Gwynn snaps tie in 9th as Dodgers take Game 1

WASHINGTON -- Tony Gwynn hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals 7-4 in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday.Gwynn drove in Jerry Sands and Rod Barajas with a long double to center off Drew Storen (6-3). Dee Gordon added a run-scoring single -- setting a career high with his fourth hit of the game. Mike MacDougal (3-1), the Dodgers' sixth pitcher, worked a scoreless eighth for the win. Javy Guerra pitched the ninth for his 16th save. Six Los Angeles relievers held Washington hitless over the last 6 1/3 innings.Juan Rivera hit two-run doubles in the first and third off Chien-Ming Wang to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead.The Nationals tied the score at 4 in the bottom of the third off Chad Billingsley. Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse hit RBI doubles and Jayson Werth had a two-run home run -- his 19th.Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly yanked Billingsley after 2 1/3 -- his shortest start in more than two years.Game notes Dodgers OF Andre Ethier was shut down for the season. He'll get his ailing right knee examined by Dr. James Andrews. "I'm just trying to figure this whole thing out right now and figure out a way to get it better where it won't affect me for spring training," Ethier said. Ethier had a 30-game hitting streak -- the second longest in team history and the second longest in the major leagues this season. ... Washington manager Davey Johnson said he was resting 2B Danny Espinosa, who this week set a team record with seven straight strikeouts, because he was mentally tired. Stephen Lombardozzi got his first major league start. ... Johnson said that C Ivan Rodriguez, who was on the disabled list for nearly two months with an oblique strain, will be limited to pinch-hitting for the remainder of the season. He wants to see more of Wilson Ramos and Jesus Flores. ... Nats prospect Bryce Harper, who has a strained hamstring, won't play in the Eastern League playoffs. ... Washington begins a three-game series with Houston on Friday. LHP Tom Millone (0-0), who hit a home run on his first major league pitch last Saturday, will pitch against RHP Bud Norris (6-9). ... Los Angeles opens a three-game series in San Francisco. LHP Clayton Kershaw (17-5) faces RHP Tim Lincecum (12-12).

