Baltimore ? First, Russ Adams failed to execute a suicide squeeze. Then, hoping merely to avoid hitting into a double play, he tapped a 15-foot roller that produced the only run Josh Towers needed in his finest pitching performance in the major leagues.

Towers allowed three hits over eight innings, and Adams’ eighth-inning RBI gave the surging Toronto Blue Jays a 1-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

Towers (3-1) walked one, struck out two and did not permit a runner past first base in improving to 4-2 against his former team.

“I don’t think I’ve thrown a better game than that,” Towers said. “It’s just sweet doing it against Baltimore because they’re the best hitting team in baseball.”

Miguel Batista worked a perfect ninth to earn his eighth save.

The game’s first scoring threat came in the Toronto eighth, when Eric Hinske drew a leadoff walk and Gregg Zaun followed by drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Alex Rios followed with a slow grounder to short that resulted in a putout at second base, leaving runners at the corners.

Adams then fouled off a pitch on a suicide squeeze before taking a protective swing at a 2-2 pitch, pushing a dribbler down the first-base line. By the time Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera reached the ball, he was too late to nail Hinske at home and was unable to throw out Adams at first base.

“I was just trying to battle, just trying to get something in play and stay out of the double play,” Adams said.

“He crushed it, didn’t he?” Towers said with a grin. “In the box score, it looks like a line drive to the gap.”

It proved to be enough to give the Blue Jays their seventh win in eight games, leaving them two games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East.

Toronto's Josh Towers delivers against Baltimore. Towers allowed three hits in eight innings, and the Blue Jays blanked the Orioles, 1-0, Tuesday night in Baltimore.

Towers threw only 92 pitches in his longest outing of the season.

“Location is the most important thing,” he said. “If I throw the ball where I want to — on the corners — and keep it out of the middle of the plate, I’m going to have some success.”

Pitching on 10 days rest after a rainout in Boston washed out his previous scheduled start, Cabrera (1-2) gave up one run and four hits in eight innings. He walked four and had a career-high eight strikeouts.

“He gave us everything. He pitched a great game,” Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli said. “He pitched good enough to win.”

Not on this night, however, because Towers even was better.

“He was spotting the ball really well, keeping the ball down,” Baltimore’s Javy Lopez said. “He moved the ball almost every pitch. That’s what made him successful tonight.”

The Orioles have lost two in a row to Toronto, managing only two runs in 21 innings after scoring 62 runs during an eight-game winning streak. Baltimore has just three hits in its last 15 innings, all of them singles.

“You have to expect something like that. This game has its ups and downs,” Lopez said.

Angels 5, Mariners 2

Seattle — John Lackey struck out nine, 40-year-old Steve Finley hit a two-run homer, and Los Angeles won its season-high third straight game. Los Angeles shut out Seattle, 5-0, on Monday night, and Angels pitchers have allowed only three runs in their last 31 innings.

Lackey (3-1) won consecutive starts for the first time this season, pitching 62/3 innings and allowing one run on six hits, a walk and a wild pitch. The nine strikeouts were one shy of his career high.

Indians 4, Twins 2

Minneapolis — Jake Westbrook won for the first time this season as the Indians beat Minnesota. Though Westbrook (1-5) had thrown eight innings in three of his first five starts, he brought a 6.35 earned-run average into this one. Allowing eight hits, one walk and two runs in six innings, he lowered his ERA to 5.77.

Bob Wickman pitched the ninth for his sixth save in eight tries.

Travis Hafner and Casey Blake each homered for the Indians, who carried a major-league-worst .225 team batting average into the game. This was only the fourth time all season they had 10 hits or more in a nine-inning game. Still, they left 12 men on base — including eight between the second and the fifth.

Devil Rays 11, Yankees 4

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Tampa Bay batted around on Kevin Brown in the first inning, scoring six runs. Nick Green had a two-run single, and Travis Phelps and Aubrey Huff also drove in two runs apiece against Brown (0-4), who allowed eight runs and matched a career-high by yielding 13 hits in five innings.

Rangers 6, Athletics 1

Oakland, Calif. — Alfonso Soriano and Rod Barajas each drove in two runs, and Chris Young pitched 52/3 scoreless innings to lead Texas over Oakland.

The Rangers, who beat the A’s for the second straight day and the eighth time in 11 meetings, will attempt to complete their first series sweep of the season today.

Red Sox 5, Tigers 3

Detroit — Doug Mirabelli hit his third career grand slam, and John Halama limited Detroit to two runs and four hits in five innings in his first start of the season to help Boston beat the Tigers.

Halama (1-0) won for the first time since October when he beat the Tigers while pitching for Tampa Bay.