The Toronto Blue Jays staged a wild comeback Wednesday to force extra innings, only to lose on a wild pitch.

Frank Catalanotto scored the winning run on a wild pitch from starter-turned-reliever A.J. Burnett, as the Texas Rangers took the Blue Jays 7-5 in 14 innings at the Rogers Centre.

Aaron Hill makes a diving snag in Wednesday's 7-5 Blue Jays setback.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Burnett (1-1) was the ninth pitcher for Toronto, which depleted the bullpen in the marathon.

He took the mound with two out and runners at the corners, only to uncork a wild pitch that brought Catalanotto scampering home from third base.

"The pitch was nasty," Burnett said. "It is one of those that got through because it broke so much.

"That is the good thing out of tonight — I found my curveball."

Josh Hamilton stroked a run-scoring double for the final run, spoiling a determined comeback by the Blue Jays.

Toronto tied it 5-5 off reliever Joaquin Benoit in the eighth inning, rallying for three runs on a hit, three walks and a throwing error by first baseman Ben Broussard.

"It is frustrating," Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun said. "It is one thing when the other team takes it to you and they beat you.

"But when something as simple as a ball getting between my legs is possibly the difference in the ball game, that is hard to swallow."

Jason Botts homered and drove in three runs as the Rangers (6-9) halted a five-game losing skid.

Catalanotto, who played for Toronto from 2003-06, homered and Hamilton plated two runs.

Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, Marco Scutaro and Joe Inglett had one run batted in apiece for the Blue Jays (8-7), who swept a three-game set from the Rangers last week in Texas.

Problem was, they went 1-15 with runners in scoring position, including 0-7 beyond the eighth inning.

"That is the difference right there," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "The pitchers hung in there, they laid their guts out there."

Toronto starter Jesse Litsch lasted five innings, giving up four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts.

Texas opened the scoring in the top of the third inning as Catalanotto whacked a ground-rule double and scored on Hamilton's RBI single.

Toronto tied it 1-1 in the bottom of the inning as David Eckstein was hit by a pitch, advanced to second base on an infield single from Rios and scooted home on an RBI single by Wells.

Botts put the Rangers ahead 2-1 with a leadoff homer to right field in the fourth, but the Blue Jays responded on a walk to Aaron Hill and an RBI double from Rios. 

In the sixth, Litsch permitted a double to Milton Bradley and a single to Hank Blalock before being relieved by Brian Tallet, who yielded a two-run double to Botts.

After Catalanotto homered to right-centre off reliever Jeremy Accardo to make it 5-2 in the eighth, the Blue Jays lit up Benoit and tied it in the home half.

Frank Thomas walked, Fredericton's Matt Stairs hit a pinch-hit single and Lyle Overbay walked to load the bases for Scutaro, who walked to force in a run and trim it to 5-3.

Inglett then hit a pinch-hit grounder to Broussard, who overthrew shortstop Michael Young at second base as he tried to turn a 3-6-1 double play.

Both Stairs and Overbay scored on Broussard's error, tying it 5-5.

With files from the Canadian Press