Toronto, ON - Scott Moore singled home the go-ahead run in the 12th inning, lifting the Baltimore Orioles to an 8-6 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber match of a three-game series at Rogers Centre.
Aubrey Huff started the 12th with a single off Jason Frasor (1-5) and raced to third on a double into the right field corner by Freddie Bynum. After Paul Bako struck out, Moore singled off the glove of first baseman Matt Stairs to chase home Huff, and Brian Roberts followed with a sacrifice fly to give Baltimore a two-run edge.
Fernando Cabrera set down the Blue Jays in order in the bottom of the 12th to earn his first big league save. Rob Bell (4-3) notched the victory with two innings of two-hit relief.
Tike Redman and Jay Payton each drove in a pair of runs for the Orioles, who have won three of their last four games. Huff scored three times and Nick Markakis homered in the victory.
Adam Lind and Russ Adams clubbed back-to-back homers for Toronto, which has lost seven of its last nine.
Baltimore and Toronto will now try to play the spoiler role this week. The Orioles visit New York for a three-game series against the Yankees, while the Blue Jays welcome Boston to town for three games.
The Orioles grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a run-scoring double by Payton, but the Blue Jays answered with three in the bottom of the frame.
Aaron Hill led off the home second with a single and Lind drove a pitch over the wall in center field for his ninth homer. Adams followed with his first home run of the season, a blast off the right field pole, to make it 3-1.
Redman led off the top of the third with a double and advanced to third on a grounder by Markakis, but Toronto starter Shaun Marcum got Miguel Tejada to hit back to the mound and Kevin Millar on a fly ball to left to keep Toronto ahead.
The Blue Jays picked up another run in the bottom of the third when Hill followed a pair of walks with a double for a 4-1 edge. Baltimore's Victor Santos, though, escaped further damage when Lind popped out and Curtis Thigpen grounded out with the bases loaded.
Baltimore pulled within two in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Payton, but Marcum caught Roberts looking at a third strike with a runner on third to end the inning.
The Orioles continued to chip away and made it a one-run game in the fifth on Markakis' 20th homer of the season, then tied it in the seventh. Roberts led off with a double and scored on a two-out single to left by Tejada.
Toronto had a chance to regain the lead in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with one out on a single and a pair of walks, but Jamie Walker got pinch hitter Vernon Wells on a pop up and struck out Thigpen.
Baltimore then went on top with two runs in the top of the eighth, but Toronto answered with two in the bottom of the inning. Redman's two-run single with two outs gave the Orioles a 6-4 edge, but the Blue Jays loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning and scored runs on groundouts by Alex Rios and Lyle Overbay.
Game Notes
Moore injured his right ankle in the 12th, but remained in the game for the bottom of the inning...Marcum gave up three runs on five hits in five innings, while Santos allowed four runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings...The Orioles used seven pitchers, while the Blue Jays employed eight...The time of the game was 4:25...Toronto left 15 runners on base, while Baltimore stranded 12.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes
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