Toronto Blue Jays closer Brett Cecil could have gotten out of Sunday’s ninth inning unscathed.
After back-to-back one-out walks in a 9-9 game, shortstop Jose Reyes misplayed what could have been an inning-ending double play ball on a J.J. Hardy single. Instead, Chris Davis score the go-ahead run from second base and the Baltimore Orioles rallied for a 13-9 victory over Toronto.
"I got a little bit confused, that’s no excuse," said Reyes. "That should be into the double play there and Cecil would be out of the inning. I saw Kawa (Munenori Kawasaki) was right there. … I had to continue to charge the ball and try to make a play, especially in that situation there."
The Toronto Blue Jays erased an early 7-0 deficit and took a 9-7 lead in the fourth, but it all unravelled in the ninth.
Ryan Flaherty followed up Hardy’s single with a two-run triple, and later scored.
"The walks like today, he hasn’t been really sharp, hasn’t been able to locate his fastball," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Cecil. "Baseball gods are going to punish you for (the walks). Always have, always will."
Cecil (1-4) picked up the loss as the Blue Jays (37-34) wrapped up a five-game home stand with a 3-2 record.
"I’m battling out there right now," the left-hander said. "(I’m) trying to throw with a different hand position, thought I might be tipping some pitches so we’ll have to go back and see if I’m still doing it. It was just a little thing and I thought I had fixed it. I don’t know if hitters are getting it or not."
Reliever Darren O’Day (4-0) retired two hitters in the eighth for the win.
"It’s a day game and the ball is flying and you’re going to have a lot of runs scored," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "You just want to have a chance at the end. We had a lot of guys come out of the bullpen who bent but didn’t break."
Both starters had an afternoon to forget.
Scott Copeland allowed six singles and a solo home run to Jimmy Parades as the Orioles (36-33) opened a 7-0 lead in the second inning.
The Blue Jays right-hander, who was making his third career start, was done after just 1 1-3 innings, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits.
The Blue Jays responded in the bottom half of the inning.
Ezequiel Carrera took Orioles’ starter Chris Tillman deep to right for a three-run shot to get Toronto on the board. Kevin Pillar followed up with a solo shot to pull the Jays to within three.
After Ryan Goins singled, Jose Reyes reached with a double, ending Tillman’s afternoon.
Jose Bautista doubled off reliever Tommy Hunter, scoring a pair.
Tillman, who entered the contest with a 0-3 record and a 12.51 ERA against Toronto this season, allowed six earned runs on six hits.
Toronto completed the comeback in the third as Russell Martin scored on an RBI single from Pillar, tying the game 7-7.
Bautista gave the Jays their first lead of the game with a two-run home run in the fourth.
The Orioles battled back to tie it 9-9 thanks to a solo shot from Davis in the fifth and an RBI single from Hardy in the seventh.
Notes: Following the game the Blue Jays optioned Copeland, LHP Phil Coke and RHP Ryan Tepera to triple-A Buffalo with a corresponding move to come. … RHP Drew Hutchison (6-1) gets the ball on Monday when the Blue Jays open a three-game series in Tampa Bay.
