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Hill, Lawrie help Blue Jays edge Orioles

Aug 6, 2011 - 6:14 AM Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Aaron Hill knocked in two runs and Brett Lawrie recorded his first major league hit and RBI as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4, in the opener of a three-game set.

Lawrie, Toronto's highly-touted third base prospect, went 2-for-4 in his big league debut, helping the Blue Jays halt a two-game skid.

Brad Mills (1-1), making just his second start of the season, allowed three runs on four hits over 5 1/3 frames to earn the win.

Tommy Hunter (1-2), in his first start with the Orioles since being acquired from Texas, lasted just four innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits to suffer the loss.

"I didn't get ahead, I didn't finish when I got ahead," Hunter said. "When I got behind, I gave up hits. There's really no excuses for it."

Adam Jones belted a two-run homer for the Orioles, losers of three in a row.

Jon Rauch allowed a Nick Markakis RBI double in the ninth, but settled to record his 11th save of the season.

Jones spotted Hunter an early lead with a two-run blast in the first, but the Blue Jays responded a half-inning later.

Singles by Edwin Encarnacion and Hill placed runners on first and second with two down and Lawrie emphatically marked his debut with a line drive up the middle to plate Encarnacion. Yunel Escobar followed with a game-tying double into left-center.

Jose Bautista began the third with a single and, following an Adam Lind pop out, Encarnacion was hit by a pitch. Colby Rasmus followed with a single to score Bautista and leave runners at the corners and Hill's subsequent fielder's choice groundout made it a 4-2 game.

Lawrie, who was charged with an error earlier in the game, proved green in the sixth. Vladimir Guerrero and Mark Reynolds drew consecutive one-out walks and advanced on a passed ball. Matt Wieters then ripped a one-hopper to third, which bounced out of the glove of Lawrie, allowing Guerrero to score.

The Blue Jays threatened to break things open in the eighth, loading the bases with nobody out. Hill pushed one across with a sac fly to center. J.P. Arencibia then ripped a grounder towards short but Robert Andino deftly snared the ball and nailed Encarnacion at home. Lawrie followed with a single through the left side, but Nolan Reimold cut down Rasmus at the plate to keep the Orioles within striking distance.

The deft defense nearly paid dividends as Andino reached with a two-out single in the ninth and crossed the plate on Markakis' double to right, but Jones popped out to second to end the game.

Game Notes

The Orioles were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position...Lawrie was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday...Blue Jays manager John Farrell was ejected in the seventh inning by home plate umpire Brian Knight...Jones' home run was his 19th of the season, tying a career high.