Toronto's Jose Bautista hit a triple to deep centre to score two runs in the first inning. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

The Blue Jays almost gave up another lead in the ninth inning, but still managed to nab a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday in Toronto.

The story

For the second straight game, Detroit made life difficult in the ninth inning for the Blue Jays.

Toronto reliever Scott Downs entered the fray with what seemed a safe 5-1 lead, but it didn't look that way after he loaded the bases and then gave up a run on a fielder's choice.

Downs was pulled for Kevin Gregg, who blew a save in the ninth inning against the Tigers on Friday before Toronto pulled out the win in the 11th. He only needed one out this time around, but nearly let it slip away, giving up a two-run double to pinch-hitter Casper Wells to put the winning run at the plate.

But Gregg then struck out Ramon Santiago for his 30th save of the season.

The close win almost spoiled a solid performance by starter Brandon Morrow (10-6) and Toronto's bats, who didn't have a home run Saturday but still managed to drive in five. Morrow's nine strikeouts didn't hurt, either.

Toronto jumped on Detroit starter Alfredo Figaro (0-1) early, as home run leader Jose Bautista spurred a three-run first inning with a two-run triple. Travis Snider also did some damage for Toronto at the plate, hitting two doubles and driving in a run.

Detroit's Wells went 2-for-2 and drove in a couple of runs as a pinch-hitter. RBI leader Miguel Cabrera hit a towering homer in the top of the second to give the Tigers' their first run of the game.

What it means

Toronto improved its record to 68-61, while the Tigers are two games below .500 at 64-66. The Jays are now 4-3 against Detroit this season, and have earned at least a split in the four-game set heading into the finale on Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET).

The line

Blue Jays

• Morrow (SP): 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K
• Bautista (RF): 2-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 3B, 1 BB
• Snider (LF): 3-4, 1 RBI, 2 2B

Tigers

• Figaro (SP): 5 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 1 K
• Cabrera (1B): 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
• Wells (PH-LF): 2-2, 2 RBI, 1 2B

The big swing

It wasn't a homer, but Bautista showed he didn't need to hit one out of the park to drive in runs, slamming a triple into deep centre field to put Toronto up 2-0 in the opening inning, getting the Jays off and running. Bautista, who leads the majors with 42 homers, almost had his second triple of the game in the seventh but was thrown out by Detroit's Santiago.

The big pitch

Toronto came into the ninth with a four-run lead. It shrunk to one after a fielder's choice and a double made the score 5-4. With the tying run on second and the count at 1-2, Gregg got Santiago to swing at a slider for strike three, ending the game and causing 27,119 people at the Rogers Centre to exhale in relief.

The number

• 99

Number of RBIs the hard-hitting Bautista has this season. The amount is good for second in the majors behind Cabrera, as both added to their total on Saturday.

Blue Jays' perspective

"You just feel comfortable out there [at the Rogers Centre]. I didn't feel real comfortable in Minnesota, say. I don't know why, it's just the way everything looks." — Starting pitcher Brandon Morrow, who is 8-1 this season in Toronto, his only loss coming back on April 14.

Tigers' perspective

"[Morrow] has almost like a rising, riding fastball. The way he turns, he hides it well, so it looks a lot harder than it is. Then he's got a slider that looks exactly like his fastball, so it's good deception. It makes him very tough. I've faced No. 1 starters on certain teams that weren't as good as him." — Third-baseman Brandon Inge.

With files from The Associated Press