Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion to undergo wrist surgery

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion is scheduled to undergo wrist surgery this week and will miss the final two weeks of the regular season.

The all-star slugger will have cartilage damage repaired in his left wrist.

"They said it's a simple procedure to clean it out," manager John Gibbons said before Tuesday's home game against the New York Yankees. "He's been dealing with it all year and just got to the point where his bat launch [letting go of the bat on his swing] became too frequent. You could tell he was battling it."

Gibbons said that left-handed reliever Brett Cecil would also go on the disabled list with a sore elbow. Cecil will have an MRI exam this week.

"He's had some elbow discomfort for a little over a month," Gibbons said. "He hadn't been pitching much. He'll get an MRI in the next few days. They don't think [it is serious] but he will get it checked out."

Encarnacion finishes the season with 36 homers, 104 runs batted in, a .272 batting average and an on-base percentage of .370. He missed four games with soreness in the wrist from Sept. 8-12 and returned last weekend for a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.

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Yankees' 4-run inning enough to sink Blue Jays

J.A. Happ is finding new success at the end of the season. The Toronto Blue Jays haven't shared in his good fortune.

Happ struck out seven over seven-plus innings of work on Wednesday, staking Toronto to a 3-0 lead before the Blue Jays lost to the New York Yankees 4-3.

The left-hander has lowered his arm slot when he throws, giving his fastball more movement and more break to his off-speed pitches. 

'I hung a split to Cano and he got out in front and hit it pretty hard. To Soriano I thought I made a good pitch down and away and he got the head to it and I hung another pitch to Vernon [Wells].'- Jays reliever Steve Delabar

"It obviously feels a lot more than it actually is," said Happ. "Whenever you change that up an inch or two seems like a foot. Today I felt good and for the most part maintained that slot. From a stuff standpoint it was similar but I think I had a little bit of an easier time repeating pitches and kind of using everything. It felt a little more smooth."

Happ gave up four hits, three walks and just one run but earned a no decision as New York scored three runs off the Blue Jays' (69-82) bullpen in the eighth inning for a 4-3 lead.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Yankees (80-72), who are now 2 1-2 games out of an American League wild card spot. Toronto, meanwhile, has lost six of its last eight games.

"I thought he was tremendous," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons of Happ. "He was a different guy tonight. Hopefully that's a start. He's got to feel good about that.

"We pissed it away but he's got to feel good about that outing."

Jays bullpen fails

Yankees' starter Phil Hughes allowed four hits, including one home run, and two runs in 3 1-3 innings and has not won since July 2. Left-hander David Huff (3-1) allowed one run in 3 2-3 innings of relief to pick up the win. Mariano Rivera — who is retiring at the end of the season — pitched 1 1-3 innings to earn his 44th save of the season and escaped a ninth-inning jam by striking out J.P. Arencibia with runners at second and third to end the game.

The Blue Jays took their three-run lead into the eighth inning on the strength of home runs in the fourth inning by Colby Rasmus and Ryan Goins, the first of his major-league career.

Happ was replaced by left-hander Aaron Loup after Brendan Ryan led off the eighth with a double.

Curtis Granderson followed up Ryan's hit with a single and right-hander Steve Delabar replaced Loup, immediately striking out Alex Rodriguez. Robinson Cano then singled in a run and Alfonso Soriano doubled in another run.

That set the stage for former Blue Jay Vernon Wells to double in two runs and give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

"I hung a split to Cano and he got out in front and hit it pretty hard," said Delabar. "To Soriano I thought I made a good pitch down and away and he got the head to it and I hung another pitch to Vernon."

Delabar said he was disappointed for Happ.

"He pitched a great game today," said Delabar. "We're down there trying to give him as much support as we can. Then to come in and not get the job done it's a slap in the face. Couldn't feel worse."

Rivera shuts the door, again

Rivera retired Brett Lawrie on a grounder to end the bottom of the eighth after Rajai Davis singled against David Robertson and stole second.

