Blue Jays 2, Orioles 0: Dustin McGowan worked 6 1/3 solid innings and Toronto scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning to down host Baltimore in the opener of a three-game set.

McGowan (1-1) yielded one run and five hits to post his first win in 14 career appearances (seven starts) against Baltimore and Brett Cecil tossed 1 2/3 flawless innings in relief. Sergio Santos struck out a pair and set down the order in the ninth for his fourth save.

Orioles starter Chris Tillman (1-1) took the hard-luck loss after giving up two unearned runs on three singles and walk over eight frames. Baltimore could muster only five singles and managed to get only one runner past second base after scoring 19 runs and collecting 32 hits over its last two contests against the New York Yankees.

Toronto mounted the only offense in the game when Jose Bautista reached on a throwing error by Baltimore third baseman Jonathan Schoop and Edwin Encarnacion followed with a one-out single. Two pitches later, Schoop was charged with another throwing error on a fielder’s choice grounder to third that enabled Bautista to score.

The Blue Jays’ defensive collapse continued in the next at-bat when Dioner Navarro chopped a grounder to first baseman Chris Davis, but shortstop Ryan Flaherty one-hopped a throw past Tillman covering at first on a potential inning-ending double play and allowed Encarnacion to cross. Baltimore posted its biggest scoring threat with three consecutive two-out singles in the fifth, but McGowan got Adam Jones to fly out to center.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto LF Melky Cabrera singled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, tying Alex Rios for the longest hit streak to open a season by a Blue Jay since 2007. … McGowan, who entered the contest with an 0-3 record and 6.99 ERA in his career against the Orioles, fanned the first two batters he faced, but did not record another strikeout thereafter. … Baltimore SS J.J. Hardy (back) sat out for the sixth time in seven games, but the team expects to get him back in the lineup on Saturday.