

A native of Surrey, B.C., Loewen was a left-handed pitcher for Baltimore before injuries ended that phase of his career in 2008. He spent three seasons in the minors making a comeback as an outfielder before his callup from Triple-A on Wednesday.

Loewen went 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. He played right field while Jose Bautista served as the designated hitter.

The Jays’ late surge took starting pitcher Brandon Morrow off the hook after an ugly outing in which he gave up eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.

It also deprived Tim Wakefield of his 200th career victory in his seventh try. Wakefield left with an 8-5 lead after five innings.

Encarnacion matched his career high with five RBIs. J.P. Arencibia hit his 21st home run, setting a franchise record for a catcher.

Loewen also made two running catches in right field. He said he was nervous as game time approached, but quickly calmed down in the first inning.

“The hit was probably the biggest thrill for me, just to get it out of the way, because once that’s over with I can kind of relax and not worry about it,” he said. “The best thing for us is that we won the game.”

The game ended when catcher Jose Molina, who entered the game in the ninth, threw out pinch-runner Mike Aviles trying to steal second. Aviles represented the tying run, prompting Jays manager John Farrell to call the move “somewhat uncharacteristic of the Red Sox.”

Farrell praised his hitters for their “relentless approach,” especially as they battled Bard in the eighth. He saved his highest praise for the plate discipline of Eric Thames, a notorious free swinger who was down 0-2 before drawing a bases-loaded walk.

“To me, that’s a huge step in his own personal growth,” Farrell said. “He has battled his own aggressiveness at times.”

A year ago, the Jays shut down Morrow early, protecting his prized right arm and allowing him to finish his first season as a starter on a high note.

Over his final four starts, he had posted a 3.21 ERA with 44 strikeouts. He fanned 17 in one of those games and 12 in another.

Morrow appeared ready to take another critical step forward this year. Some scouts believed he might eventually supplant Ricky Romero as Toronto’s ace.

Few have advanced that thesis lately. As the season winds down, Morrow is reeling rather than rolling.

He gave up eight hits and as many runs in 4 1/3 innings Wednesday night. Over his past nine starts, Morrow is 2-6 with a 6.66 ERA. He has surrendered 13 homers in that stretch.

“It’s been a really frustrating stretch of starts,” Morrow said.

His main problem was locating his fastball on the first-base side of the plate, he said.

Tired? “Not at all,” Morrow replied. “I feel good.”

Before the game, Farrell said the Jays have no plans to shut down Morrow early after confining him to 146 innings last season.

“We’d like to get him to 180-plus [innings], just to continue to push back his ceiling and his workload, see how he maintains that and physically how he comes through that,” Farrell said.

Morrow has averaged just under six innings per start, yet has also averaged more than 100 pitches. He tends to make critical errors on fastball location, as he did when Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz tagged him for homers worth a total of four runs.

• Email: jlott@nationalpost.com | Twitter:

BALTIMORE — Brian Tallet didn’t mince words or make excuses. Called upon to record his first career save, the Toronto Blue Jays left-hander didn’t get the job done.

“Yeah, it was a pretty (bad) result, huh?” Tallet said after coughing up two 10th-inning runs in a 6-5 Baltimore Orioles victory over Toronto on Tuesday night. “It’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes early in the game, early when you get in there and let those guys get on base. Anything can happen and that’s what happened.”

The Blue Jays didn’t make the most of early offensive opportunities and, while they took advantage of numerous mistakes by the bumbling Orioles, they couldn’t put Baltimore away.

In the 10th, they ran into some old-fashioned bad luck, when right-hander Casey Janssen came up with a tight lat in his throwing shoulder and couldn’t return to the mound after dispatching the Orioles on 13 pitches in the ninth.

“We’re going to evaluate him, see where he’s at,” said acting Toronto manager Don Wakamatsu, adding that he didn’t believe Janssen’s injury was serious.

Wakamatsu was filling in for manager John Farrell, who remained in Toronto while being treated for pneumonia. Farrell is expected to miss the three-game series in Baltimore.