Tigers rally past Indians as Verlander wins 22nd

CLEVELAND -- Victor Martinez and the Detroit Tigers found a way to pick up Justin Verlander.Verlander won his 10th straight start and earned his 22nd victory overall, helped when Martinez hit a late grand slam that sent the Tigers over the Cleveland Indians 8-6 Wednesday.The AL Central-leading Tigers completed a three-game sweep and won their sixth in a row. "What a great win," said Verlander, who leaped off the bench and cheered Martinez's shot that highlighted a five-run rally in the seventh inning. "When he hit it, I said, 'It's that kind of year.'"Verlander (22-5) gave up a pair of two-run homers to Shelley Duncan and trailed 4-2 before Detroit rallied against Justin Masterson (11-9) and the Indians' bullpen.Verlander leads the majors in wins and is 20-2 since May 1. He gave up four runs and three hits in six innings, striking out eight."My stuff was not as crisp as it has been," Verlander said. "The two pitches to Duncan were pretty good, where I wanted them. Guys in this league get paid to hit it, too."Once again, our team came through in a huge way. They got big hits and I'm always extremely confident in our bullpen."Verlander is the first Detroit pitcher to win 10 consecutive decisions since Jack Morris in 1983, and first to win 10 straight starts since Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser in 1946. His 22 wins are the most for a Detroit pitcher since Joe Coleman went 23-15 in 1973."They didn't get many hits off him, just a couple out of the ballpark," manager Jim Leyland said.Jose Valverde pitched a perfect ninth for his 42nd save, tying Todd Jones' team record set in 2000. Valverde has not blown a save this year."That's his job and he's doing it pretty well," Leyland said. "Don't forget what (Joaquin) Benoit did in the eighth."The Tigers' setup man struck out two in a perfect inning and has a 1.58 ERA over his last 43 outings.Martinez went 5 for 13 with two homers and 10 RBIs in the sweep of his former team as Detroit dropped Cleveland 9 1/2 games back. The Tigers are 16-4 since Aug. 19, going 6-0 against Cleveland and sweeping three in a row from the Chicago White Sox to take command of the division."They took care of business and, obviously, we didn't," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "They're doing a great job running away from us."Leyland isn't ready to celebrate."Have we accomplished something? Absolutely," he said. "So far we've met a head-on challenge pretty good. I told them, 'Have a good day off (Thursday). You earned it. But get ready to play Friday because nobody is going to give us anything.'"Masterson left after Detroit loaded the bases on two singles around Duncan's error at first base in the seventh. Joe Smith came on and yielded Miguel Cabrera's RBI single that got the Tigers within 4-3.Lefty Tony Sipp replaced Smith and the switch-hitting Martinez turned around to the right side and hit the first pitch into the left-field seats for his second career slam, both against the Indians. The first was Oct. 3, 2009, for Boston, a couple of months after Cleveland traded him to the Red Sox."It's not just because it's against the Indians, I always want to do my best," Martinez said.Martinez, Cabrera and Alex Avila each had two of Detroit's 13 hits. The Tigers have had 10 or more hits in 11 of their last 13 games and 31 of 51 games since the All-Star break."We were kind of up and down for a while and are starting to hit our stride," Verlander said.Duncan had his second two-homer game this week and fourth of his career. He also did it Sunday in Kansas City.He came in just 2-for-11 (.182) with four strikeouts in his career against Verlander before connecting in the second for a 2-0 lead. The two runs were more than the Indians scored in seven of Masterson's starts this year.Detroit tied it at 2 in the fourth. Cabrera singled with one out for the Tigers' first hit and was doubled to third by Martinez. Cabrera scored on a sacrifice fly by Avila and Wilson Betemit doubled home Martinez.Jim Thome lined a two-out double high off the wall in left-center in the Indians' fourth. Duncan followed with his eighth homer, a towering shot to left for a 4-2 lead.Lonnie Chisenhall's two-run homer off Tigers reliever Phil Coke got Cleveland within 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh. Don Kelly's RBI triple made it 8-6 in the ninth.Game notes Verlander has thrown at least six innings and 100 pitches in all 31 starts this season. ... Fans sitting in a dreary drizzle throughout the game got a few laughs in the middle innings as a squirrel darted around the outfield. ... Indians DH Travis Hafner, out since Aug. 22 with a strained tendon in his right foot, ran in the outfield before the game. "Just straight ahead, nothing lateral, but I'm feeling better," he said. ... Detroit is 21-10 on the road since July 6, best in the AL. ... Cabrera has hit .391 with 26 RBIs while reaching base safely in a career-high 34 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Tigers player since Damion Easley's 34-game streak in 1998. ... The Tigers are off Thursday before playing host to Minnesota for three games. ... The Indians start a four-game set in Chicago on Thursday in a chase for second place. LHP David Huff (2-3) will oppose White Sox RHP Gavin Floyd (12-10).

