Orioles blank Blue Jays, tie for top Wild Card

TORONTO — The American League Wild Card race is going down to the final weekend of the regular season. The Orioles made sure of that.

Baltimore moved into a tie for the first Wild Card spot with a 4-0 victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday night at Rogers Centre. The Orioles entered this series needing to take two of three to keep their hopes of the top spot alive and in the end that’s exactly what they did. The Blue Jays won the season series, however, so they would host the O’s in the AL Wild Card Game on Tuesday night should the teams finish the regular season tied.

Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez picked up the victory after he allowed just one hit over 6 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out five while walking three and had the Blue Jays looking either impatient or uncomfortable in the batter’s box all night long. Chris Davis and Hyun Soo Kim each had a pair of hits with J.J. Hardy adding a key double in the win.

Toronto initially was hoping to have a chance to clinch a Wild Card spot with a pair of wins on Wednesday and Thursday. The Blue Jays blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s loss and followed that performance up by being shut out on three hits in the series finale. Toronto’s magic number to clinch a spot in the postseason is stuck at three with three games to play.

Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman kept his team in it for most of the game, but a run in the seventh and another run in the eighth spoiled an otherwise solid outing. He was charged with four runs on nine hits in seven-plus innings, and it marked the first time in six …

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