Adam Lind led off the ninth against Rivera with a single and Kevin Pillar pinch ran for him.

Rasmus followed with a single to move Pillar to second.

Left-handed hitter Munenori Kawasaki batted for Moises Sierra and his attempt at a sacrifice bunt resulted in a force at third. First baseman Lyle Overbay — also a former Blue Jay — got the out by playing in on Kawasaki.

"That was a great play," said Rivera who has allowed only 26 sacrifice bunts in his career, 11 by left-handed hitters.

Gibbons defended the decision to have Kawasaki bunt against Rivera and the Yankees' defence.

"He's a pretty good bunter," said Gibbons. " First and second we wanted to get the tying run to third base. It's tough to get a lot of hits in a row against Rivera. Overbay is more aggressive than most of them. If you get it down the third-base line they give it to you there. It was too much in front of home plate."

New York manager Joe Girardi had faith in his team's ability to handle a sacrifice bunt in a close game.

"I felt confident about it when they put Kawasaki in to bunt, cause (Rivera's) such a great fielder, you figure he'd make something happen," said Girardi.

Goins moved the runners to second and third with a grounder to bring up Arencibia who struck out, extending his hitless slump to 0-for-16.

"Tonight was a big game for us," Rivera said. "Being down 3-0 in the eighth inning and coming back to score four and being able to hold it, it's a huge game, huge.

"Great to see our guys put those kind of at bats together. We were able to put some runs on the board, enough to win the game."

Toronto took a 3-0 lead with one out in the fourth on two homers.

Rasmus hit a 2-1 pitch to right with one out for his fourth homer since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 13. His 22nd homer of the season scored Brett Lawrie who led off with a double.

Huff replaced Hughes and gave up a two-out homer to Goins on a 3-2 pitch.

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Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion to undergo wrist surgery

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion is scheduled to undergo wrist surgery this week and will miss the final two weeks of the regular season.

The all-star slugger will have cartilage damage repaired in his left wrist.

"They said it's a simple procedure to clean it out," manager John Gibbons said before Tuesday's home game against the New York Yankees. "He's been dealing with it all year and just got to the point where his bat launch [letting go of the bat on his swing] became too frequent. You could tell he was battling it."

Gibbons said that left-handed reliever Brett Cecil would also go on the disabled list with a sore elbow. Cecil will have an MRI exam this week.

"He's had some elbow discomfort for a little over a month," Gibbons said. "He hadn't been pitching much. He'll get an MRI in the next few days. They don't think [it is serious] but he will get it checked out."

Encarnacion finishes the season with 36 homers, 104 runs batted in, a .272 batting average and an on-base percentage of .370. He missed four games with soreness in the wrist from Sept. 8-12 and returned last weekend for a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.

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R.A. Dickey, Blue Jays put dent in Yankees' playoff chase

R.A. Dickey's knuckleball finally danced like it did last year when he was the best pitcher in the National League.

Dickey baffled the New York Yankees for seven innings and Colby Rasmus and Rajai Davis homered as the Toronto Blue Jays won the opener of a three-game series 2-0 on Tuesday.

"What you saw tonight is what I saw last year for 25 starts," said catcher Josh Thole who accompanied the Cy Young Award winner to Toronto in an off-season trade with the Mets. "It was consistently that every night."

Dickey (13-12) struggled in the first two innings then faced the minimum number of batters for the next five innings. He struck out eight in holding the Yankees to four hits and two walks to win his fourth decision in a row.

'It was probably the latest action I've had on [my knuckleball] here in particular. So it's nice to continue to grow. These are important games for me in particular. We're going to be competing next year so it's important to get it right now'- Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey

"It was probably the latest action I've had on it here in particular," Dickey said. "So it's nice to continue to grow. These are important games for me in particular. We're going to be competing next year so it's important to get it right now."

