The Toronto Blue Jays have activated pitcher Carlos Villanueva from the 15-day disabled list and demoted relief pitcher Brian Tallet. (J. Meric/Getty Images)

The Toronto Blue Jays designated left-handed pitcher Brian Tallet for assignment one day after he blew a save against the Baltimore Orioles.

The move came Wednesday to create roster space for righty Carlos Villanueva, who returned from the 15-day disabled list.

The 27-year-old had been out with a right forearm strain since Aug. 4.

Villanueva has a 6-3 record and 4.24 earned-run average in 26 games for the Blue Jays this season.

On Tuesday night, Tallet allowed a walk-off single by Orioles second baseman Ryan Adams in the 10th inning of a 6-5 loss.

That was his first appearance since sitting out 10 weeks with a right ribcage injury that was brought on by a hard sneeze.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles botched their bunt defense, muffed an infield pop fly for an error, twice failed to get bunts down successfully and blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning.

Yet one swing of rookie Ryan Adams’ bat erased their many miscues.

Adams capped a two-run, 10th-inning rally with an RBI single and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Tuesday night.

“It wasn’t looking good there for a minute, but we battled back,” said Adams.

Matt Wieters led off the Baltimore 10th by drawing a walk off Brian Tallet (0-2), who was trying for his first career save. Mark Reynolds walked and, after Robert Andino bunted a foul third strike, pinch hitter Jake Fox hit a game-tying single to right with Reynolds taking third.

Adams followed with a deep fly ball off the warning track in right-center beyond a drawn-in outfield.

“In that situation, I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” Adams said. “They were playing (the outfield) in and I got a pitch up. Right away, I knew it was going to be deep enough to get him in.”

The victory went to Willie Eyre (1-0), whose wild pitch in the top of the 10th had put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4. That was the last in a long like of mental and physical mistakes that failed to undo the resilient Orioles.

Andino’s 10th-inning bunt attempt was the second time he was unable to advance runners, and some shoddy defense in the ninth contributed to a delayed — and undefended double steal — as Toronto tied the game on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice fly.

“I know exactly what should have happened and didn’t happen and it won’t happen again, especially considering the people,” said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when asked about the wacky bunt play.

The Blue Jays were without manager John Farrell, who is being treated for pneumonia in Toronto and is expected to miss the three-game series. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu ran the team in Farrell’s absence.

Toronto wanted to send Casey Janssen out for the 10th, but the right-hander came up with a tightness in a shoulder muscle, shelving him after a 13-pitch scoreless ninth.

“We’re going to evaluate him, see where he’s at,” said Wakamatsu, adding that he didn’t believe Janssen’s injury was serious.

That put Tallet into an unfamiliar role.

“Yeah, it was a pretty (bad) result, huh?” Tallet said. “It’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes early in the game, early when you get in there and let those guys get on base. Anything can happen and that’s what happened.”

Wieters homered for Baltimore, which has won seven of nine.

The Blue Jays have lost five of six.

“You’ve got to take it as it comes and analyze it and you’ve just got to suck it up and move on to tomorrow,” said Toronto’s Brett Lawrie. “There’s no sense in dwelling on it. You’ve got to come back tomorrow and keep playing.”

Lawrie’s sixth homer staked Toronto to a 3-0 lead in the second. After one-out walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson, Lawrie ripped a 1-2 curveball from Jeremy Guthrie into the left-field stands.

Wieters’ two-run shot cut the lead to a run in the bottom of the inning. Vladimir Guerrero led off with a single and Wieters homered to center off Brett Cecil, his 15th.

Cecil’s throwing error in the fourth allowed Baltimore to tie the game at 3. Andino doubled with two down and came around on an infield single by Nolan Reimold after Cecil threw wildly past first base.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with none down in the fifth, but squandered the opportunity. Encarnacion bounced into a 1-2-3 double play and Johnson flied out to center.

“There were several different opportunities to score, to do some things and the bottom line is we put ourselves in a position,” Wakamatsu said. “We talked about not giving up and going to the end.”

Guerrero’s RBI double in the bottom of the fifth put the Orioles ahead, scoring Adam Jones, who had drawn a one-out walk.

Cecil yielded four runs on eight hits over six innings, walking two and striking out four. Guthrie allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out five.

Trying to protect a 4-3 lead in the ninth, Baltimore’s Kevin Gregg instead blew his fifth save in 24 chances. J.P. Arencibia led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Dewayne Wise. Mike McCoy walked on four pitches and, when the Orioles flubbed their wheel-play defense on Escobar’s bunt attempt, both runners moved up on an unconventional double steal, each benefiting from an unprotected base.

Escobar followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly to right.

