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  Friday, Jun. 30 7:35pm ET
Toronto still three games ahead in East
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The law of averages finally caught up to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Albert Belle and Harold Baines had two RBIs apiece in a six-run third inning, and Pat Rapp earned his first win in a month as the Baltimore Orioles ended a 13-game losing streak against Toronto with an 8-3 victory Friday night.

Will Clark homered and Delino DeShields drove in two runs for the Orioles, who have won three of four after a nine-game skid. It was Baltimore's first win against the Blue Jays since April 10, 1999.

"We just didn't play very well today," Toronto manager Jim Fregosi said. "But we're still in first place, are we not?"

Despite the loss, first-place Toronto maintained its three-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East. The Yankees lost 6-4 to Tampa Bay.

In the process of beating the Blue Jays for the first time in 14 months, the Orioles also ended their run of frustration against Toronto starter Roy Halladay, who was 2-0 with 15 shutout innings lifetime against Baltimore.

The Orioles' starting lineup had a collective .103 batting average against the right-hander.

But Halladay (3-5) yielded seven runs, four hits and four walks in 2 2-3 innings, his shortest stint as a starter this season.

"Everything felt good, but I didn't use everything and I think that's what hurt me," he said. "I thought I had a good fastball and a good curveball but I never really got to my curveball and offspeed pitches."

Tony Batista hit his 21st homer for the Blue Jays, but Carlos Delgado went 0-for-4, ending his 22-game hitting streak.

Rapp (5-5) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out three. He was 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in five starts since May 29.

"When he throws strikes, Pat is golden. That's when he's really tough," Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove said.

"I just wanted to go out there and keep the score 0-0. The last couple times I gave up a big lead, but today I beared down a little better and got the outs when I needed them," Rapp said. "They hit the ball hard, but it just seemed like it was always at somebody."

Clark put the Orioles ahead 1-0 in the second with his third homer, a 420-foot shot to center on a 3-1 pitch.

Baltimore sent 11 men to the plate in the third and went up 7-0. After DeShields singled in a run and Belle hit a two-run double, Halladay was pulled after issuing two straight two-out walks. Lance Painter then gave up a two-run single to Baines and allowed another run to score on a wild pitch.

"The big innings do the trick for you," Clark said. "Anytime you can up a big, crooked number on the scoreboard, it spells doom for the other team."

A triple by Jose Cruz Jr., a sacrifice fly by Alberto Castillo and successive doubles by Homer Bush and Shannon Stewart made it 7-2 in the fifth.

DeShields singled in a run in the eighth. Batista led off the ninth with a homer off Alan Mills.

Game notes
DeShields has 36 RBIs, two more than all last year. ... Belle extended his club record for RBIs in June to 37. He also enjoyed his team-high 25th multihit game. ... Cruz tied Stewart for the team lead in triples (3). ... Toronto fell to 18-10 against the AL East. ... The Orioles are 21-12 at home and 12-32 on the road. ... Delgado's streak was longest in the AL this year and tied Stewart for third-longest in Toronto history.
 


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