Blue Jays 4, Orioles 3
TORONTO -- Colby Rasmus hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning and the Toronto Blue Jays went on to defeat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3, on Saturday.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Blue Jays (68-80) and evened their three-game series with the Orioles (78-70), setting up the rubber match on Sunday.
The homer was the 20th of the season for Rasmus and his second in two games since coming off the disabled, where he had been for about a month with a strained oblique.
It also made a winner of Jeremy Jeffress (1-0), who pitched one inning in relief of starter Esmil Rogers.
Manny Machado hit a home run and a double for the Orioles. Moises Sierra had two runs batted in for Toronto with a double.
Chris Tillman (16-6) allowed six hits, two walks and four runs while striking out four in eight innings. He is trying to become the first Oriole pitcher to reach 17 wins since Mike Mussina won 18 in 1999.
Rogers allowed five hits, two walks and three runs while striking out seven in six innings and did not figure in the decision.
Casey Janssen pitched the ninth to earn his 30th save.
Machado and Chris Davis doubled in the first to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Jays countered in their first with a double by Jose Reyes, a walk to Adam Lind and a two-run double by Sierra for a 2-1 lead.
Machado tied the game, 2-2, with his 14th home run of the season with two out in the third.
The Orioles took a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Nick Markakis and J.J. Hardy walked with one out and Matt Wieters grounded an RBI single up the middle.
Sierra led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and Rasmus followed with a first-pitch home run to right that put the Blue Jays into the lead.
NOTES: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 29,942. ... Adam Lind hit his 20th home run in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Orioles, the fourth season in which he has hit at least 20 home runs. He is the fourth Blue Jay to hit at least 20 home runs in four or more seasons. ... The Orioles entered Saturday's game averaging 5.63 runs in their eight previous games this season at Rogers Centre, compared with an average of 4.5 runs in their other 64 road games. ... J.J. Hardy singled in the eighth and has a seven-game hitting streak. ...LHP Mark Buehrle (11-8, 4.18 ERA) will start the series finale for Toronto against Baltimore RHP Miguel Gonzalez (9-7, 4.00).