NOTES: Baltimore snapped an eight-game losing streak in one-run games. … Toronto reliever Jon Rauch completed a 25-pitch simulated game Tuesday afternoon and appears close to rejoining the active roster. Rauch, who underwent an appendectomy August 16, will be re-evaluated Wednesday but is likely to be activated off the disabled list Thursday, according to Wakamatsu. … 1B Chris Davis, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, took 25 swings off a tee and participated in throwing drills at the Orioles complex in Sarasota, Fla., on Tuesday. … Orioles RHP Jason Berken’s wife Emily gave birth to a 5-lb., 12-oz. baby girl, Hadley Lane, on Tuesday afternoon. … In 27 starts this season, Guthrie has yet to win consecutive decisions. … Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez (0-2) faces Baltimore lefty Jo-Jo Reyes (7-10) on Wednesday.

BALTIMORE (USA TODAY) — Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations, has reached a decision on his future with the Baltimore Orioles but plans to wait until season’s end before announcing his intentions.

“Let’s just get to the end of the year and see what unfolds,” MacPhail told USA TODAY. “We’ll see. We’ll see.”

MacPhail, according to two high-ranking Orioles officials, plans to leave the organization after his contract expires Oct. 31. He will not pursue an extension. The officials are not authorized to discuss the decision publicly because it is not official.

MacPhail, whose father, Hall of Fame executive Lee, was Orioles general manager from 1958 to 1965, has been with the Orioles since 2007 but could not turn them around. The Orioles are three losses from their 14th consecutive losing season.

“I know there’s a lot of speculation, but that comes with the territory,” MacPhail said.

Several GM candidates have been brought up internally, an Orioles official said, led by New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman, whose contract expires after the season.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter, expected to have an influential voice in the decision, said he’s not interested in the job.

“You hear all kinds of things,” Showalter says. “I just hope for the best for Andy. This is not one person’s fault. You can’t be this bad, for this long, without multiple reasons.”

The Orioles are one of several franchises that may be changing GMs. The Chicago Cubs are targeting four candidates to replace Jim Hendry: Andrew Friedman of the Tampa Bay Rays, Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics, Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox and Cashman. Friedman and Cashman can leave without compensation. A’s owner Lew Wolff said he would not stop Beane from pursuing the job. The Red Sox have not commented on whether they would allow Epstein to talk with the Cubs.

The Houston Astros, whose sale to Jim Crane has stalled, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are in bankruptcy court, also could change GMs.

Brian Tallet didn’t mince words or make excuses. Called upon to record his first career save, the Toronto Blue Jays left-hander didn’t get the job done.

“Yeah, it was a pretty (bad) result, huh?” Tallet said after coughing up two 10th-inning runs in a 6-5 Baltimore Orioles victory over Toronto on Tuesday night. “It’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes early in the game, early when you get in there and let those guys get on base. Anything can happen and that’s what happened.”

The Blue Jays didn’t make the most of early offensive opportunities and, while they took advantage of numerous mistakes by the bumbling Orioles, they couldn’t put Baltimore away.

In the 10th, they ran into some old-fashioned bad luck, when right-hander Casey Janssen came up with a tight lat in his throwing shoulder and couldn’t return to the mound after dispatching the Orioles on 13 pitches in the ninth.

“We’re going to evaluate him, see where he’s at,” said acting Toronto manager Don Wakamatsu, adding that he didn’t believe Janssen’s injury was serious.

Wakamatsu was filling in for manager John Farrell, who remained in Toronto while being treated for pneumonia. Farrell is expected to miss the three-game series in Baltimore.

The Orioles botched their bunt defense, muffed an infield pop fly for an error, twice failed to get bunts down successfully and blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Yet one swing of rookie Ryan Adams’ bat erased their many miscues.

“It wasn’t looking good there for a minute, but we battled back,” said Adams, who capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the 10th with an RBI single.

Matt Wieters led off the Baltimore 10th by drawing a walk off Tallet (0-2). Mark Reynolds walked and, after Robert Andino bunted a foul third strike, pinch hitter Jake Fox hit a game-tying single to right with Reynolds taking third.

Adams followed with a deep fly ball off the warning track in right-center beyond a drawn-in outfield.

“In that situation, I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” Adams said. “They were playing (the outfield) in and I got a pitch up. Right away, I knew it was going to be deep enough to get him in.”

The victory went to Willie Eyre (1-0), whose wild pitch in the top of the 10th had put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4. That was the last in a long line of mental and physical mistakes that failed to undo the resilient Orioles.

Andino’s 10th-inning bunt attempt was the second time he was unable to advance runners, and some shoddy defense in the ninth contributed to a delayed — and undefended double steal — as Toronto tied the game on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice fly.

