The Toronto Blue Jays needed to catch a few breaks to end their season-long six-game losing skid. Good breaks have been few and far between for the Blue Jays lately, but they got one on Saturday night in Oakland.

Toronto ended that skid with a 3-1, 11-inning win over the Athletics thanks to a game-changing display of aggressive base running. A costly error by a Toronto native helped, too.

After first baseman David Cooper tied the game 1-1 in the top of ninth with a solo home run off Ryan Cook, the Blue Jays put together another rally in the 11th. Edwin Encarnacion singled and Rajai Davis walked to put runners at first and second with one out.

That brought catcher Jeff Mathis to the plate. On the 3-2 pitch the runners took off. Mathis swung and missed but Athletics catcher George Kottaras' throw to third sailed into left field to allow Encarnacion to score.

The error by Kottaras, who was born in Scarborough, Ont., kept the inning

After missing the first 50 games of the major-league season, Michael Morse is making up for lost time.

The Washington Nationals outfielder earned the game-changing moment of the week for his four-RBI performance in an 11-9 come-from-behind win Sunday over the Milwaukee Brewers.

In the "boxing match" game, the Nationals scored four runs in the eighth inning to tie it 7-7. The Brewers answered back in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own on back-to-back home runs. Beleaguered Brewers closer John Axford came in to pitch the ninth. With one out and a runner on first, Morse came to the plate and did this:

His eighth home run of the season tied the game 9-9 and sent it to extra innings. Axford, who saved 46 games for the Brewers last season, blew his seventh save of the season.

But Morse wasn’t finished. In the 11th inning, Bryce Harper drew a leadoff walk and Ryan Zimmerman singled. One out later, Morse doubled down the

For a team not known as an offensive juggernaut, the Cleveland Indians put together a remarkably clutch hitting performance last Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Catcher Carlos Santana hit a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to cap a five-run rally as the Indians came back to beat the Rays 10-6. The five seventh-inning runs, along with three in the fifth, all came with two outs, game-changing moments to be sure.

Santana's homer ended a long drought for the catcher – he had not homered since May 15 in a win over the Minnesota Twins, a stretch of 138 at-bats. It was the Indians' fifth consecutive hit in the inning with two outs.

"It means a lot to him because I know that's been weighing on him, especially the power drought that he's had," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "It's hard on those guys. He must be feeling a lot better. We're so much better an offensive club when Santana is contributing."

Santana's blast was the

After toiling through a back injury and rehab stints in the Gulf Coast League and Double-A, Taylor Teagarden made his season debut a memorable one.

Teagarden, in just his second at-bat of the season, helped the Baltimore Orioles end a three-game losing skid and earned the game-changing moment of the week with a walk-off homer against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night.

The surprising Orioles, still in second place in the tough American League East as the second half began, needed 13 innings and three runs to earn the 8-6 win. In the bottom of the 13th, after the Tigers had taken a one-run lead in the top of the inning, J.J. Hardy hit a solo homer to tie the game. After Adam Jones walked, Teagarden came to the plate for the second time after replacing Matt Wieters behind the plate. With two out he sent a 1-2 pitch from Joaquin Benoit deep to right field for the walk-off winner.

For Teagarden, who spent the first four years of his

When the Toronto Blue Jays made a big move Thursday by signing Edwin Encarnacion to an extension, it was probably done with an eye toward making a run at a postseason berth. The problem for fans, however, is that run probably won’t come in 2012.

Edwin Encarnacion's new deal keeps him in Toronto until at least 2015. (Getty Images) The Blue Jays locked up the power-hitting designated hitter to a three-year extension worth $27-million, with a $10-million club option for a fourth year. Encarnacion would have been a free agent this winter, and one of the top sluggers available.

Encarnacion is an important asset for the Blue Jays going forward. The 29-year-old has blossomed into a reliable cleanup hitter and protection for major league home-run leader Jose Bautista. In 83 games this season he is batting a team-best .295 with 23 home runs and 58 RBI.

As the trade deadline approaches, his signing also appears to take the Blue Jays out of “selling” mode. An impending free-agent power hitter like Encarnacion would have been interesting trade bait for general

For the first time in a long time, the Pittsburgh Pirates went into the All-Star break on high note. And they have first-half MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen to thank for much of it.

The All-Star center fielder helped the Pirates finish the first half alone in first place in the National League Central and earned the game-changing moment of the week in the process.

On Sunday against the San Francisco Giants, McCutchen went off for two home runs in a 13-2 win that helped them take the series, win for the sixth time in their last seven games – and add to the woes of former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum.

McCutchen's game-changing moment came early. In the bottom of the first inning with the game still scoreless, he sent a 3-2 pitch from Lincecum over the wall in right-center field for his 17th homer of the year, and a 2-0 Pirates lead.

McCutchen hit his 18th of the year in the seventh inning – after Lincecum was long gone – in a

On the same day he was named to his second All-Star team, Jay Bruce had an embarrassing blunder worthy of a Little Leaguer.

The Cincinnati Reds outfielder, known almost as much for his solid play in right field as he is for his powerful bat, handed a win to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday and earned the game-changing moment of the week in the process.

In the final game of a four-game series, the Reds rallied to tie the Giants 3-3 in the top of the ninth. In the bottom half of the inning, Reds reliever Jose Arredondo got two quick outs before Buster Posey hit a ground rule double and Pablo Sandoval was intentionally walked.

That brought Angel Pagan to the plate. The crowd let out a collective sigh as Pagan sent a 3-1 pitch to right field that clearly wasn't going to be deep enough. But Bruce tracked the ball to the warning track then inexplicably stopped at the track and leapt for the ball. He missed.

The ball sailed over Bruce's

After a series full of close calls and near misses, something finally went right for the Oakland Athletics in the ninth inning on Sunday.

The Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2 on a walk-off homer by rookie catcher Derek Norris, earning the game-changing moment of the week.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning and facing a sweep at the hands of the Giants, Norris came to bat with two on and two out. The rally started with a leadoff single by Yoenis Cespedes and a single by Brandon Inge.

Norris battled with Giants closer Santiago Casilla and sent a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left field for a 4-2 victory – and his first career home run.

Norris was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday and was making just his third big-league start. He got his first major-league hit and RBI on Saturday and topped it with the homer on Sunday.

"It's something I'll never forget," Norris said. "I wouldn't trade it for anything.