OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Esteban Loaiza is putting his new pitch
to good use.

Loaiza, throwing a cut fastball he learned about a month ago,
allowed one run in 7 1-3 innings to win on the road for the first
time in six starts, leading the Toronto Blue Jays over the Oakland Athletics 2-1 on Monday night.

"He started working on it with (pitching coach Gil Patterson)
and it's helped him out,'' Toronto manager Carlos Tosca said.
"It's taken some time for him to have the confidence to use it in
a game.''

The Blue Jays beat Oakland for the fifth straight time and sixth
in seven overall this season. The A's fell 2½ games behind Anaheim
in the AL wild card race.

Loaiza (5-6) last won on the road May 31 at Detroit. He allowed
just seven hits while striking out three and walking two.

"I'm just trying to throw like I'm capable,'' Loaiza said. "I
have to give it up to the defense. That's the most great plays I've
seen in one game. It's like telling me they want me to win and they
want to be here. They were really playing hard.''

Dave Berg slid into the Blue Jays dugout to catch Miguel
Tejada's popup in the sixth, and right fielder DeWayne Wise threw
out Eric Chavez at second trying to stretch a hit off the wall in
the fourth into a double.

"His accuracy continues to amaze me,'' Tosca said of Wise. "He
has the ability to get the ball off the wall with something on it.
That's quite a find. You have to cover a lot of ground here.''

Loaiza has allowed just one run in 16 2-3 innings against the
A's in two starts. He threw his only shutout of the season against
Oakland on May 19. Last year Oakland pounded the right-hander for
14 runs on 19 hits in 10 2-3 innings.

"Every year is different,'' Loaiza said. "I've faced a lot of
these guys before and you learn a lot just by watching the game.''

Kelvim Escobar allowed a leadoff triple to Terrence Long in
ninth before finishing for his 24th save in 30 opportunities.

Aaron Harang (4-3) gave up two runs on five hits over seven
innings. He walked one and struck out one. It was his first loss in
nine starts since June 15.

"He just made one mistake and that was the difference,'' A's
manager Art Howe said. "Those guys are pretty darn good when they
play us.''

Josh Phelps hit his fourth home run to put the Blue Jays up 2-1
in the fifth. Chris Woodward singled to open the inning and one out
later Phelps, who was leading the International League in home runs
(24) at the time of his call up on July 2, connected on a 1-2
pitch.

"They have a young, aggressive team and they came out
swinging,'' Harang said.

Jermaine Dye's 13th homer of the season with one out in the
second gave the A's a 1-0 lead. Dye, who began the season on the
disabled list with a fractured left tibia, has seven homers in 29
games since the All-Star break after hitting just six in 61 games
before. He played in his first game on April 26.

Besides Dye, Loaiza allowed just one runner past second base.

Game notes
The Blue Jays went a season-high four games without
homering until Phelps connected. ... A's 2B Mark Ellis is hitless
in his last 12 at-bats leading off a game. ... Toronto OF DeWayne
Wise snapped an 0-for-12 streak with his third-inning single. ...
Blue Jays OF Jose Cruz, Jr. sat out his third straight game with a
twisted left ankle. ... A's SS Miguel Tejada helped keep the
Oakland close when he started a double play with a backhanded grab
in the sixth. ... The A's are batting an AL-worst .201 (95-for-473)
with runners in scoring position and two outs after going 0-for-5
Monday.