The Orioles botched their bunt defence, muffed an infield pop fly for an error, twice failed to get bunts down successfully and blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Yet one swing of rookie Ryan Adams’ bat erased their many miscues.

“It wasn’t looking good there for a minute, but we battled back,” said Adams, who capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the 10th with an RBI single.

Matt Wieters led off the Baltimore 10th by drawing a walk off Tallet (0-2). Mark Reynolds walked and, after Robert Andino bunted a foul third strike, pinch hitter Jake Fox hit a game-tying single to right with Reynolds taking third.

Adams followed with a deep fly ball off the warning track in right-centre beyond a drawn-in outfield.

“In that situation, I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” Adams said. “They were playing (the outfield) in and I got a pitch up. Right away, I knew it was going to be deep enough to get him in.”

The victory went to Willie Eyre (1-0), whose wild pitch in the top of the 10th had put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4. That was the last in a long line of mental and physical mistakes that failed to undo the resilient Orioles.

Andino’s 10th-inning bunt attempt was the second time he was unable to advance runners, and some shoddy defence in the ninth contributed to a delayed — and undefended double steal — as Toronto tied the game on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice fly.

“I know exactly what should have happened and didn’t happen and it won’t happen again, especially considering the people,” said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when asked about the wacky bunt play.

Wieters homered for Baltimore, which has won seven of nine.

The Blue Jays have lost five of six.

“You’ve got to take it as it comes and analyze it and you’ve just got to suck it up and move on to tomorrow,” said Toronto’s Brett Lawrie. “There’s no sense in dwelling on it. You’ve got to come back tomorrow and keep playing.”

Lawrie’s sixth homer staked Toronto to a 3-0 lead in the second. After one-out walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson, the native of Langley, B.C., ripped a 1-2 curveball from Jeremy Guthrie into the left-field stands.

Wieters’ two-run shot cut the lead to a run in the bottom of the inning. Vladimir Guerrero led off with a single and Wieters homered to centre off Brett Cecil, his 15th.

Cecil’s throwing error in the fourth allowed Baltimore to tie the game at 3. Andino doubled with two down and came around on an infield single by Nolan Reimold after Cecil threw wildly past first base.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with none down in the fifth, but squandered the opportunity. Encarnacion bounced into a 1-2-3 double play and Johnson flied out to centre.

“There were several different opportunities to score, to do some things and the bottom line is we put ourselves in a position,” Wakamatsu said. “We talked about not giving up and going to the end.”

The Blue Jays didn’t make the most of early offensive opportunities and, while they took advantage of numerous mistakes by the bumbling Orioles, they couldn’t put Baltimore away.

In the 10th, they ran into some old-fashioned bad luck, when right-hander Casey Janssen came up with a tight lat in his throwing shoulder and couldn’t return to the mound after dispatching the Orioles on 13 pitches in the ninth.

“We’re going to evaluate him, see where he’s at,” said acting Toronto manager Don Wakamatsu, adding that he didn’t believe Janssen’s injury was serious.

Wakamatsu was filling in for manager John Farrell, who remained in Toronto while being treated for pneumonia. Farrell is expected to miss the three-game series in Baltimore.

The Orioles botched their bunt defense, muffed an infield pop fly for an error, twice failed to get bunts down successfully and blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Yet one swing of rookie Ryan Adams’ bat erased their many miscues.

“It wasn’t looking good there for a minute, but we battled back,” said Adams, who capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the 10th with an RBI single.

Matt Wieters led off the Baltimore 10th by drawing a walk off Tallet (0-2). Mark Reynolds walked and, after Robert Andino bunted a foul third strike, pinch hitter Jake Fox hit a game-tying single to right with Reynolds taking third.

Adams followed with a deep fly ball off the warning track in right-center beyond a drawn-in outfield.

“In that situation, I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” Adams said. “They were playing (the outfield) in and I got a pitch up. Right away, I knew it was going to be deep enough to get him in.”

The victory went to Willie Eyre (1-0), whose wild pitch in the top of the 10th had put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4. That was the last in a long line of mental and physical mistakes that failed to undo the resilient Orioles.