Rasmus hit his 21st homer of the season — and third in three games since returning from the disabled list — in the fourth inning against left-hander Andy Pettitte (10-10).

Davis hit his sixth of the season against right-hander Shawn Kelley in the seventh.

The Yankees (79-72), who entered Tuesday 2.5 games out of an American League wild-card spot, have lost four in a row. The Blue Jays (69-81) have won only twice in their first seven games of a nine-game home stand.

Sergio Santos took over from Dickey in the eighth. Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his 31st save of the season.

Pettitte lost for the first time since Aug. 5 as he allowed six hits, two walks and one run while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings. He had three wins and four no decisions in his previous seven starts.

"It's frustrating," Pettitte said. "We're playing terrible and it's not good. It's a bad time to be doing that. If we pitch we got to score some runs. If we score some runs, we've got to pitch. It seems like we haven't been doing a lot of mixing and matching together. Dickey pitched a good game. His knuckleball, he threw it well."

Dickey left the bases loaded in the first when he struck out Mark Reynolds. He left two more runners stranded in the second, and struck out the side in the third before being helped by a fourth-inning double play.

"I didn't get discouraged the first two innings," Dickey said. "I was throwing good knuckleballs. I thought I had a couple of pitches there 3-2 and ended up being balls but outside of that it was moving pretty drastically tonight. Even in the first two innings, I knew I had a pretty good one. I just needed to stay the course with it."

The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead with one out in the fourth when Rasmus homered to right on a 2-2 hanger. The centre-fielder came off the disabled list on Sept. 13 after not playing since Aug. 11 because of an oblique strain.

"I made a terrible mistake to Rasmus and that was the ball game," Pettitte said. "He got me deep into an at-bat. I kept trying to bounce a cutter off the top of the plate see if I could try and get him to swing. Bad thought process."

Kelley replaced Pettitte with two out in the seventh and Davis homered to left on a 1-0 pitch to extend the lead to 2-0.

The way Dickey's knuckleball was working, that was all the Blue Jays needed. He even tried two sidearm pitches.

"The knuckleball stayed hard for most of the night, it was moving all over the place," Thole said. "In the 'pen it was moving more than I've seen since I've been here. It was definitely a mental grind for seven innings tonight.

"He got stronger as he went on I think. That was the difference. You could see it. His velocity kind of jumped up I think in the third inning, he was throwing the harder consistently and it was all over."

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Dodgers activate Matt Kemp from DL

The Los Angeles Dodgers have activated outfielder Matt Kemp from the disabled list for the third time this season.

Kemp isn't in the lineup for the Dodgers' game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

The 2011 NL MVP runner-up first went on the disabled list on May 30 with a mild right hamstring strain. He was activated on June 25 but lasted only 12 days before heading back to the DL with inflammation in his left shoulder.

Kemp was activated on July 21 and went 3 for 4 with a double a home run and three RBIs before spraining his left ankle in a play at the plate in the ninth inning, sending him back to the DL for the third time.

In 62 games, Kemp is hitting .263 with five home runs and 27 RBIs.

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Red Sox's Ryan Dempster set for potential final start

Ryan Dempster and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are two Boston Red Sox who won't let up in the final two weeks of the regular season, despite the team's seemingly comfortable division lead.

Saltalamacchia, Boston's starting catcher, made his feelings known after the club swept a three-game series from the New York Yankees over the weekend as part of its current 17-4 stretch.

The Red Sox entered play Tuesday with a 92-59 record and nine-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the American League East.

"We want to win every game," he said. "We never settle for what [the division lead] is. It's 'Go for the next one.'"

'I'm preparing like I normally prepare.'- Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster

Dempster, unlike his teammate, appears to be fighting for his job.

The Gibsons, B.C., native is scheduled to start Tuesday's series opener against the visiting Baltimore Orioles, and it's not a stretch to think it might be Dempster's final appearance of the season in the Red Sox rotation.

