BC-BBA–Orioles-Blue Jays,0221

Orioles 5, Blue Jays 3

TORONTO (AP) – Larry Bigbie hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning Saturday, leading the Baltimore Orioles over the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 for their third straight win.

Bigbie homered off Justin Speier (1-1) leading off the inning. Brian Roberts followed with a double and scored on a single by Miguel Tejada.

B.J. Ryan (1-0) pitched the eighth, and Jorge Julio completed the six-hitter for his first save.

Toronto, which dropped to 3-8, has just eight hits in its last two games.

Baltimore starter Kurt Ainsworth allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings, struck out seven and walked none.

Toronto’s Josh Towers, who hadn’t pitched since spring training, gave up three runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings.

Melvin Mora put Baltimore ahead in the third with a two-run double, but Frank Catalanotto hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half and Vernon Wells homered in the fourth.

Tejada hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Catalanotto retied it with an RBI grounder in the bottom half.

Notes: The Blue Jays hoped Towers would throw 50-60 pitches. He threw 83 pitches, 63 for strikes. … Toronto RHP Pat Hentgen pitches against his former team on Sunday. Towers also pitched for the Orioles.

AP-ES-04-17-04 1559EDT