Alex Rios hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the ninth that helped secure the win for Roy Halladay, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics for the first time in five tries this season with a 2-1 victory Wednesday night.
Halladay (6-5) outshined Victoria’s Rich Harden in an impressive pitcher’s duel between two of the American League’s top right-handers, winning his third straight decision.
Rios lined a one-out double down the left-field line off loser Keith Foulke (0-1) and the A’s had their season-high tying five-game winning streak snapped. Foulke’s last loss came April 21, 2006, at Toronto.
Halladay matched his season high with nine strikeouts, and he allowed eight hits and one run and walked one in eight strong innings. B.J. Ryan worked the ninth for his 12th save in as many tries.
Halladay, coming off his AL-leading fifth complete game of the year in his previous start, went 20 innings between walks – from the second inning May 9 to the second inning Wednesday. He has one walk in his last 27 innings.
The A’s are the only AL team against whom Halladay hasn’t pitched a complete game.
Bobby Crosby got a two-out double in the third and Jack Cust then singled him home for Oakland’s lone run. That tied the game 1-1 after Shannon Stewart singled in a run in the top half for Toronto against his former team.
After Stewart’s single, Harden retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced before Alex Rios reached on an error in the sixth – and Harden retired 12 of his final 14 hitters.
The Blue Jays saved a run in the sixth when first baseman Lyle Overbay threw out Cust at the plate and catcher Rod Barajas did a good job blocking the plate.
Harden gave way to Chad Gaudin after seven innings and 104 pitches with the game tied. He had won his previous two starts and pitched well enough in this one. The hard-throwing Harden made his fourth start since coming back from a disabled list stint with a shoulder injury, allowing five hits and one run with five strikeouts and no walks. Harden didn’t surrender a walk for the first time this season.
Oakland designated hitter Frank Thomas underwent an MRI exam on his tender right knee and quadriceps muscle. He came out of Tuesday’s game after stretching out a double in the third inning on his 40th birthday.
He was listed as day to day and Mike Sweeney started in his place, going 0-for-4.
As planned, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons rested shortstop David Eckstein a day after he came off the disabled list from a hip flexor injury. Eckstein is scheduled to play Thursday afternoon’s series finale and probably again Friday in Anaheim when he faces his former club.
A’s outfielder Ryan Sweeney left the game with a bruised left foot.
Notes: Toronto’s Scott Rolen went 0-for-4 to have his eight-game hitting streak snapped. … Eric Chavez, Oakland’s six-time Gold Glove winning 3B recovering from off-season back surgery, was slated to play nine innings at third for triple-A Sacramento after working as DH on Tuesday. He is scheduled to DH again Thursday, have a day off Friday, DH again Saturday then start at 3B and play nine innings June 1-3. He could come off the DL after that. … … A’s RHP reliever Santiago Casilla, on the DL with inflammation in his throwing elbow, traveled to Birmingham, Ala., to be examined by Dr. James Andrews and the pitcher has been cleared to begin throwing off the mound soon, perhaps even this weekend.
