Blue Jays 6 Athletics 5
OAKLAND, Calif. — Aaron Hill hit a three-run homer and Brett Cecil overcame one bad inning to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.
Hill also had an RBI single. Trailing 4-3, Hill hit a three-run shot off A’s rookie Trevor Cahill (6-10) in the fourth inning.
That was enough for Cecil (5-1), who gave up four runs in the second inning — but retired the next 15 batters.
The loss disappointed a sellout crowd of 35,067 on Rickey Henderson Night. The A’s retired the No. 24 for the recently inducted Hall of Famer.
Blue Jays closer Scott Downs, who entered the ninth with a two-run lead, was pulled from the game with an injury. Jack Cust singled off Downs’ foot and then Tommy Everidge followed with a double.
Downs then was taken out of the game and replaced by Jason Frasor, who induced an RBI groundout from pinch-hitter Nomar Garciaparra. Frasor then struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Sweeney to earn his fourth save.
The Blue Jays scored three runs in the second against Cahill, including a solo homer by Lyle Overbay to take a 3-0 lead.
Oakland responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Adam Kennedy’s three-run double highlighted the inning. After that, though, Cecil did not allow another baserunner until the seventh inning.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays gave him back the lead in the fourth inning.
Raul Chavez doubled and Marco Scutaro drew a two-out walk, setting up Hill’s 25th homer of the season.