"I'm preparing like I normally prepare," the Canadian right-hander told Boston reporters last week. "Nothing has changed."

Dempster has a record of 8-9 in 28 starts this season with a 4.70 earned-run average, but in 11 outings since July 6 his ERA is 5.66 while he's allowed 1.60 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP).

Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jake Peavy and a now-healthy Clay Buchholz are locks for the rotation in the post-season, leaving Felix Doubront and Dempster battling for a spot on the playoff roster.

Doubront to face Blue Jays

Boston manager John Farrell skipped Doubront's last turn through the rotation but has said the left-hander will pitch this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays.

A move to the bullpen wouldn't be a major adjustment for Dempster, who has appeared in 225 major league games in relief while starting 350 contests. Doubront has pitched 21 times out of the bullpen, including once this season.

Having Dempster available in the late innings would provide Farrell with another right-handed set-up man along with Brandon Workman and Junichi Tazawa.

Dempster saved 85 games as the Chicago Cubs' closer from 2005 through 2007.

Against Baltimore, Dempster's 2.01 lifetime ERA is easily his lowest versus any American League opponent. This season, he's 1-1 with a 2.50 against the Orioles.

Dempster has allowed a team-high 25 home runs this season but didn't surrender one in a five-inning, no-decision at Tampa Bay on Sept. 11.

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis leads the majors with 50 home runs and has gone deep once against Dempster this season but has also struck out six times in 11 at-bats.

Boston, which has won nine of Dempster's past 10 starts, faces Baltimore right-hander Scott Feldman (5-4, 3.62 ERA).

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Orioles silence Blue Jays' bats for series win

Mark Buehrle inched a little closer to his 13th consecutive season with 200 innings pitched on Sunday, but for the second start in a row, the left-hander struggled.

The Baltimore Orioles earned a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre as Buehrle lasted five innings, bringing his total to 194 1-3 for the season.

"Obviously with five innings I wasn't very pleased with myself," he said. "I got out of some big jams and kind of gave us a chance there for a bit."

After going through a stretch of nine starts in which he was 6-0, Buehrle (11-9) has lost his past two starts.

Buehrle allowed six hits, three walks and three runs (two earned), an improvement from his last start in which he gave up 12 hits and eight runs in against the Los Angeles Angels.

A two-run double by Danny Valencia in the third and a bases-loaded walk to Chris Davis in the fourth were the keys to his loss.

"It was a battle for him today," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "But he has that knack of hanging around and surviving and keeping you in the game. It's been a long year for him. He kept the game in check without his best stuff."

Adam Lind homered for the Blue Jays as they picked up their fifth loss of their last six games.

The Orioles (79-70), who entered Sunday 3 1-2 games removed from an American League wild card spot won two of three from the Blue Jays (68-81) to take the three-game series.

Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (10-7) was removed from the game after 5 1-3 innings after a visit by manager Buck Showalter and a trainer. He had just struck out Lind to open the sixth and the club reported that it he suffered a right groin strain.

Gonzalez held the Blue Jays to one run on six hits to pick up the win and give him a career high.

"I think we'll have a better idea tomorrow or the next day," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of the extent of the injury to Gonzalez. "He said he felt it two pitches before."

Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his 45th save, despite giving up a leadoff single to Anthony Gose.

Buehrle could not pinpoint the reason for his recent struggles.

"I'm not the top workout guy but I get back there and do enough stuff to try to finish strong and go deep into games late in the season," he said. "I don't know if it's getting a little worn out. The last couple of outings haven't been too good.

"My pitch count was getting high and it's not allowing me to go deep into games. I just need to make better pitches and get early contact."

Lind led off the bottom of the second with his 21st homer of the season to open the scoring.

Valencia doubled in two runs with two out in the third to put the Orioles into a 2-1 lead. The double scored Nick Markakis, who led off the inning with a single and Adam Jones, who walked with two out.

