Blue Jays' Richmond earns 1st big-league win

It was a night of firsts for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Curtis Thigpen hit his first major-league home run and Canadian starting pitcher Scott Richmond earned his first win as the visiting Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Friday night.

The game was halted by rain in the seventh inning.

Richmond (1-3) gave the best performance of his short time with the Jays. The 29-year-old rookie righty from North Vancouver, B.C., allowed just four hits over six innings and struck out three batters.

"It's a great way to go out. I've been battling the whole year and I'm excited where I've gotten to this year," said Richmond, who didn't allow a runner past second base. "It's good to go out on a high note, show I can compete on this level."

Richmond, who split most of this season between double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Syracuse, helped make his case for a spot in the Blue Jays' 2009 rotation, where spots may be up for grabs.

Shaun Marcum will miss next season after elbow surgery, and A.J. Burnett could sign elsewhere if he opts out of his contract as expected.

Thigpen, a 25-year-old catcher appearing in his 57th big-league game, went deep in the seventh inning off Orioles rookie starter Chris Waters.

Scott Rolen stroked an RBI double in the sixth to help send Toronto (85-75) to its second consecutive victory.

Baltimore (67-92) saw its season-high losing streak reach 10 games. The last time the Orioles won was when Waters (3-5) tossed a complete game four-hitter against Toronto in a 2-0 win on Sept. 16.

"We hit some balls hard in the first couple of innings, but right at them," said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley, whose team has dropped 27 of its last 32 contests.

The Jays and Orioles will wrap up their seasons with games Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

After Richmond and Waters duelled for five scoreless innings, Toronto broke through with two out in the sixth. That's when Rolen bounced a groundrule double into the seats in left-centre to plate Jose Bautista.

Thigpen added an insurance run leading off the seventh, lashing a Waters offering just over the wall in left.

Ensuing singles by John McDonald and Marco Scutaro chased Waters from the game. Bautista then made it 3-0 with an RBI groundout against reliever Lance Cormier.

With the Baltimore skies opening up, the umpires asked for the tarp to be brought out. After an hour delay, the game was called.

Under current major league rules, all statistics count up to the time the game is stopped, not just those through the last completed inning. So Thigpen, who thought his homer had been washed away, was told by reporters afterward that it counted in the books.

He thrust his arms in the air and announced, "They changed the rule!"

Before learning that the drive counted, Thigpen threw the home-run ball across the clubhouse. But he got it back, and will almost certainly find a place for the souvenir during the off-season.

"Everybody in the locker-room was coming and giving me a hug because they felt sorry for me," Thigpen said. "We almost had a funeral here."