Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun, left, forces out the Angels' Casey Kotchman in the second inning of Tuesday's game. (Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

Ace John Lackey pitched seven strong innings and his Los Angeles teammates got to counterpart Dustin McGowan early as the Angels downed the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Tuesday night.

The loss before 31,487 fans at Rogers Centre denied Toronto (23-24) a chance to move back over .500 for the first time in a month following a successful road trip.

Casey Kotchman doubled home Torii Hunter for the go-ahead run in the third inning, and the Angels (27-20) snapped a four-game road losing streak in a ballpark where they have struggled in recent years. Los Angeles, loser of 14 of 16 in Toronto coming in, improved to 19-38 in Toronto since 1996.

"We were fortunate in some spots," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "They hit a couple of balls hard right at guys that we turned double plays on late in the game."

Brad Wilkerson's solo homer leading off the first inning supplied the only run for the Jays, who came in having won six of their last seven following an 0-3 start to their just-completed road swing.

Rios caught looking with game on line

Glorious chances for a dramatic win were wasted in both the eighth and ninth innings. In the eighth, Toronto loaded the bases with none out against reliever Scot Shields but came up empty as Matt Stairs of Fredericton struck out before Shannon Stewart hit into a double play.

An inning later, the Jays loaded the bases with one out against closer Francisco Rodriguez, who retired Aaron Hill and caught Alex Rios looking at a 3-2 fastball to end it for his 18th save.

"I thought he was going to go away for some reason and he didn't. I got caught up on that pitch," said a frustrated Rios, who was ahead 3-0 in the count before letting K-Rod off the hook. "It's been a little rough for me. I know I'm going (to get) through it; it's just a matter of time."

Rios is in a 13-for-79 rut with just two RBIs, three runs and four extra-base hits over that span.

"He's got to stay aggressive, swing his way out of it," said manager John Gibbons. "But he will. He's always hit and this is probably the first time he's struggled like this since he's been here. All you can do is keep working on it.

Angels lose Aybar

Lackey (1-0) picked up his first win in his second start of the year after returning from a strained triceps. The right-hander, who finished as the major-league runner-up with 19 wins last season, allowed seven hits over his seven innings of work while striking out six and walking three.

McGowan (2-4) did a decent job of giving his team a chance, although he had trouble finding the zone early, issuing all three of his unintentional walks during the first two innings. The righty worked 6 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs — two earned — on five hits while striking out four and walking four.

Helped by shortstop Marco Scutaro's error and a double off the left-field wall by Vladimir Guerrero, the Angels loaded the bases in the first and pushed a run across when Garret Anderson hit into a double play to open the scoring.

Kotchman lashed a double down the left-field line to bring home Hunter in the third inning, and Guerrero supplied the insurance run by scoring Gary Matthews — who had tripled to chase McGowan — with a sacrifice fly off Jason Frasor in the seventh.

The Angels lost shortstop Erick Aybar in the first when he dislocated his right pinky while fielding a ground ball. X-rays on Aybar's hand showed he didn't break it, but he will visit a specialist on Wednesday to determine the extent of the damage.

The Angels and Jays continue their three-game series on Wednesday with Toronto's Shaun Marcum (4-2) facing Jon Garland (4-3).

With files from the Canadian Press