"Any time you get a hit with runners in scoring position it's huge, especially with two outs," Valencia said. "My at-bat before that, I left two on in the same situation, so it was nice to come through and get those runs."

The Orioles added a run in the fourth to go ahead 3-1 when Chris Davis walked with the bases loaded. He forced in Michael Morse who reached first on an error when shortstop Jose Reyes dropped his line drive.

Morse took third on a double by Brian Roberts. After Davis walked, Blue Jays second baseman Ryan Goins ended the inning on a diving play on a ground ball by Jones.

"There were a couple of close calls [on balls and strikes], balls were finding the holes," Buehrle said. "When you're going good those things find your position guys, you're getting strikes called or getting close pitches. It's going your way.

"I've got to do a better job of not walking a guy with the bases loaded. At the same time you know what Chris Davis can do and you don't want to give in to him, a walk is better than a home run. Overall it wasn't the best today but it was alright."

The Blue Jays threatened to cut into the lead in the seventh. Edwin Encarnacion hit a ground-rule double against Francisco Rodriguez and Brett Lawrie, who had singled with two out had to stop at third. After Lind was intentionally walked, Tommy Hunter replaced Rodriguez and struck out Moises Sierra to end the threat.

"They got out of some jams," Gibbons said. "They're a good ball club, they're right in the thick of it. They don't throw a bunch of pitchers at you that can overpower you but they can all pitch.

"They all have the ability to make a key pitch at the right time ... we got our hits but just couldn't get that big one."

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Wladimir Balentien breaks Japan's single-season HR record

Former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien hit his 56th and 57th home runs on Sunday, breaking the Japanese single-season record set by legendary slugger Sadaharu Oh 49 years ago.

Balentien hit the record-breaking three-run homer in the first inning of Sunday's game in Tokyo, sending the ball over the left-field wall at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium to give his Yakult Swallows an early lead over the Hanshin Tigers. He then added a solo shot in the third for No. 57 to help the Swallows to a 9-0 win.

Oh set the mark of 55 in 1964. While it was equaled by ex-major leaguers Tuffy Rhodes in 2001 and Alex Cabrera in 2002, many felt Oh used his position as a manager to prevent both players from breaking it.

"I want to thank the fans for all their support," Balentien said. "It was a great feeling. I don't think I will ever feel anything like that again in my life."

The 29-year-old Balentien missed the first 12 games of this season because of a leg injury sustained while playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.

Balentien's challenge of Oh's record comes in a season in which there is controversy over attempts to reform the game to make it more exciting. In June, Japanese baseball officials admitted they introduced a new official ball this season without notifying players. The new ball has resulted in a dramatic increase in home runs.

Rhodes and Cabrera tied Oh's record with several games left in the season but were then walked repeatedly by teams managed by Oh, who later denied instructing his pitchers to not challenge either player.

Randy Bass hit 54 homers in 1985 but fell short in the last game of the season when the pitcher from the Yomiuri Giants, then managed by Oh, walked him in his last at-bat, preventing Bass from tying the record.

Oh is a legend in Japan. His 868 career home runs, which surpassed Hank Aaron's then major league record of 755, made him a national hero.

"Oh is the home run king and I have a lot of respect for him," Balentien said. "To be able to tie him and then pass him is something very special for me."

The single-season home run record is also highly regarded, and former New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui wore No. 55 in recognition of it.

The closest Matsui came to breaking Oh's record was 50 homers in 2002, when he played for the Giants.

The 73-year-old Oh is no longer actively involved in Japanese baseball and serves as an honorary chairman of the Softbank Hawks, the team he managed when Rhodes and Cabrera were attempting to break his record.

Oh has often said he has no problem with his record being broken as long as it's done by a wide margin and not just one or two homers. Balentien has 17 games left to add to his tally.

Balentien, a native of Curacao, played for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds before signing with the Swallows in 2011. He hit a Central League-leading 31 homers in each of his first two seasons in Japan.

