And the Toronto Blue Jays' 28th save of the season goes to … Kevin Gregg? Incorrect. Jason Frasor? Nice try.

David Purcey? Bingo.

The sometimes starter, somewhat forgotten member of the team's bullpen closed out the first game of his young major league career on a night the 28-year-old was needed the most.

With the visiting Baltimore Orioles threatening to erase an 8-0 deficit in Monday's eighth inning, the six-foot-four Purcey appeared from a quiet Blue Jays bullpen — depleted by Sunday's doubleheader at Detroit — and saved fellow relief pitcher Casey Janssen's bacon by getting Miguel Tejada to fly out.

The 240-pound left-hander stayed in the game and induced a pair of groundouts in the ninth before striking out Adam Jones swinging to cement a 9-5 win, Toronto's 51st in 100 outings this season.

"He's a big strong kid," said Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, whose charges are looking for their 11th straight win against the Orioles this season on Tuesday at 7:07 p.m. ET. "We were tight on pitchers [tonight] and he's done a great job for us. I still get a little excited because I want to see him pitch."

Purcey lowered his season earned-run average to 1.74 with Monday's performance, tops among all Blue Jays hurlers.

Game ball

For his efforts, the St. Charles, Ill., native was presented with the game ball.

"I didn't even know what was happening," said Purcey, who was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on May 24. "I thought once we had scored the [ninth] run [in the bottom of the eighth] it wasn't a save."

Making his first appearance in five games, Purcey hasn't allowed an earned run in seven consecutive contests and has no-hit the opposition over the past three, covering 2 2/3 innings.

But the most telling statistics of Purcey's success in 2010 is his walk total of eight through 20 2/3 innings pitched and .176 batting average against. A year ago, the southpaw sported a 6.19 ERA in nine starts after he walked 30 batters in 48 innings and the opposition hit at a .287 clip.

With a bevy of starters at 2010 spring training, the Blue Jays cut Purcey's scheduled innings and gave him a look out of the bullpen. He quickly showed pitching coach Bruce Walton and Gaston he could be a weapon as a reliever, striking out three Philadelphia Phillies in two innings of a B-squad game.

"You can't ignore the fact that he struck out three left-handed batters in a short period of time," Walton said at the time, "which really could help your ball club late in the game."

'My ideal goal is to be in the big leagues and help the team in any aspect I can.'— Blue Jays starter-turned relief pitcher David Purcey

Purcey had always worked as a starter, save for a stint as a closer in his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma.

New approach

But a new approach to simplify his workload by throwing primarily fastballs and sliders helped Purcey, who owns a 4-9 record and 5.81 ERA over 21 starts with Toronto.

"I'm just focusing on two things," said Purcey of the two-pitch approach. "It's really narrowed my focus."

Purcey, who also boasts a changeup and curveball in his repertoire, accepted his new role and hasn't looked back since being recalled from Las Vegas to take the roster spot of Dana Eveland, whom the Jays designated for assignment in May.

"My ideal goal is to be in the big leagues and help the team in any aspect I can," said Purcey, who could have more save chances in the near future if Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos deals one or more of Scott Downs, Gregg and Frasor before Saturday's non-waiver trade deadline.

On Tuesday, Ricky Romero will be in search of his eighth victory of 2010. He was dealt a 5-2 loss at Detroit in his last start despite limiting the Tigers to three runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings.

Backing the lefty will be an offence that tops all of baseball with 152 homers, including a major league-high 37 in July. Jose Bautista belted his 28th of the season on Monday while Adam Lind and Aaron Hill also went deep.

That's bad news if you're veteran Orioles right-hander Kevin Millwood (2-9, 5.84). He has yielded at least two first-inning runs in nine of his last 10 starts and is 2-6 with a 4.91 ERA in 11 career starts versus Toronto.