Orioles pitching prospect Keegan Akin’s first big league start was a long time coming. So too were the crucial hits in the 11th inning that allowed the Orioles to turn his big day into a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo, New York, to avoid a series sweep and halt their losing streak at five games.

José Iglesias and Bryan Holaday, a pair of veterans on a club that’s getting younger by the day after three trades in the past two days, each had run-scoring doubles in the 11th to give the Orioles (15-19) their first win on this six-game road trip.

“It’s been a tough couple games for us here lately, but I think we’ll be able to bounce back,” Iglesias said.

The Orioles made the final out of the 10th inning at home after Mason Williams tried to score on a fly ball to right field by Anthony Santander, though the Blue Jays’ scoreless 10th might have been more frustrating.

Joe Panik started on second base and was on third with one out when the Orioles pulled left fielder Ryan Mountcastle in as a fifth infielder. It worked, as Cesar Valdez got a pair of ground balls to get out of the inning.

Iglesias and Holaday made all that maneuvering worthwhile, and though Valdez allowed a run in the 11th, Toronto made an out at home of their own when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was thrown out trying to tie the game on a two-out single to right field by Rowdy Tellez.

From his shortstop position, Iglesias ended up cutting the ball off near the right-field line because defensive substitutions had third baseman Rio Ruiz at second base and catcher Holaday at first base and no one was there to make the relay throw.

Iglesias said he was in “no-man’s land,” and had never made a play like that in his decorated defensive career.

“Incredible, instinctive, veteran type of play,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Iggy recognized that we weren’t quite in the right spot and just sprinted over there and made a heck of a catch, whirl, and throw to the plate. Just a great play by a really great defensive player.”

Akin attacks

Akin, who began the season as the Orioles’ No. 9 prospect according to Baseball America, had appeared twice in the bullpen so far and was slated to stay there because manager Brandon Hyde said the team was in “win-now mode” and was opting for other pitchers in the rotation.

One of those pitchers, left-hander Tommy Milone, was traded to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, so the Orioles summoned Akin from the alternate site in Bowie for a long-awaited first start.

Akin responded by cruising through most of the first four innings. He worked around some traffic and long at-bats in a 30-pitch second inning, but got out of it, thanks in part to a nice catch in left field by Mountcastle.

Entering the fifth inning, Akin had already logged six strikeouts and allowed just two hits before catcher Danny Jansen worked an 11-pitch walk and went to third when Panik doubled two pitches later, chasing Akin from the game.

Travis Lakins Sr. got a ground ball to second base that should have been the third out, but Hanser Alberto’s throw sailed over Renato Núñez’s head at first base to allow two unearned runs on Akin’s account.

Akin lowered his ERA to 3.52 and allowed just five Blue Jays to reach base Monday, starting them out with a heavy dose of fastballs then using his changeup and slider as the game progressed to keep them off balance.

“Keegan was fantastic,” Hyde said. “That was excellent. I loved all the early strikes, I loved how aggressive he was with his fastball, really throwing the ball in a ton. Really challenging their hitters. A lot of these guys are guys that he had faced in the minor leagues, and I think he had a pretty good feel for how to attack them, and he did.

“He should have left with no runs allowed against a really good offensive club that’s playing very, very well.”

Familiar production

It hasn’t always looked so simple for the Orioles, but the way they scored their first two runs Monday felt at least a little familiar.

Santander doubled and scored on a single by Iglesias in the first inning, and after his error in the fifth inning, Alberto singled and scored on another Santander doubled in the sixth inning.

Dealin’ Dillon Tate

The Orioles’ in-game trade of Miguel Castro and yesterday’s trade of Mychal Givens means a more prominent role for right-hander Dillon Tate, who followed two combined scoreless innings of relief from Lakins and Tanner Scott with 2 1/3 innings of hitless, scoreless ball with a walk and two strikeouts.