Cahill key as A's get by Jays By Sports Network

Toronto Blue Jays Ricky Romero pitches during 1st inning action against Oakland Athletics at the Rogers Centre on Toronto on Thursday April 7, 2011. (ERNEST DOROSZUK/QMI AGENCY)

TORONTO -- Trevor Cahill outdueled Ricky Romero, throwing eight sparkling innings to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The A's rallied for their two runs in the eighth inning, chasing Romero from the game, and Brian Fuentes worked around a two-out single in the ninth to get the save.

An All-Star last season, Cahill (1-0) allowed just one run on three hits, striking out seven batters without a walk.

Seven Oakland players had one hit apiece, including Conor Jackson's go-ahead RBI single in the eighth, as the A's salvaged the three-game set after losing the first two, moving to 2-4 on the season.

Romero (1-1) was a hard-luck loser, yielding just one run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out five. Jayson Nix had an RBI single in the loss, which dropped the Blue Jays to 4-2.

It was a scoreless game until the bottom of the sixth, when J.P. Arencibia led off with a double and came home on Nix's two-out single into right field to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.

Romero retired the A's in order in the seventh, but he was pulled after Andy LaRoche doubled leading off the eighth and moved to third on Cliff Pennington's bunt.

Jason Frasor struck out a swinging Coco Crisp, but the ball bounced in the dirt and got past the catcher Arencibia, scoring LaRoche on a wild pitch to tie the game.

Crisp raced to first base, then stole second and third and came home on Jackson's single to left.

Cahill threw 68 of his 105 pitches for strike in the game and got three straight ground outs in the bottom of the eighth. Adam Lind singled for Toronto in the ninth, but Fuentes retired Aaron Hill on a fly ball to end the game and record his first save.

Game Notes

The Blue Jays had just four hits, leaving three runners on base...Oakland stranded seven runners...Romero threw 59 of his 93 pitches for strikes...The A's are headed to Minnesota for a three-game series against the Twins, while the Blue Jays will travel to Anaheim to play the Angels this weekend.