Richmond helps Jays to dramatic win

Scott Richmond didn't do quite enough for a win, but his team got a victory anyway.

The Canadian right-hander submitted his second respectable effort in as many major-league starts on Tuesday, coming away with a no-decision in the Toronto Blue Jays' 4-3 walkoff win over the visiting Oakland A's.

Kevin Mench played the hero for Toronto (57-56), singling home pinch runner Brad Wilkerson with the winning run with two out in the bottom of the ninth against A's closer Huston Street (2-5).

Wilkerson was running for Rod Barajas, who doubled home Alex Rios for the tying run with one out.

Richmond, who'd been slated to be Canada's No. 1 starter at the Beijing Olympics before the Blue Jays summoned him from triple-A Syracuse last week, produced a near mirror image of his big-league debut. The North Vancouver, B.C., native give up three runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings while striking out four and walking one.

"He kept us in the game and that's what's important," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "One pitch different and he probably would have won the game, but otherwise, you can't ask for much more."

Last Wednesday against Tampa Bay, Richmond surrendered three runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings while fanning four and walking none, taking the loss against the AL East leaders.

"Overall, I felt comfortable and calm and just tried to hit the glove as much as I could," Richmond said after Tuesday's game. "Once again, I worked from behind and it ended up hurting me a few times."

Ziegler extends shutout streak

Oakland's Greg Smith got the better of Tuesday's starting matchup. The righty worked six innings, giving up two runs on four hits.

Rookie Carlos Gonzalez had his first career four-hit game for Oakland (53-59), which saw its season-high losing streak extended to eight games.

A's reliever Brad Ziegler worked two shutout frames to extend his major-league record for consecutive scoreless innings to begin a career to 34.

Adam Lind smacked an RBI triple and Marco Scutaro singled home a run for Toronto.

Jesse Carlson (4-1) got the final two outs of the ninth to pick up the win.

Gonzalez supplies spark

After a perfect first inning by Richmond, the A's got to the Jays starter in the second as Gonzalez smacked a one-out double and later scored on Mark Ellis's single.

Gonzalez did his part to give back the run in the bottom of the inning when his sloppy handling of a drive off the wall in dead centre helped give Lind a triple that scored plodding catcher Barajas all the way from first.

Oakland also made use of a triple to regain the lead in the fourth. After Gonzalez reached base on an infield single and Jack Hannahan walked, Bobby Crosby scored them both with a shot to the gap in left-centre.

Toronto cut its deficit to one in the fifth courtesy of Scutaro's RBI single, which scored Mench from second.

Ziegler came on in the seventh and immediately showed the Jays why he's been so dominant in his brief tenure as a major leaguer. The sidearming righty didn't allow a ball out of the infield, inducing Lind, Scott Rolen and Mench into easy groundouts.

McDonald saves the day

The A's were fixing to put the game out of reach in the eighth until a sparkling defensive play by John McDonald. With the bases loaded and none out, the Jays shortstop dove to his right to snare Ellis's liner, then threw from his knees to second to double off pinch runner Emil Brown.

Brandon League then got Hannahan to ground out to third to end the inning.

"Mac's unbelievable," Gaston said. "We've had a lot of great shortstops here and you can put him right there with him. He has really showed me something here. He has made play after play after play and he enjoys doing it, too."

In the eighth, Toronto looked as if it might be the first big-league team to plate a runner against Ziegler when he walked McDonald to start the inning. But Scutaro bunted his subsequent sacrifice attempt back to Ziegler, who cut down the lead runner, and pinch hitter Matt Stairs then grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Jays got to Street quickly in the ninth as Alex Rios scorched a single up the middle. After Lyle Overbay flied out to centre, Barajas lofted a ball over the outstretched glove of left-fielder Jack Cust for a double that brought Rios home from first.

After an intentional walk to Lind, Rolen advanced pinch-runner Wilkerson to third with a groundout, setting up Mench's game-winning hit to the gap in left-centre.