Fister's career-high 13 K's help Tigers pad lead

CLEVELAND -- Doug Fister's breaking ball put the brakes on Cleveland's challenge to first-place Detroit.Fister struck out a career-high 13, Victor Martinez hit a three-run homer and the Tigers beat the Indians 4-2 on Monday to extend their AL Central lead to 7½ games."That's the best I've seen Fister," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland, still wary of the gritty Indians."I'm not looking ahead," he said. "We haven't done anything but put ourselves in good position. That's all."Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski laid the groundwork for the surge by acquiring Fister (7-13) from Seattle on July 30. The right-hander is 4-1 in seven starts for Detroit. He gave up an earned run and four hits over eight innings."He did a little of this when they were looking for that," Leyland said. "The curve was a huge pitch for him and he stayed out of the middle of the plate. You can't hardly pitch better than he did today."Jose Valverde worked a perfect ninth to move to 41 for 41 in save opportunities, extending his team record and helping the Tigers improve to 14-4 since leading the Indians by 1½ games on Aug. 19. Detroit began a three-game home sweep of the Indians that night and has won five straight against them, sending Cleveland to its largest deficit of the season."We've got enough games left, but the main thing is this is the only opportunity to really shave the lead," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "When you don't play the team you're trailing it takes forever sometimes to (cut) a game."We need to be ready to even up the series. This is the most important one. Our effort and our energy should be concentrated on winning tomorrow."Martinez drove a 2-2 pitch from Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2) 420 feet into the right-field seats for a 3-0 lead in the fourth."I was looking fastball because that's what he was throwing everybody else," Martinez said. "He threw one down the middle and I swung."Jimenez struck out five over the first two innings and didn't yield a hit until Delmon Young singled with one out in the fourth. Miguel Cabrera then walked before Martinez connected for his ninth homer.Martinez, dealt to Boston by the Indians at the trading deadline in 2009, signed with the Tigers as a free agent last winter. He is batting .392 with runners in scoring position and .324 with 82 RBIs overall.Grady Sizemore, activated by Cleveland after six weeks on the disabled list, drove in an unearned run with a groundout in the fifth to make it 3-1.The Indians, riddled by injuries all year, led the division from April 8 until June 14, when the Tigers' Justin Verlander beat them 4-0. Cleveland climbed back into the lead, but has trailed Detroit since losing to the Chicago White Sox 3-0 on July 22.That was one day after Sizemore had abdominal surgery. The Indians have been without several key players for large chunks of time this season and hope the three-time All-Star can give them a much-needed September spark.Jason Donald singled, took second on a wild pickoff attempt by Fister and advanced to third on a groundout by Lou Marson. Sizemore hit a sharp grounder up the middle that shortstop Jhonny Peralta fielded behind the second-base bag. His throw to first got Sizemore as Donald scored."Defense helped there," Fister said. "That's my job, make them put it in play and rely on the defense. I don't try for strikeouts. Today, I just got them."Detroit added another run in the eighth on Cabrera's fielder's choice with the bases loaded.Kosuke Fukudome hit his second homer for Cleveland with one out in the eighth. Fukudome hit three homers for the Chicago Cubs before being acquired by the Indians in July.Jimenez struck out eight in seven innings and was charged with three runs and two hits. He has a 5.27 ERA in seven starts since Cleveland dealt four prospects to Colorado for him on July 31.Game notes Jimenez is 8-11 overall, including his time with the Rockies. ... Fister's 13 strikeouts are the most by a Tigers pitcher against Cleveland since LHP Mike Kilkenny fanned 13 on Sept. 17, 1969. ... Detroit recalled C Omir Santos from Triple-A Toledo for the fourth time. ... The Tigers arrived at their Cleveland hotel around 2 a.m. after an 18-2 win over the White Sox on Sunday night. Leyland said he will try to rest some Tigers when they play another day game Wednesday against the Indians. ... Tigers OF Brennan Boesch is out for the season with a torn ligament in his right thumb. He could have surgery this week at Cleveland Clinic, by noted specialist Dr. Thomas Graham. ... Acta said 2B Jason Kipnis may be activated this week. Kipnis has been out since Aug. 14 with a strained hamstring. ... Indians DH Travis Hafner, out since Sept. 6 with a strained right foot, said he may start jogging this week. He has been taking swings in the batting cage. ... Detroit's Rick Porcello (12-8) will face Fausto Carmona (6-13) in a battle of right-handers in the series' second game.

Francisco, Reds hurt Cardinals' playoff hopes

ST. LOUIS -- Juan Francisco capped a career-best four-hit day with the go-ahead hit in the 10th inning and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Sunday, taking two of three from a team desperately trying to stay in contention.Jon Jay homered and Daniel Descalso had an RBI triple for the Cardinals, who fell 9 1/2 games behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee heading into a three-game series with the Brewers starting Monday night. St. Louis was 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and 2 for 20 with men on base.Francisco Cordero went through the heart of St. Louis' order for his 30th save in 35 chances and 13th in a row, also giving him seven 30-save seasons.

