Luis Hernandez picked the perfect moment to hit his first major-league home run.

Hernandez belted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5 in front of 15,817 fans at Camden Yards on Thursday night.

Rookie Luis Hernandez homers in Thursday's 8-5 Orioles triumph.
(Gail Burton/Associated Press)

The decisive homer was the rookie's first in the majors, and the first homer given up by Blue Jays reliever Brian Tallet this season.

"I just tried to hit the ball hard so he can score from second, and I hit the ball very good," Hernandez said. "But I never thought it would go that far."

"It was good for him and good for the team," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "It was a big hit in the game.

"It changed the momentum back in our favour. It was nice to get something favourable to look at."

Jay Payton had three hits, including a two-run homer, and three runs batted in as the Orioles (68-91) earned their fourth win in 11 outings.

Rookie J.R. House capped the scoring with his second major-league homer.

Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora and Paul Bako provided the other RBIs.

Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie pitched five innings, but remains winless in nine starts (0-2 with seven no-decisions) since defeating the New York Yankees 4-2 on July 27.

Coming off a strained rib muscle, he was told by Trembley that he would be limited to about 75 pitches — he finished with 80.

"It was very satisfying to be out there," Guthrie said. "It was just nice to end the season pitching healthy versus having to walk off the field with an injury."
 
Jim Hoey (3-4) earned the win in relief of Guthrie, who permitted three runs and six hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Closer Jamie Walker recorded the final six outs for his seventh save in 13 opportunities.

Griffin paces Toronto attack

Rookie John-Ford Griffin had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored for the Blue Jays (81-78), who lost for the first time in four games and fourth in 10. 

Ray Olmedo and rookie Curtis Thigpen also plated runs in a losing cause.

Aaron Hill extended his hitting streak to 13 games, tying a career high.

"We were down early, but battled back, then coughed it up," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

Toronto starter Josh Banks lasted into the sixth inning for Toronto in his first major-league start.

Banks, a 25-year-old Baltimore native, yielded five runs on nine hits with one strikeout over 5 1/3 innings.  

The rookie right-hander, who threw two innings in relief earlier this season, left with a 5-4 lead, but Tallet (2-4) couldn't hold it.

"First start, it was all right," Banks said. "I left a couple balls up.

"But all I can do is build off of it. Hopefully, I'll get another chance to start down the road."

"He is a very composed kid," Gibbons said. "He can throw strikes, he just has to learn the hitters a little bit.

"He had a nice, solid year down at triple-A for a team that wasn't very good. But he handled himself very well out there."

Toronto took 10 of 18 meetings from Baltimore this season.

With files from the Canadian Press