Bullpen bails out Jays in 7-3 win vs. O's

BALTIMORE -- The Toronto Blue Jays used a timely hit from J.P. Arencibia and a solid effort from their bullpen to take care of business Saturday.

Arencibia's two-run single in the sixth inning gave the Jays the lead for good, and the bullpen threw five innings of shutout relief to give Toronto a 7-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in front of a sell-out crowd of 46,150 at Camden Yards.

Arencibia's two-out single with the bases loaded put Toronto (45-48) ahead 4-3 after the teams had traded home runs and leads earlier in the game, and it helped end the Jays' brief two-game losing streak.

"I think sometimes I lost my aggressiveness in those situations," Arencibia said. "I've been back to being aggressive and it's been working out."

Arencibia's hit gave the Jays the lead for good in the sixth, and a three-run seventh inning put the game away. The Blue Jays actually got just one hit in the inning, but a hit batter and two walks and a pair of timely force-outs helped Toronto add to its lead.

Blue Jays starter Todd Redmond went just four innings, giving up three earned runs before manager John Gibbons put the game in the hands of his bullpen. Five Toronto relievers combined for five shutout innings, keeping the potent Orioles (52-43) quiet and allowing just three hits.

Aaron Loup relieved Redmond, followed by Dustin McGowan, Brett Cecil, Steve Delabar and Casey Janssen.

"Those guys have been used pretty good this year, but one more day before the All-Star break we could do that today," Gibbons said.

Loup (4-3) got the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Janssen picked up his 18th save by getting the final two outs when the Orioles threatened in the ninth.

Baltimore starter Jason Hammel (7-6) threw six innings plus two batters but has now gone eight starts without a win. Hammel has not won a game since May 27 against Washington. He allowed six runs on 10 hits in this contest.

"He's pitched some good games," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "You can go back through that. There are some things that didn't work out. But I think it bodes well for the rest of the season because he's capable of better and I think his best games are ahead of him."

The Jays started quickly against Hammel. Jose Reyes led off the game with a double off the wall in right field. Two batters later, Edwin Encarnacion gave Toronto a 2-0 lead with a 449-foot home run.

Chris Davis answered for Baltimore in the second inning with his major-league-leading 36th home run, cutting Toronto's lead to 2-1. He has now homered in three consecutive games.

The Orioles took the lead in the fourth. Adam Jones hit the first pitch deep into the left-field bleachers, tying the score 2-2 on a day when his No. 10 jersey was given to the fans.

Redmond then hit Davis after the Jones homer. The first baseman later scored when Brian Roberts lined a two-out double to right, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

The Blue Jays answered in the sixth and seventh. After Hammel got the first two outs in the sixth, Toronto loaded the bases with three straight singles before Arencibia lined his two-run single for the 4-3 lead.

In the seventh, Hammel allowed the first two hitters to reach before being removed from the game. Jose Bautista then drilled an RBI double into left field off Baltimore reliever Jairo Asencio for a 5-3 lead. The final two runs scored on force-outs.

After that, the bullpen shut down the Orioles and locked up the win.

"You get Cecil and Delabar in there, you know they've had amazing first halves," Jones said. "So they're just doing what they've been doing all year. They had the lead; they brought in that shutdown bullpen, and they shut us down."

NOTES: Arencibia threw out Davis when the first baseman tried to steal in the sixth -- and did so from his knees with a perfect throw. ... Toronto's Colby Rasmus extended his hitting streak to six games and is now 11-for-24 (.458) during that stretch after two more hits on Saturday. ... Jones had just two at-bats in the game, breaking his streak of having at least three official at-bats in 182 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors and the longest in Orioles history. ... In addition, Jones walked twice for the first time since Sept. 13, 2012.