Cano key as Yanks rally for win over Blue Jays

NEW YORK -- Through all the drama surrounding the New York Yankees this year -- the lineup changes, injuries and off-field issues -- Joe Girardi has had one constant: Robinson Cano.And the smooth-swinging second baseman has not let his manager down.Cano gave the Yankees the lead for the second straight game against Toronto, this time hitting a two-run double in the seventh inning to exceed 100 RBIs for the second consecutive season, and New York rallied to beat the Blue Jays 6-4 on Saturday for its sixth win in seven games."This kid loves to play the game, loves pressure moments," Girardi said. "It's a pleasure to pencil his name in there every day. It's real easy." Cano lined a 2-2 pitch from reliever Casey Janssen to the wall in center field to score Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez, back in the lineup after missing a week with a sprained left thumb.A .309 career hitter, Cano was motivated by the walk to Rodriguez."Every time I see they walk a guy in front of me, that pumps me up," Cano said, "and I say, 'Come on, now is a situation where you've got to show them they've got to pitch to the guy in front of you."Ricky Romero (13-10) was cruising along after giving up a two-run homer to Francisco Cervelli and an RBI single to Eduardo Nunez in the third until he hit Granderson in the back with a curveball with one out in the seventh and walked Rodriguez.After Cano's hit, Nick Swisher ended Janssen's scoreless streak at 16 2/3 innings with an RBI single, making it 6-4. Cano had the tiebreaking hit in Friday night's 3-2 win, a single in the fifth. He has 101 RBIs this season."He's a good hitter. (I) didn't have to give in 2-2 but definitely wanted to throw an aggressive pitch and he hit it," Janssen said. "It was a cutter. A little bit flatter than I wanted it."The Yankees improved to a major league-best 36-9 in day games and ended Romero's winning streak at six straight decisions. His last loss came against New York on July 16."I thought I did a pretty good job of battling," Romero said.Rodriguez returned with a taped left thumb after missing six games. With Derek Jeter getting a day off after a night game and Mark Teixeira out for a second straight game because of a sore knee, A-Rod batted third for the first time since 2008. He went 1 for 3, striking out in the fifth after getting ahead in the count 3-0, and walked.Boone Logan (5-2) relieved Bartolo Colon with one out in the seventh and got two outs for the victory.David Robertson tossed a perfect eighth. With Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano unavailable after each pitched two straight nights, Robertson gave up a hit in the ninth before finishing his first two-inning outing in more than a year for his first save this season and third of his career.Robertson would love to be a closer, but knows it won't happen soon."I don't have to worry about it. We've got 42 here," Robertson said, referring to Rivera, who is four saves away from 600.Toronto injury replacement Dewayne Wise tripled in his first at-bat after entering the game for Eric Thames, who left because of dizziness after striking out looking in the first. Wise hit his first homer of the season in the fifth, a tiebreaking shot.Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar also left because of an injury, pulling out before the bottom of the fifth with a jammed left wrist. He said X-rays were negative but he was sore and wouldn't play Sunday.Adam Lind connected off Colon and Jose Bautista drove in a run for the fourth straight game for Toronto, which built a 4-3 lead against Colon in the fifth.Colon came in 6-1 with 1.88 ERA in eight day starts, but he struggled at times in his 6 1/3 innings, giving up four runs and seven hits. He struck out seven and walked one, throwing a season-high 107 pitches.Colon started off well enough in the brilliant sunshine, striking out the side -- two looking with nasty movement on his fastball and a sharp breaking pitch. The second inning was another story.Lind led off with his 24th home run, Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson each had a single and Encarnacion advanced to third on Brett Lawrie's fielder's choice.J.P. Arencibia gave Toronto a 2-0 lead with a sacrifice fly.The Yankees scored three times with two outs in the bottom half. Nunez laced an RBI single and Cervelli followed with a two-run homer. He crossed the plate without the hand clap that upset pitcher John Lackey on Tuesday night in Boston and led to a bench-clearing staredown two innings later.The Blue Jays got a run right back when Wise tripled into the right-field corner and scored on Bautista's single.Colon struck out his last batter of the third and fanned the side in the fourth. Wise homered into the Yankees' bullpen in right-center with one out in the fifth for a 4-3 lead.Game notes Teixeira said he was feeling better and should return to the lineup Sunday. ... Blue Jays 3B coach Brian Butterfield was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after Johnson struck out to end the third inning. ... Acting manager Don Wakamatsu said Bautista was sore after fouling ball off his leg Friday night and the slugging RF will probably DH on Sunday. "Get him off his feet a little bit tomorrow," Wakamatsu said. ... Top Yankees prospect Jesus Montero got his first big league hit in the sixth, a single.

