TORONTO -- J.A. Happ closed his season with a solid pitching performance and the Toronto Blue Jays took advantage of some sloppy Baltimore defence to defeat the Orioles 4-2 at Rogers Centre on Saturday.
Happ, who battled back problems in spring training and didn't make his first start of the season until May, wrapped up his strong second half of the campaign by throwing 6 1/3 innings of four-hit baseball to even his record at 11-11. He struck out four and walked two in his 14th quality start of the year.
The left-hander walked two batters or less for the 20th time in 26 starts this season.
Jose Reyes drove in a pair of runs and Kevin Pillar scored twice as Toronto (83-78) won its second straight game. Wei-Yin Chen (16-6) took the loss for the American East champion Orioles.
The Blue Jays will look for a sweep of Baltimore (95-66) on Sunday to close out the season.
Baltimore opened the scoring in the second inning. Nelson Cruz led off with a triple to the wall in straightaway centre field that went off the glove of a leaping Dalton Pompey. Cruz scored on Delmon Young's single.
The Blue Jays scored a pair in the third inning to take the lead.
Pillar, who was on with a one-out single, raced around from first on a Steve Tolleson double, sliding in ahead of the relay from left field.
Reyes then doubled down the left field line, scoring Tolleson to make it 2-1 Toronto.
The Blue Jays doubled the lead in the fifth inning as the Orioles booted the ball around.
Reyes had a one-out infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Baltimore third baseman Alexi Casilla. Reyes, who moved to third on Jose Bautista's ground out, scored when Edwin Encarnacion grounded to shortstop but Orioles' first baseman Christian Walker dropped the throw.
Adam Jones made it 3-2 in the sixth inning, crushing a Happ fastball off the facing of the second deck in left field for his 29th home run of the season.
An inning later, the Orioles appeared poised to tie it. Happ walked J.J. Hardy, ending the Toronto lefty's day. Reliever Aaron Sanchez then walked the first hitter he faced.
But with two on and one out, Tolleson made a nice back-handed play on a ground ball up the middle to start a double-play, which ended the Baltimore threat.
The Blue Jays restored their two-run lead in the seventh inning, again courtesy of the Baltimore defence.
Pillar started the inning with a bunt single and advanced to second when reliever Brad Brach fielded the ball and threw wildly of first base. After Tolleson's sacrifice bunt moved Pillar to third, he scored on a sacrifice fly by Reyes on a play that was overturned on replay -- Pillar was originally called out on a head-first slide at the plate.
Casey Janssen pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 25th win of the season.