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Colby Rasmus homers again as Blue Jays rally over Orioles

Even in a season filled with potholes, the Toronto Blue Jays have occasionally found their way.

Some may float the blind squirrel explanation but the underachieving American League East team got the job done Saturday.

Colby Rasmus homered for the second day in a row since returning from the disabled list, starter Esmil Rogers handcuffed the hard-hitting Orioles for six innings and the Toronto bullpen did its job in a 4-3 win over Baltimore.

With Toronto trailing 3-2 in the seventh inning, Rasmus drove in Moises Sierra with a majestic shot off the second deck in right field to give the Jays the lead. Baltimore ace Chris Tillman (16-6) had walked Sierra to open the inning.

It was Rasmus' 20th homer of the season and his second in as many games since returning to action Friday after being out since Aug. 11 with an oblique strain.

"I'm just happy to be here. Just glad to be back," Rasmus said in his southern drawl. "And happy to be able to give us a chance to win."

"He looks good," manager John Gibbons said of his centre-fielder. "That doesn't always happen when you're out for that long and you don't get a whole lot of work in."

Rasmus' moonshot off a Tillman change-up also made the Blue Jays the first team in the majors this season to boast five players with 20 homers, as Rasmus joined J.P. Arencibia, Jose Bautista, Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion.

On Friday, Rasmus celebrated his return to action by slamming a fastball into the Baltimore bullpen.

"He's a good player, he's well rounded," said Tillman. "He hit a homer last night on a fastball in, tonight he hit one on a change-up. That goes to show you he's got a good game plan right now. He's swinging the bat well."

Sweet win

The Jays (68-80) snapped a four-game losing streak while the Orioles (78-70) lost their fourth in five outings as their wild-card charge continues to wobble. Baltimore outhit Toronto 8-6.

The win was especially sweet coming against a Baltimore team bristling with big bats, including a MLB-leading 198 homers. And against its ace.

"They may have the best offence in baseball, at least one of the top ones,"' said Gibbons. "So they keep coming at you. It's never easy. They hit home runs. You always feel on edge, especially when they get guys on base because most of those guys in that lineup can pop one on you. So it's never easy facing those guys. And Tillman was great today too. Colby ended up getting to him late but other than that, he was dynamite too."

The late-afternoon game opened in sunlight, 15-degree temperatures and the roof open for the crowd of 29,942. It was a happy Junior Jays Saturday all around with young Jays fans allowed to run the bases after the game.

Toronto Blue Jays' Colby Rasmus, left, hit his 20th homer of the season and his second in as many games since returning to action Friday after being out since Aug. 11 with an oblique strain. (Jon Blacker/Reuters)

Tillman, in his 30th start of the season, gave up two runs in the first inning before settling down. Combined with the Orioles' stingy defence, it made for slim pickings for the Jays until Rasmus found the fence.

Tillman was bidding to become the first Oriole to get 17 wins since Mike Mussina won 18 in 1999. But two swings of the bat — the Rasmus homer and a first-inning two-run double by Sierra — cost him.

Tillman, who gave up four runs on six hits over eight innings, probably deserved better. He struck out four and walked two in the first complete game of his career as his career record at the Rogers Centre dropped to 1-3 in six starts.

"He was solid, just got a couple of change-ups up," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "It's been a big pitch for him all year. Just elevated a couple and they made him pay for it."

Early offence

Rogers matched a career high with seven strikeouts in six innings but made life difficult for himself when he wasn't on point. He gave up three runs on five hits, walked two and threw 101 pitches, including 59 strikes.

Despite a matchup of two hot pitchers, the teams combined for four doubles in the first inning.

Rogers took the mound on the heels of a career-high 15 scoreless innings covering his last three starts. That streak lasted less than an inning as Manny Machado and Chris Davis delivered back-to-back doubles with one out. For Machado, it was his 50th double of the season. Left-fielder Anthony Gose launched himself at Davis' swerving fly ball and got his glove to it but couldn't hang on.

