Jays knocking on AL East door after edging O’s

TORONTO — The battle for first place in the American League East is officially on after Toronto pulled within a half-game of the Orioles on Friday night. The Blue Jays inched even closer to the top spot in the division after a 6-5 victory over Baltimore at Rogers Centre.

Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki all homered, and the Blue Jays are now closer to first place than they have been at any point since the second game of the regular season.

Right-hander Marco Estrada picked up the victory for Toronto after he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks over six innings. The Blue Jays then turned things over to their new-look bullpen, as setup men Joaquin Benoit and Jason Grilli bridged the gap to closer Roberto Osuna.

Orioles right fielder Mark Trumbo had a two-run double in the loss while Manny Machado went 1-for-2 with a solo homer and three runs scored. Right-hander Kevin Gausman took the loss after he surrendered six runs on six hits and three walks over just three innings, which matched a season low previously set on June 15 at Boston.

Baltimore has been in first place for most of June and July with the exception of a couple of short stints by Boston. But the Orioles have now lost four consecutive games, and after leading by as many as 5 1/2 games on June 29, the division now appears to be completely up for grabs.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDThe hat trick: Bautista, Encarnacion and Tulowitzki all went deep in the bottom of the first inning off Gausman. It was the second time this year and the 35th time in franchise history that Toronto homered three times in the same frame. The last time it happened in …

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