Stark: What to watch for in September

This will be the 17th September since baseball broke into six divisions and added two wild cards back in the mid-'90s. None of the previous 16 looked anything like this. It's the first time in all those years that we could look around on Sept. 1 and not find even ONE tug-o'-war, for any of the eight playoff spots, between teams that were separated by no more than 1½ games. Yikes. How'd THIS happen, anyway? All right, it's true that the Red Sox and Yankees are divided by only a game and a half in the AL East. But does that count as a "meaningful race" if the loser is almost guaranteed to be the wild card? We'd vote no -- not in a traditional, win-or-else, pennant-race kind of way, anyhow. There's one thing we should remember, though. Sometimes these races aren't as "over" as they look. A year ago at this time, the Giants were four games out in the NL West. The Phillies were three back in the NL East. You know how their seasons turned out. In 2009, the Tigers blew a 3 �-game lead, entering September, in the AL Central. In 1995, the Mariners came from 7½ back to win the AL West. And we're not even going to get into what happened to the 2007 Mets. So it does happen. Just sayin'. October Matchup Scramble: AL Edition 2 On one hand, thanks to the flaws in the current wild-card system, that Yankees-Red Sox race is pretty close to irrelevant. If they're both moving on, why should we care? On the other hand, here's why we should care: Because it might not seem so irrelevant come October. The winner gets to open the postseason at home and have home-field advantage through the first two rounds. The loser gets home-field advantage in NO rounds and probably (barring a big finish by the Angels) has to kick off the postseason in Texas against a Rangers team nobody should want to mess with in October. Not that it would be any fun to run into Justin Verlander and the Tigers. But here's why inviting Verlander to The Stadium would be a fine alternative for the Yankees: 1. They're 5-2 against Detroit in games Verlander has started since 2008 (including 2-0 this year). And 2. the Yankees have lost four of the past six postseason series in which they DIDN'T have home-field advantage, with just one of those two triumphs coming in the past 10 seasons. October Matchup Scramble: NL Edition 3 Has anybody spotted a race in this league? It would be tough -- even with the Hubble Space Telescope. It's hard to believe that the CLOSEST race for any of the four NL playoff spots is six games. So unless somebody does some serious collapsing, the only drama in the NL standings this month will be the jockeying for seeding. But you don't think seeding matters to the Brewers? They have a shot to become only the fourth NL team in the expansion era to win 60 games at home -- but they have as many road wins as the Pirates. So the Brew Crew are lusting after that first or second seed. And you don't think seeding matters to the Diamondbacks? They've scored 52 more runs at home than on the road. Their OPS is almost 100 points higher at home (.782-.683). And their road batting average (.237) is lower than the Giants' road average (.238). So besides their quest to hold off the defending champs, the D-backs have humongous incentive to catch the Brewers for that No. 2 seed and home field in the division series. The Brewers still lead Arizona by three games on that front. But here's a tidbit to file away in case the Diamondbacks take advantage of their cushy September schedule and make this race closer: Arizona won the season series (4-3), so if the Diamondbacks and Brewers finish tied, Arizona would be the No. 2 seed. Prospective matchups if the postseason started today: Phillies (1) versus Diamondbacks (3), Brewers (2) versus Braves (4). Playoff preview series 4 Not that it will tell us anything about what lies ahead in October, but