Andino’s 10th-inning bunt attempt was the second time he was unable to advance runners, and some shoddy defense in the ninth contributed to a delayed — and undefended double steal — as Toronto tied the game on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice fly.

“I know exactly what should have happened and didn’t happen and it won’t happen again, especially considering the people,” said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when asked about the wacky bunt play.

Wieters homered for Baltimore, which has won seven of nine.

The Blue Jays have lost five of six.

“You’ve got to take it as it comes and analyze it and you’ve just got to suck it up and move on to tomorrow,” said Toronto’s Brett Lawrie. “There’s no sense in dwelling on it. You’ve got to come back tomorrow and keep playing.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles botched their bunt defence, muffed an infield pop fly for an error, twice failed to get bunts down successfully and blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning.

Yet one swing of rookie Ryan Adams’ bat erased their many miscues.

Adams capped a two-run, 10th-inning rally with an RBI single and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Tuesday night.

“It wasn’t looking good there for a minute, but we battled back,” said Adams.

Matt Wieters led off the Baltimore 10th by drawing a walk off Brian Tallet (0-2), who was trying for his first career save. Mark Reynolds walked and, after Robert Andino bunted a foul third strike, pinch hitter Jake Fox hit a game-tying single to right with Reynolds taking third.

Adams followed with a deep fly ball off the warning track in right-centre beyond a drawn-in outfield.

“In that situation, I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” Adams said. “They were playing (the outfield) in and I got a pitch up. Right away, I knew it was going to be deep enough to get him in.”

The victory went to Willie Eyre (1-0), whose wild pitch in the top of the 10th had put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4. That was the last in a long like of mental and physical mistakes that failed to undo the resilient Orioles.

Andino’s 10th-inning bunt attempt was the second time he was unable to advance runners, and some shoddy defence in the ninth contributed to a delayed — and undefended double steal — as Toronto tied the game on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice fly.

“I know exactly what should have happened and didn’t happen and it won’t happen again, especially considering the people,” said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when asked about the wacky bunt play.

The Blue Jays were without manager John Farrell, who is being treated for pneumonia in Toronto and is expected to miss the three-game series. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu ran the team in Farrell’s absence.

Toronto wanted to send Casey Janssen out for the 10th, but the right-hander came up with a tightness in a shoulder muscle, shelving him after a 13-pitch scoreless ninth.

“We’re going to evaluate him, see where he’s at,” said Wakamatsu, adding that he didn’t believe Janssen’s injury was serious.

That put Tallet into an unfamiliar role.

“Yeah, it was a pretty (bad) result, huh?” Tallet said. “It’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes early in the game, early when you get in there and let those guys get on base. Anything can happen and that’s what happened.”

Wieters homered for Baltimore, which has won seven of nine.

The Blue Jays have lost five of six.

“You’ve got to take it as it comes and analyze it and you’ve just got to suck it up and move on to tomorrow,” said Toronto’s Brett Lawrie. “There’s no sense in dwelling on it. You’ve got to come back tomorrow and keep playing.”

Lawrie’s sixth homer staked Toronto to a 3-0 lead in the second. After one-out walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson, the native of Langley, B.C, ripped a 1-2 curveball from Jeremy Guthrie into the left-field stands.

Wieters’ two-run shot cut the lead to a run in the bottom of the inning. Vladimir Guerrero led off with a single and Wieters homered to centre off Brett Cecil, his 15th.

Cecil’s throwing error in the fourth allowed Baltimore to tie the game at 3. Andino doubled with two down and came around on an infield single by Nolan Reimold after Cecil threw wildly past first base.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with none down in the fifth, but squandered the opportunity. Encarnacion bounced into a 1-2-3 double play and Johnson flied out to centre.

“There were several different opportunities to score, to do some things and the bottom line is we put ourselves in a position,” Wakamatsu said. “We talked about not giving up and going to the end.”

Guerrero’s RBI double in the bottom of the fifth put the Orioles ahead, scoring Adam Jones, who had drawn a one-out walk.

