TORONTO -- Raul Ibanez hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning to propel the Angels to a 4-3 series-opening victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Friday.Erick Aybar hit a leadoff triple to start the ninth, his third extra-base hit of the game, and Mike Trout reached on an error to put two on with none out. The Blue Jays intentionally walked Albert Pujols for the second time of the game to get to Ibanez, and the veteran came through.Ibanez's sac fly allowed Aybar to score from third without a throw and give the Halos a 4-3 lead.Ernesto Frieri worked the ninth and recorded his fourth save to preserve the Angels' win. 
The ninth-inning rally was only necessary after reliever Joe Smith surrendered a homer to Jose Reyes -- his third blast of the year -- in the eighth to make it a 3-3 game. Los Angeles had taken a 3-2 lead in the seventh after Steve Delabar walked Howie Kendrick on four straight pitches with the bases loaded.The Angels snapped Toronto's season-high five-game winning streak in front of a crowd of 21,383.The Blue Jays were the first to get on the board and took a 1-0 lead in the first after Angels starter Garrett Richards threw his second wild pitch of the game, which allowed Reyes to score from third. Reyes, who began the frame with a leadoff single, moved to third on Richards' first wild pitch of the contest.Los Angeles didn't wait long to respond, however, tying the game at 1 on an RBI single from Collin Cowgill, which scored Efren Navarro from second. Navarro, who was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake prior to the game, doubled in his first two at-bats.Mike Trout then gave the Angels the lead the following inning. Trout crushed a 1-0 offering from Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan to dead center field for his seventh homer to put the Angels in front, 2-1.Richards' wildness allowed Toronto to tie the game back up in the bottom half of the frame. The right-hander threw his third wild pitch of the contest -- giving him a Major League-leading seven on the season -- which enabled Melky Cabrera to score from third.After that, Richards settled in nicely and threw seven innings of two-run ball. He walked two and struck out six, and he remains unbeaten in seven starts.McGowan lasted five innings, allowed two runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out a pair. He labored through most of the contest, but the Angels were largely unable to capitalize against him.Los Angeles, which improved to 3-8 in one-run games, has won eight of its last nine games against the Blue Jays.Chris Toman / Special to MLB.com
The ninth-inning rally was only necessary after reliever Joe Smith surrendered a homer to Jose Reyes -- his third blast of the year -- in the eighth to make it a 3-3 game. Los Angeles had taken a 3-2 lead in the seventh after Steve Delabar walked Howie Kendrick on four straight pitches with the bases loaded.The Angels snapped Toronto's season-high five-game winning streak in front of a crowd of 21,383.The Blue Jays were the first to get on the board and took a 1-0 lead in the first after Angels starter Garrett Richards threw his second wild pitch of the game, which allowed Reyes to score from third. Reyes, who began the frame with a leadoff single, moved to third on Richards' first wild pitch of the contest.Los Angeles didn't wait long to respond, however, tying the game at 1 on an RBI single from Collin Cowgill, which scored Efren Navarro from second. Navarro, who was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake prior to the game, doubled in his first two at-bats.Mike Trout then gave the Angels the lead the following inning. Trout crushed a 1-0 offering from Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan to dead center field for his seventh homer to put the Angels in front, 2-1.Richards' wildness allowed Toronto to tie the game back up in the bottom half of the frame. The right-hander threw his third wild pitch of the contest -- giving him a Major League-leading seven on the season -- which enabled Melky Cabrera to score from third.After that, Richards settled in nicely and threw seven innings of two-run ball. He walked two and struck out six, and he remains unbeaten in seven starts.McGowan lasted five innings, allowed two runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out a pair. He labored through most of the contest, but the Angels were largely unable to capitalize against him.Los Angeles, which improved to 3-8 in one-run games, has won eight of its last nine games against the Blue Jays.Chris Toman / Special to MLB.com
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