Vernon Wells hit a three-run homer, John Buck added a solo shot, and the Blue Jays pounded A.J. Burnett, then held on for a 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees last night in Toronto.
Toronto assured itself of at least a .500 finish and temporarily denied the Yankees the chance to clinch a playoff berth.
Mark Teixeira hit a three-run homer and Curtis Granderson added a two-run drive for the Yankees, who have lost five of six.
The Blue Jays lead the major leagues with 243 home runs this season, one shy of the team record set in 2000.
Toronto lefthander Marc Rzepczynski (3-4) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings to win back-to-back starts for the first time this season. He walked three and matched a career high with nine strikeouts.
Brian Tallet pitched 1 1/3 innings, Josh Roenicke and Jesse Carlson each got one out, Scott Downs worked the eighth, and Kevin Gregg closed it out in the ninth for his 36th save in 41 chances.
Burnett (10-15), who has lost seven of his last 11 starts, allowed seven runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings, his second-shortest start of the year. The righthander, who walked one and struck out one, is 0-3 with a 9.61 ERA in four starts against his former team this season.
Orioles 4, Rays 0 — Brian Matusz pitched seven impressive innings and Nick Markakis drove in two runs with a triple and a single, leading visiting Baltimore over AL East-leading Tampa Bay.
Matusz (9-12) allowed three hits, two of them infield singles. The rookie walked one, hit a batter, and matched a career high with eight strikeouts before being replaced by Jim Johnson.
The Rays’ magic number to clinch their second playoff berth in three years remained at one. They retained a half-game lead in the division over the Yankees. The potential clincher drew a crowd of just 12,446 to Tropicana Field — well below the 23,047 Tampa Bay has averaged this season.
Markakis had an RBI triple off rookie Wade Davis (13-9) in the fifth inning. The Orioles scored three times in the seventh, with Markakis and Luke Scott delivering run-scoring singles and Ty Wigginton adding a sacrifice fly.
The loss was the first for Davis since June 27, ending a seven-game winning streak that matched the longest in Tampa Bay history. Jeff Niemann (2008-09) and Mark Hendrickson (2005) are the other pitchers who have won seven straight decisions for the Rays.
Johnson pitched a perfect eighth for the Orioles. Koji Uehara struck out the side in the ninth to finish the three-hitter.
Cubs 1, Padres 0 — Carlos Zambrano won his seventh straight decision since rejoining Chicago’s rotation, combining with two relievers on a four-hitter, and the Cubs held on to beat host San Diego to knock the Padres out of the NL wild-card lead.
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