the September schedule features a bunch of potential playoff-preview series -- like these, for instance: • Rangers at Red Sox, Sept. 2-4 • Braves at Phillies, Sept. 5-7 • Phillies at Brewers, Sept. 8-11 • Yankees at Angels, Sept. 9-11 • Phillies at Braves, Sept. 26-28 And you'll be shocked to learn that the Red Sox WILL play the Yankees again -- three more times, Sept. 23-24-25, in New York. The MVP races 5 Is there even an MVP favorite in either league right now? We don't see one. And any time we can weave September plotlines into the MVP discussion, that often constitutes September theater at its finest. In the American League, you have more than just a mad scramble. You have a wild clash of disparate voting philosophies. No starting pitcher has won an MVP award in 25 years, but if you think that's a bogus way to vote, Justin Verlander has a great case. No player from a noncontender has won since Alex Rodriguez in 2003 (for the last-place Rangers), but if you think contending is somehow overrated, Jose Bautista's numbers make him the clear choice of the sabermetrics crowd. No Yankee other than A-Rod has won an MVP award in the past quarter century, but Curtis Granderson's potentially historic season could rewrite that nugget. And if one of the three legit Red Sox candidates -- Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury -- separates himself in September, the correct response to all the stuff we just talked about could be: Never mind. Over in the National League, the same arguments are swirling. It feels as though the Dodgers got eliminated on Mother's Day, but if that doesn't bother you, Matt Kemp's numbers are insane. And if we're going to welcome in all the noncontenders, toss the caps of Joey Votto, Troy Tulowitzki and Andrew McCutchen into this ring, too. Will we figure out which Brewer -- Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun -- to vote for? September could help us sort that out. And if Justin Upton leads the who-are-these-guys Diamondbacks into October, he could render all these other names defunct. But why do we have a feeling that the biggest MVP storyline in September might be more about how voting philosophies evolve among the baseball scribes with ballots than it will be about who does what on the field? Just a hunch. Let out a Cy 6 Before we hand Verlander his MVP trophy, we also should ask: Has he already ended the Cy Young debate? Uh, Jered Weaver still leads him in ERA (2.28-2.38), so that's one guy who sure doesn't think so, anyway. Then again, Verlander has now pulled within one-tenth of a run in ERA of taking the lead in all three categories that make up the pitching triple crown (wins, strikeouts, ERA). And keep in mind that since the invention of Cy Youngs, no pitcher has won a pitching triple crown and not won a Cy Young. That's a little factoid that's relevant to the NL Cy Young debate, too, by the way. In case you hadn't noticed, Clayton Kershaw leads the league in whiffs, is tied for the lead in wins and is now sitting at No. 2 in the ERA race. So Kershaw has elevated himself into the thick of the NL Cy Young free-for-all with a spectacular second half (9-1, 1.18 ERA since July 7). But Roy Halladay has obliterated the field in wins above replacement (7.2 to Kershaw's 5.8), has virtually an identical ERA to Kershaw's in a more hitter-friendly park and easily could argue he's the Cy Young of EVERY season. Then there's Cliff Lee, who is about to reel in his second pitcher-of-the-month award in the past three months and leads the league in shutouts (five) and double-figure strikeout games (eight). He also has piled up nearly twice as many starts of zero runs/eight-plus innings (eight) as any other pitcher in the league. Sure looks like we're in for a fabulous September pitch-off to settle that debate, doesn't it? The return of Strasburg and new September faces