“I know exactly what should have happened and didn’t happen and it won’t happen again, especially considering the people,” said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when asked about the wacky bunt play.

Wieters homered for Baltimore, which has won seven of nine.

The Blue Jays have lost five of six.

“You’ve got to take it as it comes and analyze it and you’ve just got to suck it up and move on to tomorrow,” said Toronto’s Brett Lawrie. “There’s no sense in dwelling on it. You’ve got to come back tomorrow and keep playing.”

Lawrie’s sixth homer staked Toronto to a 3-0 lead in the second. After one-out walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson, Lawrie ripped a 1-2 curveball from Jeremy Guthrie into the left-field stands.

Wieters’ two-run shot cut the lead to a run in the bottom of the inning. Vladimir Guerrero led off with a single and Wieters homered to center off Brett Cecil, his 15th.

Cecil’s throwing error in the fourth allowed Baltimore to tie the game at 3. Andino doubled with two down and came around on an infield single by Nolan Reimold after Cecil threw wildly past first base.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with none down in the fifth, but squandered the opportunity. Encarnacion bounced into a 1-2-3 double play and Johnson flied out to center.

“There were several different opportunities to score, to do some things and the bottom line is we put ourselves in a position,” Wakamatsu said. “We talked about not giving up and going to the end.”

Guerrero’s RBI double in the bottom of the fifth put the Orioles ahead, scoring Adam Jones, who had drawn a one-out walk.

Cecil yielded four runs on eight hits over six innings, walking two and striking out four. Guthrie allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out five.

Trying to protect a 4-3 lead in the ninth, Baltimore’s Kevin Gregg instead blew his fifth save in 24 chances. J.P. Arencibia led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Dewayne Wise. Mike McCoy walked on four pitches and, when the Orioles flubbed their wheel-play defense on Escobar’s bunt attempt, both runners moved up on an unconventional double steal, each benefiting from an unprotected base.

Escobar followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly to right.

NOTES: Baltimore snapped an eight-game losing streak in one-run games. … Toronto reliever Jon Rauch completed a 25-pitch simulated game Tuesday afternoon and appears close to rejoining the active roster. Rauch, who underwent an appendectomy August 16, will be re-evaluated Wednesday but is likely to be activated off the disabled list Thursday, according to Wakamatsu. … 1B Chris Davis, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, took 25 swings off a tee and participated in throwing drills at the Orioles complex in Sarasota, Fla., on Tuesday. … Orioles RHP Jason Berken’s wife Emily gave birth to a 5-lb., 12-oz. baby girl, Hadley Lane, on Tuesday afternoon. … In 27 starts this season, Guthrie has yet to win consecutive decisions. … Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez (0-2) faces Baltimore lefty Jo-Jo Reyes (7-10) on Wednesday.

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have found plenty of head-scratching ways to lose this season, and it looked like they had added a few fresh wrinkles on Tuesday, before rookie Ryan Adams hit a double into the gap to give the Orioles a 6-5 win in 10 innings over Toronto.

Toronto led, 5-4, in the 10th, but reliever Brian Tallet walked the first two Orioles hitters, both of whom came around to score thanks to a pinch-hit single by Jake Fox and Adams’s first career game-winning hit, a shot to right-center field that scored Mark Reynolds.

“It felt good,” Adams said of his walk-off hit. “I had an opportunity earlier, too — I think it was the eighth there. I was pretty upset with myself. This time, I got ahead in the count 3-1, and I just knew . . . I was looking at something over the plate.”

Leading 4-3 in the ninth inning, the Orioles were done in by a double steal caused by a botched defensive alignment, and a sacrifice fly tied the score. In the 10th, the Blue Jays took the lead on a run-scoring wild pitch by reliever Willie Eyre.

Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie was far from sharp, allowing multiple base runners in every inning but the first and the sixth (his last).

He salvaged his outing in the fifth, however, after serving up a leadoff double to Eric Thames, followed by catcher Matt Wieters’s drop of a pop-up. It broke the club’s 76-inning errorless streak.

When Adam Lind singled to load the bases with no outs, Guthrie’s night looked tenuous. He escaped, however, thanks to his own defensive ability.

Edwin Encarnacion hit a sharp bouncer that Guthrie quickly gloved, before throwing to Wieters to begin a 1-2-3 double play. Guthrie’s nice pick was one of several strong plays made by the Orioles, including two each by Robert Andino and Mark Reynolds.

The Orioles gave Guthrie the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Vladimir Guerrero double to right.

— Baltimore Sun

BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Orioles botched their bunt defence, muffed an infield pop fly for an error, twice failed to get bunts down successfully and blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning.

