Passed ball in 10th sinks Jays

When games used to reach the bottom of the ninth with the score tied, Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda used to yell down to the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout:

“We got ’em now ... we get two at-bats for every one they get.”

The first-place Baltimore Orioles didn’t score in the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Jays put up a zero in the top of the 10th, but the O’s scored with two out in the bottom of the 10th for a 4-3 win before 15,404 fans at Camden Yards.

Caleb Joseph doubled off reliever Joe Biagini, moved to third on an infield single by Joey Rickard, and scored on a Josh Thole passed ball. Could Thole have been crossed up by the Rule V rookie who a year ago was pitching for the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels?

“I didn’t catch the ball,” said a distraught Thole, who wasn’t throwing the rookie under a Greyhound Biagini was riding on last year.

“Cross up or not crossed up, I didn’t catch it. To grind all night and have that happen ...”

Biagini walked Manny Machado before his 1-1 pitch to Adam Jones kicked off Thole’s glove toward the Toronto dugout. From the Flying Squirrels into the frying pan.

“Josh caught some good knuckleballs, had a great at-bat in the sixth, fouled off a bunch of pitches and I thought he knocked in a run that was going to help us win a game,” said starter R.A. Dickey of Thole’s single where Ryan Goins was thrown out at the plate.

In the bottom half of the first, 24 pitches into the game, Dickey was down 3-0. Rickard reached on an infield single six pitches in, Machado doubled him home hitting a 3-0 pitch to the wall in left scoring Rickard.

After a seven-pitch walk to Adam Jones, Chris Davis singled in a run and Mark Trumbo bounced into a double play making it 3-0. OK, raise your hand if you thought after 24 pitches Dickey would exit with the score tied with a quality start on his log book? Dickey allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while fanning four, lowering his ERA to 6.10.

“I can’t say ‘it’s just not my day,’ after a start like that,” said Dickey of his start. “There were some infield hits, I thought I was squeezed on a couple of pitches. It was a step forward.

“I’m glad I only gave up three runs, sad I didn’t go deeper into the game. I kept the ball in the park.”