TORONTO _ The Orioles lost their hold on first place in the American League East in an ugly way Saturday at the Rogers Centre.
Their 9-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays was unsettling in many ways, above all because the Orioles can't seem to find any way to win north of the border against a team they're going to have to jockey with for the division down the stretch.
Orioles starter Yovani Gallardo was effective early, but unraveled quickly in a seven-run fifth inning that saw the suddenly struggling Orioles bullpen allow the game to get out of hand.
Meanwhile, Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ held the Orioles to just three hits over seven innings, their only run coming on designated hitter Pedro Alvarez's solo homer in the second inning.
"He hit his spots pretty well today," said right fielder Mark Trumbo. "There wasn't a whole lot to hit. Yeah, it was a good job by him. Yeah, today he had some late life (on the fastball). He's been doing well lately. There wasn't much to be had."
The Orioles (58-45) have now lost five straight, tying their season high, and are 11-14 since June 29. They had been in first place for all but two days since June 5, but now look up at Toronto (59-45) in the division standings by a half-game.
"Everything's about pitching here at this level," manager Buck Showalter said. "They catch the ball well. They're a good team. We're a good team. We'll put it behind us and go out there (Sunday). They're a good starting pitching team. They've got good people in the bullpen. That's why they're and Boston and us are where we are, so you've got to trust your players and just don't throw everybody under the bus because you've had a tough couple of games."
The Orioles enter Sunday's series finale having lost five of their six games at the Rogers Centre this season, allowing an average of 7.5 runs in those games.
"We could come out and throw up 20 hits (on Sunday)," said Trumbo, who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Saturday. "Who knows what is going to happen. You kind of assume when you go up against these guys it's going to be a tight game and you're going to have to play smart baseball and take advantage when you can. Because you are going to need those runs, they have a really good offense. We've got to do our part to try and counter them."
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