Justin Smoak scored on a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning as the Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Saturday, giving Toronto three straight wins for the first time in nearly six weeks.
Smoak started the rally with a one-out walk off Mychal Givens (0-2), Kendrys Morales followed with a single and Randal Grichuk was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Luke Maile.
Givens walked Maile on four straight pitches to bring Smoak home.
Grichuk hit a solo homer for Toronto (29-35) and Yangervis Solarte drove in a run and scored on a Teoscar Hernandez double. Gio Urshela had three hits.
The Blue Jays had leads of 2-0 and 3-2 but Baltimore kept storming back.
Jonathan Schoop scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch to tie the game in the eighth and Adam Jones and Chance Sisco had seventh-inning RBIs for the Orioles (19-44).
John Axford (1-0) pitched the ninth and 10th innings for the Blue Jays, which had last won three consecutive games April 29-May 1 against Texas and Minnesota.
Aaron Sanchez allowed two runs and six hits over 6 1/3 solid innings, extending the Blue Jays rotation’s streak to six straight quality starts. The right-hander also struck out five and walked four in the 101-pitch no-decision.
Orioles starter Kevin Gausman pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs and nine hits while striking out six.
Solarte drove in the game’s first run, plating Aledmys Diaz from second on a single in the third inning for his team-leading 37th RBI of the season. The Blue Jays had three consecutive base hits in the frame before recording an out.
Toronto added to the lead in the sixth with back-to-back doubles from Solarte and Hernandez to make it 2-0.
Kevin Pillar made a stunning, diving catch in centre for the first out of the seventh inning, prompting an ovation from the crowd of 34,643 — and from Sanchez on the mound. But Baltimore followed with a single from Trey Mancini and double from Sisco to cut the Jays’ lead.
The Orioles tacked on another run in the inning when Jones singled off reliever Danny Barnes to drive in Sisco from third.
Grichuk led off the seventh inning with a solo shot to centre to give Toronto a 3-2 lead after Baltimore had tied it in the bottom of the sixth.
The Orioles tied it again in the eighth when Schoop scored from third on a wild pitch from reliever Tyler Clippard. The run was charged to Joe Biagini, who hit Schoop with a pitch to put him on base.
NOTES: The Blue Jays are 5-1 against Baltimore this season. … Toronto second baseman Devon Travis was given the day off with a sore knee. He collided with centre-fielder Kevin Pillar while both were trying to make a catch during Friday’s game. … The Blue Jays claimed right-handed Preston Guilmet off waivers from St. Louis and designated Deck McGuire for assignment.