Cecil yielded four runs on eight hits over six innings, walking two and striking out four. Guthrie allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out five.

Trying to protect a 4-3 lead in the ninth, Baltimore’s Kevin Gregg instead blew his fifth save in 24 chances. J.P. Arencibia led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Dewayne Wise. Mike McCoy walked on four pitches and, when the Orioles flubbed their wheel-play defence on Escobar’s bunt attempt, both runners moved up on an unconventional double steal, each benefiting from an unprotected base.

Escobar followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly to right.

.NOTES: Baltimore snapped an eight-game losing streak in one-run games. … Toronto reliever Jon Rauch completed a 25-pitch simulated game Tuesday afternoon and appears close to rejoining the active roster. Rauch, who underwent an appendectomy August 16, will be re-evaluated Wednesday but is likely to be activated off the disabled list Thursday, according to Wakamatsu. … 1B Chris Davis, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, took 25 swings off a tee and participated in throwing drills at the Orioles complex in Sarasota, Fla., on Tuesday. … Orioles RHP Jason Berken’s wife Emily gave birth to a 5-lb., 12-oz. baby girl, Hadley Lane, on Tuesday afternoon. … In 27 starts this season, Guthrie has yet to win consecutive decisions. … Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez (0-2) faces Baltimore lefty Jo-Jo Reyes (7-10) on Wednesday.

Baltimore’s Matt Wieters, right, celebrates his home run with Vladimir Guerrero in the second inning Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Brian Tallet didn’t mince words or make excuses. Called upon to record his first career save, the Toronto Blue Jays left-hander didn’t get the job done.

“Yeah, it was a pretty (bad) result, huh?” Tallet said after coughing up two 10th-inning runs in a 6-5 Baltimore Orioles victory over Toronto on Tuesday night. “It’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes early in the game, early when you get in there and let those guys get on base. Anything can happen and that’s what happened.”

The Blue Jays didn’t make the most of early offensive opportunities and, while they took advantage of numerous mistakes by the bumbling Orioles, they couldn’t put Baltimore away.

In the 10th, they ran into some old-fashioned bad luck, when right-hander Casey Janssen came up with a tight lat in his throwing shoulder and couldn’t return to the mound after dispatching the Orioles on 13 pitches in the ninth.

“We’re going to evaluate him, see where he’s at,” said acting Toronto manager Don Wakamatsu, adding that he didn’t believe Janssen’s injury was serious.

Wakamatsu was filling in for manager John Farrell, who remained in Toronto while being treated for pneumonia. Farrell is expected to miss the three-game series in Baltimore.

The Orioles botched their bunt defence, muffed an infield pop fly for an error, twice failed to get bunts down successfully and blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Yet one swing of rookie Ryan Adams’ bat erased their many miscues.

“It wasn’t looking good there for a minute, but we battled back,” said Adams, who capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the 10th with an RBI single.

Matt Wieters led off the Baltimore 10th by drawing a walk off Tallet (0-2). Mark Reynolds walked and, after Robert Andino bunted a foul third strike, pinch hitter Jake Fox hit a game-tying single to right with Reynolds taking third.

Adams followed with a deep fly ball off the warning track in right-centre beyond a drawn-in outfield.

“In that situation, I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” Adams said. “They were playing (the outfield) in and I got a pitch up. Right away, I knew it was going to be deep enough to get him in.”

The victory went to Willie Eyre (1-0), whose wild pitch in the top of the 10th had put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4. That was the last in a long line of mental and physical mistakes that failed to undo the resilient Orioles.

Andino’s 10th-inning bunt attempt was the second time he was unable to advance runners, and some shoddy defence in the ninth contributed to a delayed — and undefended double steal — as Toronto tied the game on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice fly.

“I know exactly what should have happened and didn’t happen and it won’t happen again, especially considering the people,” said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when asked about the wacky bunt play.

‘Take it as it comes’

Wieters homered for Baltimore, which has won seven of nine.

The Blue Jays have lost five of six.

