Baltimore 12, Toronto 0

Orioles 12, Blue Jays 0: Zach Britton tossed seven scoreless innings and Mark Reynolds drilled a three-run homer as visiting Baltimore moved into a first-place tie with the New York Yankees atop the American League East.

Britton (5-1) kept the Blue Jays off balance all night long, scattering four hits while striking out eight. The sophomore left-hander is 4-0 with a 0.94 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his last four starts.

The victory, combined with New York's 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay, propelled Baltimore into a share of first in the East. Baltimore also retained its 1 1/2-game lead over the Rays in the AL wild-card race.

Reynolds provided all the offense Britton would need, breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a drive off right-hander Carlos Villanueva (7-5) that just cleared the left-field fence. It was the fifth home run in four games for Reynolds, who has 11 RBIs in that span.

Baltimore extended the lead in the sixth on a Nate McLouth RBI sacrifice fly and broke it open with three runs in the seventh, capped by a J.J. Hardy run-scoring single. The Orioles tacked on five more in the eighth, highlighted by Reynolds' RBI single.

Villanueva was charged with six runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings while losing for the fifth time in his last seven starts.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Chris Davis went 3-for-4 and scored three times for the Orioles, who had every starter record at least one hit. ... The grounds crew had to patch up the mound during a sixth-inning break after the skies opened up and the Rogers Centre roof stalled in the midst of closing. One inning later, a fire alarm went off. The game continued without incident. ... Hardy went 1-for-3 with Villanueva on the mound and has a .533 career average (8-for-15) against him. ... Toronto rookie 3B Adeiny Hechavarria has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.

• Toronto will play their next game at home against Baltimore. The Blue Jays have a W/L % of .541 after a win and .365 after a loss.
• Baltimore will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Orioles have a W/L % of .573 after a win and .550 after a loss.