TORONTO _ The Orioles were two outs away from a season-high third straight road win Thursday night, but all the good vibes built through 8 { innings came crashing down in the bottom of the ninth at Rogers Centre.
Rookie David Hess had a quality start for the fourth time in five major league outings. Rookie Austin Wynns put him in line for the win with his first career big-league homer, one of three homers on the night for the Orioles.
But right-handed reliever Brad Brach _ used for the third straight day for the first time this season _ failed to hold a three-run lead in the ninth inning.
And in the following inning, the Orioles had to watch the Blue Jays celebrate a 5-4 walk-off win on the field on Aledmys Diaz's game-winning single to left off right-hander Miguel Castro, handing the Orioles one of their worst losses of a defeat-filled season.
Brach, who had converted back-to-back save opportunities Tuesday night and Wednesday at Citi Field in New York, didn't make it out of the ninth Thursday, blowing a save opportunity for the first time since Opening Day. While both of those saves against the Mets were wobbly, Brach was able to hold a one-run lead both times. But on Thursday, he couldn't overcome the trouble he created, allowing five straight batters reach base after retiring the first hitter of the ninth.
Castro, who was warming up beside Brach in the ninth, needed a 4-6-3 double-play ball just to send the game to extra innings, nearly escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the 10th before Diaz hooked a ball into left and past Joey Rickard.
Brach entered the night having not allowed an earned run in his past 11 outings, even though he put 14 base runners on _ nine hits and five walks _ in that stretch spanning 12 innings. In each of Brach's 10 converted saves, he has allowed at least one base runner.
After retiring Kendrys Morales to open the ninth, Brach walked Luke Maile, then allowed a double to left by Diaz.
Randall Grichuk drove in both runners on a double to right, and after pinch hitter Devon Travis walked, Kevin Pillar singled home Grichuk to tie the game.
Before that ninth-inning implosion, Hess held the Blue Jays to one run over six innings. He has allowed one run or none in each of his past three starts, owning a 0.96 ERA over that stretch.
Wynns' first major league home run came in the seventh, a towering solo shot to left field off reliever Tyler Clippard to break a 1-1 tie.
After the Orioles' took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Manny Machado's sacrifice fly, Hess allowed a home run to the first batter he faced, losing a nine-pitch at bat to Curtis Granderson with a full-count four-seam fastball that the veteran hit over the right-field fence.
Hess allowed just four hits after that, working ahead of hitters with aggressiveness that manager Buck Showalter had noted after each of his starts. Hess threw 19 of 23 first-pitch strikes, pounding the bottom of the zone with his fastball.
In the top of the seventh, Wynns got just enough of a 1-1 changeup from Clippard to clear the left-field wall, a high fly that had an estimated distance of 345 feet and a hit probability of just 16 percent.
Hess allowed a leadoff single in the seventh, his final batter before Showalter pulled him in favor of right-hander Mychal Givens, who held the lead.
The Orioles added two runs in the eighth on back-to-back homers by Danny Valencia and Mark Trumbo, both blasts coming off reliever John Axford.
Valencia, making just his second start in the cleanup spot in the batting order, reached base three times in four plate appearances, adding a single and walk to his home run. Trumbo's homer, his third of the season, was his first since May 21.
Chris Davis was hitless in four at-bats, striking out three times, lowering his average to .152, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth inning with the game tied and stranding two runners in the fourth.