“You’ve got to take it as it comes and analyze it and you’ve just got to suck it up and move on to tomorrow,” said Toronto’s Brett Lawrie. “There’s no sense in dwelling on it. You’ve got to come back tomorrow and keep playing.”

Lawrie’s sixth homer staked Toronto to a 3-0 lead in the second. After one-out walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson, the native of Langley, B.C., ripped a 1-2 curveball from Jeremy Guthrie into the left-field stands.

Wieters’ two-run shot cut the lead to a run in the bottom of the inning. Vladimir Guerrero led off with a single and Wieters homered to centre off Brett Cecil, his 15th.

Cecil’s throwing error in the fourth allowed Baltimore to tie the game at 3. Andino doubled with two down and came around on an infield single by Nolan Reimold after Cecil threw wildly past first base.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with none down in the fifth, but squandered the opportunity. Encarnacion bounced into a 1-2-3 double play and Johnson flied out to centre.

“There were several different opportunities to score, to do some things and the bottom line is we put ourselves in a position,” Wakamatsu said. “We talked about not giving up and going to the end.”

“I was throwing strikes. I was using all my pitches,” Chen said. “I had really good command of my curveball, my cutter and my changeup. Today is one of those days where everything was working in and out and I was changing speeds very well.”

Chen (9-5) struck out nine and improved to 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA in five August starts this year. He is 18-9 in 61 career August games, his most wins in any month.

“Everything was firing on all cylinders for him,” Royals infielder Mike Moustakas said. “When ‘Skip’ came out there and took him out he said it’s the best he’s seen Bruce pitch in a while. He was dominant for us tonight.”

Royals manager Ned Yost called Chen’s performance “spectacular.” The left-hander allowed three runs and four hits in 7 2-3 innings. He walked one and matched his career high for strikeouts.

It had been more than a decade since Chen’s last nine-strikeout game on June 13, 2001, at Tampa Bay. Of his 92 pitches, 67 were strikes.

“He kept us on our feet and kept them on their heels,” Moustakas said.

Jeff Francoeur matched his career high with four hits as the Royals, who had lost six of seven away from home, banged out 16 hits to open a 10-game, 10-day road trip on a winning note.

“Our attack was well-balanced,” Yost said. “We drove the gaps, we did a nice job in our situational hitting and got big hits when we needed to.”

Chen was perfect through three innings before Yunel Escobar singled to open the fourth, snapping an 0-for-17 slump.

“Chen did a very good job of keeping us out on our front foot, disrupting our timing,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said.

Greg Holland replaced Chen after Mike McCoy drew a two-out walk in the eighth. McCoy stole second but Holland got Escobar to ground out.

Joakim Soria gave up an RBI single to Adam Lind in the ninth but finished for his 23rd save in 30 opportunities.

Kansas City came in having lost seven of nine overall and 21 of its previous 28 in Toronto but jumped on Blue Jays right-hander Brandon Morrow with a three-run, four-hit second.

Hosmer led off with a homer to center, his 11th and first since July 27 at Boston. Francoeur doubled and Johnny Giavotella followed with an RBI single to center, advancing to second on Colby Rasmus’ fielding error. Salvador Perez capped the rally with an RBI single.

The Royals chased Morrow in the fifth, scoring three more runs. Butler hit a one-out homer to left, his 16th. Hosmer singled, stole second and scored on Giavotella’s double. Perez ended Morrow’s night with an RBI triple to right.

Morrow (9-8), who declined to speak with reporters, lost for the third time in four starts, allowing six runs and a season-high 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.

“He’s been really good against us and today it looked like he didn’t have good command of his off-speed stuff,” Butler said. “His fastball was a little up and just hitting too much of the plate.”

Escobar had the only big hit of the night against Chen, a three-run homer to center in the sixth, his 11th.

“That’s about the only (mistake) he made,” Yost said.

Chen responded by setting down the next seven batters in order.

Blue Jays right-hander Joel Carreno made his major league debut in the sixth and worked 3 1-3 scoreless innings.

