TORONTO (Interstat) — Dylan Cease struck out nine over five innings, and the Toronto Blue Jays hit three consecutive home runs in the fifth inning to beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-1 on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays won the three-game series after dropping Friday’s opener and taking Saturday’s middle game. Toronto improved to 75-77. Baltimore fell to 72-81. The game drew 41,805 to Rogers Centre and took 2 hours, 50 minutes. George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto powered the decisive inning, while Cease earned his 11th win of the season.

Cease allowed one earned run on four hits while striking out nine. He improved to 11-5. Trevor Rogers took the loss and fell to 10-11 after six innings in which he allowed four earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Baltimore finished with nine hits. Toronto had 10. The Blue Jays bullpen preserved the lead with scoreless work. Mason Fluharty struck out two in a scoreless inning. Braydon Fisher recorded one out with one strikeout. Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Michael Lorenzen allowed two hits in a scoreless inning but also struck out one. Baltimore’s Cam Sanders allowed one hit in one-third of an inning and struck out one.

The Orioles loaded the bases in the first inning but could not score. Dylan Beavers walked, Pete Alonso singled and Gunnar Henderson walked before Cease struck out Coby Mayo on a challenged pitch that was overturned, then struck out Samuel Basallo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Toronto took the lead in the second. Charles McAdoo singled, and Andres Gimenez doubled on a popup that deflected off third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand and landed in left field, scoring McAdoo. The Blue Jays had another chance in the third when Guerrero doubled and Okamoto walked, but McAdoo struck out to end the inning.

Baltimore answered in the fifth. Dylan Beavers doubled, and Pete Alonso singled him home to tie the game. Gunnar Henderson walked, but Coby Mayo struck out, Samuel Basallo grounded into a force out and Christian Encarnacion-Strand lined out. That set up Toronto’s decisive bottom half. After Myles Straw flew out and Brett Bateman struck out, Springer homered to right-center field. Guerrero followed with a home run to left. Okamoto then homered to left, completing a back-to-back-to-back sequence that turned a tied game into a three-run Toronto lead. Springer’s homer was his 15th of the season. Guerrero’s was his ninth. Okamoto’s was his 32nd. Okamoto also set a franchise rookie RBI record with 85, passing Eric Hinske, who had 84 RBIs in 2002. The sequence was the most important stretch of the game because it broke a 1-1 tie and gave Cease and the bullpen enough support.

Toronto added four runs in the eighth. Nathan Lukes walked, Ernie Clement flew out and Andres Gimenez popped out. Brandon Valenzuela then singled, moving Lukes to third. Myles Straw walked to load the bases. Brett Bateman walked to force in Lukes. Springer then doubled to center field, clearing the bases and scoring Valenzuela, Straw and Bateman. Springer finished 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Guerrero went 4-for-5 with a home run and one RBI. Okamoto was 1-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. McAdoo, Gimenez and Valenzuela also contributed hits in the win.

Baltimore’s best chance after the first came in the sixth. Rece Hinds walked, Dylan Beavers singled and Hinds went to third, but Pete Alonso was called out on strikes to end the threat. The Orioles put two runners on in the ninth when Alonso and Henderson singled, but Yohel Pozo grounded into a double play to end the game. Alonso had multiple hits and drove in Baltimore’s only run. Beavers also reached base multiple times with a double, a single and a walk. Henderson walked three times and singled. Trevor Rogers kept Toronto quiet through four innings before the three-homer fifth. Cam Sanders recorded one out in relief for Baltimore, allowing one hit and striking out one. Toronto’s pitchers combined to hold Baltimore to one run on nine hits. The Blue Jays’ defense turned a game-ending double play from Andres Gimenez to Ernie Clement to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

In the middle innings, Baltimore could not convert its chances. Encarnacion-Strand singled in the fourth, but Jackson Holliday flew out, Leody Taveras struck out and Colton Cowser struck out. In the top of the sixth, Holliday flew out and Taveras struck out before Hinds walked and Beavers singled, but Alonso was called out on strikes. In the top of the seventh, Henderson struck out, Mayo singled, Jeremiah Jackson struck out and Encarnacion-Strand grounded out. Toronto also had quiet innings in the third, fourth and seventh. In the bottom of the third, Guerrero doubled and Okamoto walked, but McAdoo struck out. In the fourth, Clement lined out, Gimenez popped out and Valenzuela struck out. In the bottom of the seventh, Straw popped out, Bateman walked, Springer flew out, Guerrero singled and Okamoto popped out. In the top of the eighth, Holliday grounded out, Taveras singled, Heston Kjerstad grounded out and Beavers was called out on strikes.

The result had wild-card implications. Toronto remained one game behind the final American League wild-card spot. The Blue Jays own the tiebreaker over Cleveland after winning the season series. Baltimore slid three games behind Toronto in the wild-card standings. The Orioles remain a threat along with Texas, but Toronto gained more control over its position. The Blue Jays will host Detroit on Monday. Baltimore will visit the New York Mets on Monday. Toronto and Baltimore will meet again Sept. 21-23 in Baltimore.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Toronto 5, Baltimore 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Toronto with a 57.6 percent probability to win. Toronto had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 9 went under the over/under line of 7.5.