Showalter speaks after 5-3 10-inning win

The Orioles and Blue Jays waited 29 minutes to begin tonight's game, with the threat of rain keeping the tarp on the field. They were interrupted for 58 minutes after the top of the 10th inning because of a heavy storm that swept through Camden Yards.

Welington Castillo wasn't taking any chances on hail or another weather-related disruption. He let the game carry through four more batters and sent everyone home.

Castillo launched a two-run homer off Jason Grilli with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Orioles a 5-3 win over the Blue Jays before whatever remained of the announced crowd of 31,916 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles improve to 24-16 and are a half-game behind the Yankees in the American League East. Their last 10 games have been decided by two runs or fewer.

Castillo didn't have a walk-off home run before tonight. He's produced four straight three-hit games, the last three since coming off the disabled list, and he's batting .365.

Tonight also marked his fourth career multi-homer game. His two-run shot in the sixth tied the score 3-3.

"Welington's had a good track record of being a good offensive catcher and he's done a good job for us defensively, obviously," said manager Buck Showalter. "It was big. It's funny, I looked up there and it doesn't feel like he had one home run coming into the game. He's a real tough-minded guy. He's got a certain mental toughness about him. As you're around him, you really have an appreciation for it."

Castillo's home run in the sixth inning was his second of the season and his first at Camden Yards, and it came after Mark Trumbo led off with a single. Trumbo had a bloop single with two outs in the 10th before Castillo's walk-off.

Grilli got called third strikes on Manny Machado and Chris Davis before Trumbo's single.

Chris Tillman turned in a quality start in his third outing since coming off the disabled list. He allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, with two walks, four strikeouts, a wild pitch and a hit batter. Showalter replaced him with Darren O'Day after 91 pitches, including 51 for strikes.

Tillman threw 93 and 105 pitches in his first two starts, but Showalter cut him off after 91 tonight.

"I thought his stuff ticked up," Showalter said. "A little better command of the curveball. I thought he had a little more crispness to his fastball. He did what he need to do. Got us through six innings, gave us a chance to win. That part of the order coming up through there. And having Darren (O'Day) and Brad (Brach) and (Alec) Asher all rested. But he presented himself well. It was a step forward."

O'Day loaded the bases in the seventh on a single and two walks - he also committed a throwing error on a pickoff attempt - but he struck out Justin Smoak to end the inning. The ball actually hit Smoak, who originally was awarded first base on what appeared to be a strikeout and passed ball, but the Orioles won another challenge.

Asher tossed a scoreless eighth, wiping out a leadoff single by starting a 1-6-4 double play on a bunt back to the mound. The single came on a ball that slammed into his left foot and popped into the air. It didn't impact his fielding.

Brach retired the Jays in order in the ninth, with two called third strikes. He had been scored upon in his last three outings, allowing five runs total, and four of five. And Mychal Givens earned the win with a scoreless 10th.

"Darren put a zero up there," Showalter said. "That's a tough part of the order. We knew that. Part of the reason he came in. He managed the inning. Got a big strikeout there to end the inning. I thought Mychal, it was good to see him get back out there. Brad was about as crisp as I've seen him all year. (Asher) very quietly gave us a good inning."

Asher has been used in a variety of roles - spot starter, long man, late-inning reliever.

"He ain't scared," Showalter said. "He's a competitive guy, and he's got a real good delivery that allows him to be pretty consistent. That's one thing that when we were looking at him. Actually his velocity ticked up a little bit out of the bullpen here lately, which sometimes you see.

"Still think he's got a chance to be a quality starter in the big leagues, too. Like his make-up. He's going to compete. He's not going to wilt from the competition."

Tillman was in a nice early groove, retiring nine of the first 10 batters. José Bautista punched a single into right field with one out in the first inning, but Hyun Soo Kim ran down Kendrys Morales' fly ball in left-center field and Tillman set down eight in a row. His pitch count was 41 through the third.

The rotation's nasty habit of giving up leads surfaced again in the fourth.

Bautista let a curveball graze his jersey leading off the inning, no attempt made to avoid it, and four straight batters reached to open the inning.

Morales walked, Smoak had an RBI single and Devon Travis followed with a run-scoring double off the out-of-town scoreboard in right field.

A third run scored on Ryan Goins' ground ball, but the Jays did Tillman a favor by botching a suicide squeeze with Darwin Barney at the plate. Travis broke for home and was caught stealing 2-5-3.

Barney's fly ball to end the inning should have been a sacrifice fly, if you believe everything would have played out the same.

The Orioles went station-to-station while taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Three singles and a hit batter produced only one run.

Trumbo led off with a single, Trey Mancini was hit by an Aaron Sanchez pitch with one out, Kim singled to load the bases and J.J. Hardy singled to center field to score Trumbo.

Bases still loaded, one out and nothing else to show for it. Schoop grounded into a force at home - a double play call was challenged and reversed - and Adam Jones popped up.

Schoop, leading off for only the second time in his major league career, walked in the first and fifth innings. His last two-walk game was Sept. 11, 2015.

The Orioles went 1-6 on the road trip, the only win coming in 13 innings in Detroit. They were tested again tonight and improved to 7-1 in extras.

"It is an endurance game," Showalter said. "I thought about this walking around the locker room during the rain delay. It's what we do. If you want that prize at the end of the season, these are the types of things you go through. Sometimes it works out. You grind through these things. I think these types of situations, I always think we're in good shape. Not necessarily an advantage. Other people have it, too. That's why they play at this level."

Showalter said Seth Smith was available late in the game. His vision must be improving.

He had to like what he saw tonight.

"Seth and I talked before the game and I just didn't want him to start the game and have some issues and have to come out," Showalter said. "I'd rather be able to have him as a bullet there to use late if he felt OK.

"Seth was available late. He went and hit and said he felt that he wouldn't have any repercussions. I think he will be available to us. Hopefully, everything manages well overnight."