Toronto, 20-50 when the opposition scores first, pulled ahead with two outs in the first when Sierra doubled home Jose Reyes and Lind. It was Sierra's 20th hit of the season and his 14th extra-base hit (including 12 doubles).

Machado made it 2-2 with a two-out solo homer — his 14th of the season — to left field in the third. Rogers had retired seven in a row before being punished on an 0-1 pitch.

Rogers lost the strike zone in the fourth, walking a pair before an RBI single by Matt Wieters gave the visitors a 3-2 lead. But he snuffed out the Orioles charge with two strikeouts, adding two more in the fifth. And the Jays starter escaped another jam in the sixth, leaving men on second and third.

Jeremy Jeffress (1-0) came on in the seventh for Rogers to get the win, followed by Aaron Loup and Neil Wagner in the eighth when they faced the meat of the Baltimore lineup. Wagner stranded runners on first and a third by striking out Wieters.

Casey Janssen, despite giving up a Nate McLouth single with two outs, closed out the ninth for his 30th save of the season. He finished it off with a lunging stab and throw to first base to throw out Machado.

The teams wrap up their series Sunday with Mark Buehrle (11-8) starting for Toronto against Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (9-7).

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Mark Buehrle, Blue Jays seek series win against Orioles

With every game critical at this point, the wild-card contending Baltimore Orioles can't afford many self-induced setbacks.

Looking to bounce back from their latest defeat, the Orioles try to avoid losing a fifth straight road series Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Part of the crowded AL wild-card race, Baltimore (78-70) led 3-2 in the seventh inning when Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer off starter Chris Tillman that ultimately helped Toronto (68-80) snap a four-game slide with Saturday's 4-3 victory.

Losers in five of seven, the Orioles have not won a road series since taking two of three at San Francisco from Aug. 9-11. Things don't get any easier after this set for Baltimore, which travels to AL-leading Boston for three games starting Tuesday, then plays four at fellow wild-card contender Tampa Bay to conclude its final road trip.

"It's not easy to make the playoffs, it sure isn't,'' outfielder Nate McLouth said. "Doing it last year was kind of an eye-opener on exactly how it's got to be done. It's a grind, it's a battle to make the playoffs.''

Manny Machado was 3 for 19 in the previous four games before he homered and recorded his 50th double of the season Saturday, but Baltimore stranded eight and went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

It was the 11th time in 13 games the Orioles had two or fewer hits in such situations.

"It's hard to do,'' manager Buck Showalter said. "They've done it a lot more times than they haven't. It just gets magnified at this time of year.''

The Orioles might have a good chance to bounce back against Toronto starter Mark Buehrle (11-8, 4.18 ERA), who allowed eight runs on homers to Adam Jones, Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy in six innings of an 8-5 loss at Baltimore on July 12.

Davis is 6 for 12 with two homers and Jones 7 for 19 (.368) versus Buehrle, who was 6-0 with a 2.02 ERA during a nine-start stretch before running into the Los Angeles Angels. The left-hander gave up eight runs and a season-high 12 hits - three homers - in four innings of a 12-6 home loss Tuesday.

"The whole game I wasn't making pitches; everything was up, falling behind in the count," he told the Blue Jays' official website. "I feel like I have been pitching so well for so long that you kind of have a bump in the road once in a while, and (Tuesday) was that day."

Baltimore counters with Miguel Gonzalez (9-7, 4.00), who is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays this season but 0-2 with a 7.48 ERA in his last four road starts overall.

After making two relief appearances in late August, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 5.82 ERA in his last three starts. He allowed three runs and two homers while striking out six in six innings, not getting a decision in a 7-5 loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Rasmus is 1 for 12 with a double and six strikeouts versus Gonzalez, but is batting .458 (11 for 24) with two doubles, three home runs and five RBIs in his last six games against the Orioles.

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