Lawrie's HR breaks 8th inning tie, lifts Blue Jays

BALTIMORE -- Brett Lawrie has been in the majors for a month, and the Baltimore Orioles already have seen enough of the kid from Canada.Lawrie hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning, Yunel Escobar had his second straight four-hit game, and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated Baltimore 8-6 on Thursday.Lawrie made his debut at Camden Yards on Aug. 5. Since that time, he leads all rookies in homers (seven), triples (four) and extra-base hits (17)."Lawrie continues to play and swing the bat as good as you can expect," acting manager Don Wakamatsu said.Given his .340 batting average, it's safe to say Lawrie has exceeded expectations."No doubt," Wakamatsu said. "You can't sell him short."Especially when facing Baltimore. Lawrie is batting .417 in six games against the Orioles, all at Camden Yards. In addition, three of his seven homers and eight of his 20 RBIs have come in Baltimore."It's a home away from home. It's where it all started," Lawrie said. "We'll be back here some day."It will be too soon for the Orioles."He's a big ol' boy," Baltimore's Nick Markakis said. "He can swing the stick, no question about that. Their whole team can swing."Kelly Johnson also homered for the Blue Jays, who had 26 runs and 42 hits in taking two of three at Camden Yards.Orioles starter Tommy Hunter allowed six runs, five earned, in six innings.Manager Buck Showalter said the right-hander began feeling ill in the third inning and felt even worse after his performance."He was throwing up. He's heading to the hospital," Showalter said. "I'm not going to try to say what it is or what it isn't, but he won't make the trip (to Tampa Bay) with us right now."With the score 6-all, Johnson drew a walk from Willie Eyre (1-1) and Lawrie followed with his seventh home run. Lawrie went 3 for 5 and scored twice.Escobar was 4 for 5 with two RBIs. The four hits matched a career high.Shawn Camp (2-3) finished the seventh inning, Jon Rauch worked a perfect eighth and Frank Francisco got three straight outs for his 12th save.Vladimir Guerrero and Matt Wieters homered for the Orioles, who rallied from a 6-3 deficit before giving the lead back in the eighth. Guerrero had three hits, a season-high four RBIs and scored twice.But Markakis' streak of 182 consecutive series with at least one hit ended. It's the first time he went hitless in a series since May 23-25, 2008, in Tampa Bay.The defeat assured Baltimore (54-81) of a 14th straight non-winning season.The game was switched from 7:05 p.m. to 12:35 so the city could finalize plans for the first Baltimore Grand Prix. The change, combined with the lackluster matchup between the two bottom teams in the AL East, resulted in a meager crowd of 11,617.Toronto played a seventh straight game without manager John Farrell, who is recovering from pneumonia and won't be with the Jays at Yankee Stadium this weekend. Wakamatsu, Toronto's bench coach, is running the team in his place.The Orioles used successive doubles by Guerrero and Wieters to take a 1-0 lead in the second.Toronto responded with a two-run third that began with Hunter walking No. 9 hitter Mike McCoy, who took third on a double by Escobar. Eric Thames followed with a run-scoring groundout and Jose Bautista hit an RBI single.The Blue Jays made it 4-1 in the fourth. After Lawrie and J.P. Arencibia hit consecutive doubles, Escobar singled in a run.Guerrero and Wieters connected in succession in the bottom half, both on 3-2 pitches. It was the fourth time this season that Baltimore hit back-to-back home runs.Johnson led off the sixth with his 20th homer of the season and second in two games. He went 3 for 4 and is 9 for 17 in his last four games.Baltimore closed to 6-5 in the bottom half when starter Luis Perez walked the first two batters and Guerrero hit a two-run double. The Orioles then put runners at second and third with one out before Jesse Litsch retired the side.Guerrero drove in another run in the seventh with a slow roller to shortstop with one out and the bases loaded.Game notes The Blue Jays activated Rauch (appendicitis) from the 15-day DL. ... The Orioles purchased the contracts of RHP Rick VandenHurk and OF Kyle Hudson from Triple-A Norfolk. ... The Blue Jays open a three-game series in New York on Friday. Toronto will start Brandon Morrow, who is averaging a major league-best 10.35 strikeouts per nine innings. ... Baltimore rookie Zach Britton will start Friday night in the opener of a three-game series against Tampa Bay.