ESTRADA, NOT 100%, does enough to lead Jays.

TORONTO — Marco Estrada is still dealing with the sore back that forced him to skip his first All-Star Game. Even so, he was effective enough for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki hit solo home runs in the first inning, Estrada snapped a four-start winless streak and Toronto beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 on Friday night.

Encarnacion reached base three times and scored twice as the Blue Jays won the opener of a three-game series between the top two teams in the AL East, cutting Baltimore’s division lead to half a game. The Orioles have lost four consecutive.

Estrada (6-4) allowed 3 earned runs and 5 hits in 6 innings.

“I don’t feel 100 percent,” Estrada said, “but I still feel I can give the team quality innings.”

On July 6, one day after he was picked as an All-Star, Estrada was put on the 15-day disabled list. He was activated last Friday and took the loss in a 2-1 defeat to Seattle.

Originally scheduled to start Wednesday against San Diego, Estrada switched places with R.A. Dickey and was pushed back two days to Friday.

“I thought Marco was a little bit off with his command,” Manager John Gibbons said. “His changeup was bouncing. They don’t normally do that. Maybe the time off affected him.”

Estrada said the soreness is worst in the early innings before his back loosens up.

“The more pitches I throw, the better it gets,” he said. “It never completely

goes away but it’s definitely manageable.”

Joaquin Benoit worked the seventh, Jason Grilli gave up Manny