O’s strike after passed ball, cap rally vs. Blue Jays

BALTIMORE — For the second consecutive night, the Orioles were the beneficiary of a passed ball charged to a Blue Jays catcher, and they rode it all the way to a 3-2 victory on Thursday night at Camden Yards.

Baltimore won Wednesday night’s game when Josh Thole was charged with a passed ball in the 10th inning, allowing the walk-off run to score. The following night, a passed ball by Russell Martin put the go-ahead run in scoring position and sent Baltimore to a series victory over Toronto.

The Orioles and Blue Jays were locked in a 2-2 tie with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Baltimore’s Joey Rickard was on first base when Martin had a ball bounce off his glove, which allowed Rickard to move to second. One batter later, Manny Machado hit a little blooper to right off Brett Cecil that fell in front of Jose Bautista, and Rickard raced home to put the Orioles in front by one.

The low-scoring affair should have been anything but a pitchers’ duel. Toronto went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Baltimore also struggled in that department by going 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 on base.

Toronto’s Marco Estrada and Baltimore’s Chris Tillman each got the start, but neither pitcher factored into the decision. Estrada struggled with his control and a high pitch count, but found a way to get through …

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