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Blue Jays rally past O's

Apr 23, 2014 - 4:56 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Brett Lawrie and Melky Cabrera each clubbed a three-run homer during an eighth-inning rally that boosted the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a three-game set Tuesday from Rogers Centre.

With the game tied 3-3 to start the home half of the eighth, Evan Meek (0-1) yielded a leadoff single to Juan Francisco and then walked Colby Rasmus before Lawrie laced a 1-1 fastball deep over the wall in straightaway center field.

"He just went down and got it," Meek said of the pitch that Lawrie hit out to center. "It's frustrating. You still have to make good pitches, there just wasn't good pitches made tonight."

Following a Josh Thole single and a Jonathan Diaz strikeout, Josh Stinson replaced Meek on the mound and served up a single to Jose Reyes before Cabrera ripped a 2-0 fastball over the wall in right for a 9-3 lead.

Steve Delabar (2-0) picked up the win after spinning a scoreless top of the eighth, while Edwin Encarnacion clubbed a game-tying three-run shot in the sixth for the Blue Jays, who have won three of their last four games.

"We have a very talented team and we know we can hit," Encarnacion said. "So when we start hitting it's going to be great to watch this team play."

Nelson Cruz slugged a three-run homer for Baltimore, which has dropped three of its last four games on the heels of a three-game win streak.

Both starting pitchers looked sharp in the early going, as Toronto's R.A. Dickey and Baltimore's Miguel Gonzalez exchanged zeros over the first five frames.

The O's finally broke through in the sixth, as Steve Lombardozzi smacked a leadoff double and Nick Markakis walked before Cruz cleared the wall in left- center field with his fourth home run of the season.

Baltimore loaded the bases later in the frame after sandwiching a pair of two-out walks around a hit-by-pitch, but Dickey fanned Jonathan Schoop to escape further damage.

Encarnacion pulled the Jays even in the home half, as Cabrera started the frame by reaching on a Lombardozzi error and Jose Bautista followed with a walk before the Toronto first baseman belted his first home run of the season over the wall in center to tie the game at 3-3.

Baltimore loaded the bases again with one out in the seventh, but Brett Cecil fanned Adam Jones and Steve Clevenger in succession to keep the game tied.

Game Notes

Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis went 0-for-4, but walked in the seventh inning to reach base safely for the 18th straight game, establishing the longest such streak of his career ... Gonzalez gave up three runs -- two earned -- on four hits with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, while Dickey allowed three runs on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts over six innings ... The Orioles went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base ... Earlier this season, Toronto took two of three in Baltimore from April 11-13 ... Prior to the game, Baltimore recalled pitcher T.J. McFarland from Triple-A Norfolk and designated outfielder Steve Pearce for assignment. It was Baltimore's first roster move this season, marking the first time the O's had gone 18 or more games to start a season without a roster move since 2005, when they went 32 games before Sammy Sosa was placed on the 15-day disabled list.