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Blue Jays get late clutch hit from Overbay, down A's

Aug 29, 2007 - 6:37 AM By Tom Kent PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Lyle Overbay drove in two runs in the eighth inning to break a tie as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Oakland Athletics, 5-4, on Tuesday.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the eighth, Reed Johnson greeted Oakland reliever Andrew Brown (2-1) with a single to right field and Alex Rios followed with a single to center. After Matt Stairs struck out and Troy Glaus walked, Overbay lined a double off the right field wall for a 4-2 advantage.

Aaron Hill followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to complete the scoring for the Blue Jays, who improved to 24-20 in one-run contests.

"I got in a situation where I could hit his best pitch," Overbay said. "He got behind in the count and I was able to get something to drive."

"It was nice because he (Overbay) was in the same situation a couple innings before and he grounded into a double play," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He got (himself into) a favorable count and turned it loose."

Brian Wolfe (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Oakland starter Chad Gaudin to pick up the win before turning it over to closer Jeremy Accardo in the ninth.

However, the righthander could only record two outs in the final frame, surrendering two runs and three hits before giving way to Casey Janssen, who got Shannon Stewart to ground out to first to post his fourth save in eight chances.

"It was a great effort," Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "We just came up short."

Combined with a win in the series opener of this three-game set on Monday, the consecutive victories marked the first time that Toronto has won back-to-back games on the same road trip since June 9-10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It's nice because we've struggled here," Overbay said. "Our pitching has kept us in games and given us a chance to win. We're playing good baseball right now."

Blue Jays rookie starter Jesse Litsch, who gave up two runs over six frames while earning the win against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in his last start, yielded just two runs and four hits in six innings. The rookie righthander entered with a 4-4 record with a 2.43 ERA in in seven starts since being recalled from Class AAA Syracuse for his second stint with Toronto on June 28.

Gaudin, who allowed just one run and struck out a career-high 10 in his last start against Tampa Bay, was nearly as effective in this contest. The 24-year-old righthander, who spent part of the 2005 season with Toronto before being traded to Oakland prior to the 2006 campaign, allowed two runs and five hits with five strikeouts and four walks.

"My slider got better as the game went on," Gaudin said. "Sometimes, you have to pitch with what you got, and that's what has been working for me lately."

Gaudin appears to have found the form that allowed him to post an impressive 8-3 record with a 2.88 ERA before the All-Star break, going 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA over his last four starts. This is in stark contrast to his 0-5 record and 8.56 ERA in the six games he pitched in following the 'Midsummer Classic'.

"He's finishing strong," Geren said. "He started strong, he had a little spell in the middle, and he's back to his first-half form."

Jack Cust finished with two RBI for the A's, who have dropped five straight after tying a season high with a five-game winning streak.