OAKLAND -- As if the Oakland A's needed another reminder of how much they miss Josh Donaldson, he gave them one Sunday.

Donaldson, the reigning American League MVP, lined a two-run, tie-breaking double with two outs in the top of the ninth inning against his former team, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on for a 5-3 victory against the A's at the Oakland Coliseum.

"It's nice to be back here," said Donaldson, who was traded by Oakland to the Blue Jays after the 2014 season. "This is where it all started for me so it's always nice to see."

Justin Smoak reached safely on an infield single with one out against A's reliever John Axford in the ninth. Junior Lake lined a single to center, moving pinch runner Andy Burns to second. Then with two outs, Axford fell behind 2-1 in the count to Donaldson, and he hammered his 96-mph fastball down the left field line.

"He does that a lot," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Donaldson's clutch hitting. "That's why he's such a good player. He steps up at the right times. His old team. But we desperately needed that as a team. That's a big win for us."

After losing the first two in the three-game series, Toronto avoided a sweep.

Donaldson went 2-for-5 and scored his major league high 82nd run. He's batting .302 with 23 home runs and 66 RBIs.

Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save. Toronto's Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, his 16th blast of the season. Russell Martin went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk and scored a run.

Marcus Semien hit his 20th home run of the season for the A's, a solo shot in the sixth. He became the fifth shortstop in A's history to hit at least 20 homers in a season. Yonder Alonso had a pinch hit, two-run double in the sixth.

Blue Jays reliever Jason Grilli (4-3) pitched a perfect eighth inning for the victory. Axford (3-3) allowed two runs on three hits and took the loss.

Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ, seeking his single-season and career-high 13th victory, gave up three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings and got a no-decision but kept his six-game winning streak intact. He struck out five, walked one and was hit by two line drives.

Jake Smolinski lined an infield single off of Happ's left forearm, just above the wrist, in the fifth. Then in the sixth, Josh Reddick hit a shot off Happ's right hamstring but was thrown out.

Smolinski liner left a mark on Happ's arm and brought blood. After trainers examined Happ, he threw a few warm-up pitches and stayed in the game.

"Just making sure we got the strength back in there when the trainers came out," said Happ, who blanked the A's for the first five innings. "I felt fine after a few minutes."

A's starter Rich Hill lasted five pitches before exiting with a full count to leadoff hitter Devon Travis after a blister popped on his middle finger on his left hand. Hill developed a blister in his previous start on July 8 at Houston. His scheduled start Friday was pushed back two days.

"Just felt it on the fastball, it was bleeding," Hill said, calling the situation "disappointing." "I really can't explain it."

Hill, who is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA, has attracted widespread interest approaching the Aug. 1 non-waiver MLB trade deadline. There were numerous scouts from major league teams at the Coliseum to watch him pitch.

Andrew Triggs relieved Hill and retired Travis. But Donaldson lined an infield single off Triggs' left calf. Triggs stayed in the game and gave up a hard single to Edwin Encarnacion with Donaldson scoring as the ball got past left fielder Khris Davis for an error. After getting the final two outs, Triggs left the game with a left calf contusion.

"We'll see how he's doing tomorrow," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He might be a little sore tomorrow. You could see him limping off when he came off the mound so we had to do something."

A's southpaw Sean Manaea, who had been scheduled to start Tuesday against Houston, took over in the second. He gave up two runs on three hits over five innings, striking out four and walking none.

Toronto extended its lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Martin lined a leadoff double to right-center and Tulowitzki launched a two-run shot to center field with one out. Manaea got ahead 0-2 in the count, but he left his 93-mph fastball high, and Tulowitzki crushed it.

The A's pulled even with three run in the sixth. Semien launched a leadoff homer off Happ. With one out, Danny Valencia singled, and Happ walked Davis, his final batter. Alsono greeted former A's right-hander Jesse Chavez with a two-run double to left-center, but Donaldson answered with a two-run double in the ninth.

NOTES: Oakland acquired minor league LHP Ross Detwiler from Cleveland for cash and assigned him to Triple-A Nashville. Detwiler is 21-37 with a 4.21 ERA in 180 career major league appearances, including 76 starts. He was 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA for Triple-A Columbus this year. ... Athletics INF/OF Danny Valencia made his eighth career start at first base and his first since April 9, 2015, with Toronto. Valencia lost his starting job at third to rookie Ryon Healy. ... Toronto OF Junior Lake made his sixth start of the season, playing right field against the A's. ... Blue Jays LHP Franklin Morales (left shoulder fatigue) spent his 27th day on a rehab assignment Sunday, three shy of the maximum allowed for a pitcher. The Blue Jays will have to make a roster decision next week on Morales, who is on the 60-day disabled list.