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Blue Jays continue road trip in Oakland

Aug 18, 2011 - 2:44 PM (Sports Network) - The Toronto Blue Jays will resume their trip out west tonight in the opener of a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum.

The Jays took two of three meetings with Seattle at Safeco Field and recorded a 5-1 win in Wednesday's series finale. Adam Lind hit a three-run homer and both Edwin Encarnacion and Colby Rasmus added solo shots for Toronto, which was coming off a 13-7 victory on Tuesday and won for the fourth time in five tries. The Blue Jays are a season high-tying three games over. 500 (63-60).

Former Mariners pitcher Brandon Morrow earned the win with six innings of one- run ball and 12 strikeouts.

"The way Brandon came out, right from the first pitch of the outing tonight, he was extremely powerful," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "Just overpowering for the six innings tonight."

Ricky Romero has been overpowering opponents for four straight wins and gets the nod for Farrell's club tonight. The Jays have won each of Romero's last five starts and the right-hander continued his surge with seven innings of one-run ball in an 11-2 drubbing of the Angels on Saturday.

Romero lifted his record to 11-9 in 24 starts with a 2.87 ERA. He is 5-6 in 12 road starts this season and 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA in four career starts against the Athletics.

Oakland will continue a 10-game homestand Thursday and is 2-4 so far on the residency. It won the last two meetings of a three-game series versus the Baltimore Orioles and is coming off Wednesday's 6-5 triumph in which Kurt Suzuki homered twice and Josh Willingham added two RBI.

"You go from a few days where you feel like you're completely lost and haven't played baseball in your entire life, to a day where you feel really good at the plate, really good behind the plate and everything's clicking," Suzuki said on the team's site. "Moving forward, this definitely gives you a little more confidence. I've just gotta keep it going."

Brandon Allen knocked in a run and Brandon McCarthy barely got the win on the mound, as he allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings. Andrew Bailey permitted a run in the ninth and held on for his 15th save.

Trevor Cahill gets the call for the A's tonight and he's 1-6 in his last seven decisions. Cahill lost to Texas in Saturday's 7-1 setback and was reached for four runs -- three earned -- and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings, falling to 9-11 with a 3.92 ERA in 26 starts this season.

Cahill, a right-hander, beat Toronto with eight innings of one-run ball and seven strikeouts in a 2-1 win on April 7 at Rogers Centre. He is only 1-2 with a 5.70 ERA in four career starts against the Blue Jays.

The 2011 series between Toronto and Oakland is even at three games apiece, with all six matchups played up north.