Yet one swing of rookie Ryan Adams’ bat erased their many miscues.

Adams capped a two-run, 10th-inning rally with an RBI single and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Tuesday night.

“It wasn’t looking good there for a minute, but we battled back,” said Adams.

Matt Wieters led off the Baltimore 10th by drawing a walk off Brian Tallet (0-2), who was trying for his first career save. Mark Reynolds walked and, after Robert Andino bunted a foul third strike, pinch hitter Jake Fox hit a game-tying single to right with Reynolds taking third.

Adams followed with a deep fly ball off the warning track in right-centre beyond a drawn-in outfield.

“In that situation, I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” Adams said. “They were playing (the outfield) in and I got a pitch up. Right away, I knew it was going to be deep enough to get him in.”

The victory went to Willie Eyre (1-0), whose wild pitch in the top of the 10th had put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4. That was the last in a long like of mental and physical mistakes that failed to undo the resilient Orioles.

Andino’s 10th-inning bunt attempt was the second time he was unable to advance runners, and some shoddy defence in the ninth contributed to a delayed — and undefended double steal — as Toronto tied the game on Yunel Escobar’s sacrifice fly.

“I know exactly what should have happened and didn’t happen and it won’t happen again, especially considering the people,” said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter when asked about the wacky bunt play.

The Blue Jays were without manager John Farrell, who is being treated for pneumonia in Toronto and is expected to miss the three-game series. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu ran the team in Farrell’s absence.

Toronto wanted to send Casey Janssen out for the 10th, but the right-hander came up with a tightness in a shoulder muscle, shelving him after a 13-pitch scoreless ninth.

“We’re going to evaluate him, see where he’s at,” said Wakamatsu, adding that he didn’t believe Janssen’s injury was serious.

That put Tallet into an unfamiliar role.

“Yeah, it was a pretty (bad) result, huh?” Tallet said. “It’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes early in the game, early when you get in there and let those guys get on base. Anything can happen and that’s what happened.”

Wieters homered for Baltimore, which has won seven of nine.

The Blue Jays have lost five of six.

“You’ve got to take it as it comes and analyze it and you’ve just got to suck it up and move on to tomorrow,” said Toronto’s Brett Lawrie. “There’s no sense in dwelling on it. You’ve got to come back tomorrow and keep playing.”

Lawrie’s sixth homer staked Toronto to a 3-0 lead in the second. After one-out walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson, the native of Langley, B.C, ripped a 1-2 curveball from Jeremy Guthrie into the left-field stands.

Wieters’ two-run shot cut the lead to a run in the bottom of the inning. Vladimir Guerrero led off with a single and Wieters homered to centre off Brett Cecil, his 15th.

Cecil’s throwing error in the fourth allowed Baltimore to tie the game at 3. Andino doubled with two down and came around on an infield single by Nolan Reimold after Cecil threw wildly past first base.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with none down in the fifth, but squandered the opportunity. Encarnacion bounced into a 1-2-3 double play and Johnson flied out to centre.

“There were several different opportunities to score, to do some things and the bottom line is we put ourselves in a position,” Wakamatsu said. “We talked about not giving up and going to the end.”

Guerrero’s RBI double in the bottom of the fifth put the Orioles ahead, scoring Adam Jones, who had drawn a one-out walk.

Cecil yielded four runs on eight hits over six innings, walking two and striking out four. Guthrie allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out five.

Trying to protect a 4-3 lead in the ninth, Baltimore’s Kevin Gregg instead blew his fifth save in 24 chances. J.P. Arencibia led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Dewayne Wise. Mike McCoy walked on four pitches and, when the Orioles flubbed their wheel-play defence on Escobar’s bunt attempt, both runners moved up on an unconventional double steal, each benefiting from an unprotected base.

Escobar followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly to right.

NOTES: Baltimore snapped an eight-game losing streak in one-run games. … Toronto reliever Jon Rauch completed a 25-pitch simulated game Tuesday afternoon and appears close to rejoining the active roster. Rauch, who underwent an appendectomy August 16, will be re-evaluated Wednesday but is likely to be activated off the disabled list Thursday, according to Wakamatsu. … 1B Chris Davis, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, took 25 swings off a tee and participated in throwing drills at the Orioles complex in Sarasota, Fla., on Tuesday. … Orioles RHP Jason Berken’s wife Emily gave birth to a 5-lb., 12-oz. baby girl, Hadley Lane, on Tuesday afternoon. … In 27 starts this season, Guthrie has yet to win consecutive decisions. … Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez (0-2) faces Baltimore lefty Jo-Jo Reyes (7-10) on Wednesday.