“He was calm, he was poised — at least outwardly,” Farrell said. “Inside he might have been going pretty quick with emotion. He made pitches with men in scoring position and got a couple of strikeouts. He did a very good job.”

NOTES: Toronto traded 2B Aaron Hill and INF John McDonald to Arizona for 2B Kelly Johnson. The Blue Jays also recalled C Brian Jeroloman from Triple-A Las Vegas. … Blue Jays RHP Frank Francisco, who missed Sunday’s game at Oakland with a sore right shoulder, threw before the game and was available. … Lind, who left Saturday’s game after being hit on the right wrist by a pitch, went 1 for 4 in his return to the lineup. … Royals leadoff batter Alex Gordon struck out four times in five at-bats. … Francouer had his ninth career four-hit game. … The game was delayed when two fans ran onto the field in the bottom of the seventh.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

TORONTO — In the afternoon, they said farewell to two longtime teammates. In the evening, the Toronto Blue Jays had little left to say on the field.

They managed just six hits, including Yunel Escobar’s three-run homer, in a 6-4 loss to Kansas City in Major League Baseball action at Rogers Centre. Their final run, off closer Joakim Soria, came in the ninth inning.

Earlier in the day, the Jays traded Aaron Hill, their everyday second baseman, and super-sub John McDonald to Arizona for second baseman Kelly Johnson.

Asked whether the departure of two respected players might have affected his team’s performance, manager John Farrell acknowledged that the trade was the focus of many pre-game conversations in the clubhouse, but he said starter Brandon Morrow’s control problems led to the Jays’ downfall.

“Tonight’s performance wasn’t the result of a trade,” he said. “It was missed location, for the most part.”

Morrow was sensational in his previous start, with 12 strikeouts over six innings in Seattle. Against the Royals, he breezed through the first inning, then started leaving pitches up in the strike zone and took a beating before leaving with two outs in the fifth.

Morrow (9-8) allowed 11 hits and six runs, including homers by Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler. Farrell took him out after he surrendered a single, double, triple and homer in Kansas City’s three-run fifth.

Royals starter Bruce Chen allowed four hits over 7 2/3 innings, baffling the Jays with off-speed pitches.

Chen, a 34-year-old veteran who came to spring training on a minor-league contract, logged a career-high nine strikeouts and earned his ninth win, tops among Royals starters. He left after issuing his only walk with two outs in the eighth.

Chen took a one-hitter into the sixth before Jose Molina and Mike McCoy singled and Escobar hit his 11th homer.

McCoy was filling in at second base. Johnson is not expected to arrive in Toronto until close to game time Wednesday night and is unlikely to start until Thursday.

Toronto right-hander Joel Carreno, just up from double-A, made his major-league debut in the sixth inning. He worked 3 1/3 shutout innings, allowing four hits. Relying heavily on his highly touted slider, he also logged his first two strikeouts in the eighth inning.

“That’s a big jump from double-A to here,” Carreno said. “That’s a dream for me and for my family. They’re going to be very proud of me.”

Before the game, Farrell said outfielder Travis Snider, who was expected to rejoin the club from triple-A Las Vegas soon, has been battling a right wrist injury and was scheduled to see a specialist Tuesday afternoon.

Snider was in an 0-for-17 slump and had not started the previous two games for Las Vegas. Farrell said he tried to play through the injury for four games.

The injury developed through “usage,” not from a specific incident, Farrell said. He hadn’t received the results of Snider’s examination.

In 61 games over two stints with Las Vegas, Snider is batting .324. But he is hitting .216 over his past 10 games.

Farrell said the Jays had planned to recall Snider in September when rosters expand.

They might need an outfielder before then. Centre-fielder Colby Rasmus had to leave for a pinch-hitter in the ninth after jamming his wrist twice, on a catch against the wall and on an attempt to make a diving catch.

After Tuesday’s two-for-one trade, the Jays opted to call up Brian Jeroloman, giving them three catchers. For the time being, McCoy will serve as an all-purpose reserve. He can play the outfield as well as three infield positions.

National Post

© Copyright (c) National Post