TORONTO - Jose Bautista got some help in padding his major league leading home run total.

Bautista hit two more homers, giving him a league-high 18 on the season, and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Houston Astros 7-5 on Saturday.

The Blue Jays outfielder jumped on an 0-1 curveball from Brett Myers (1-4) in the sixth for a three-run homer that cut Houston's lead to 4-3.

"I couldn't really pick up his fastball too well so I was being late," Bautista said. "He actually helped me out by throwing a breaking ball. I picked it up a little better and connected."

Myers allowed eight hits and six runs, five earned, in 6 2/3 innings.

"I hadn't thrown Bautista a breaking ball all day and it so happens he's sitting on it right there," said Myers.

It was the first of two homers for Bautista who blasted one off Jose Valdez in the eighth, as the Blue Jays drew even in the three-game interleague series with the rubber match Sunday.

Yunel Escobar hit a two-run homer that ended a 4-4 tie with two out in the seventh but it was his ground ball the inning before that changed the game.

Escobar's grounder, which should have been an easy double play, skipped between the legs of shortstop Clint Barmes for a rally-sustaining error.

Despite the botched routine play, Astros manager Brad Mills says he hasn't lost confidence in Barmes.

"If I had to do it over again and choose who you wanted them to hit the ball to, it would be Clint. I'll take it again tomorrow and forever. He always makes that play."

The comeback took Toronto starter Brandon Morrow off the hook for the loss after he allowed nine hits and four earned runs in six innings.

After Morrow gave up a leadoff to Angel Sanchez and a single to Hunter Pence, Casey Janssen (1-0) replaced him and struck out Carlos Lee and got a double play grounder to Brett Wallace to end the inning and put himself in position to earn the win.

"I felt pretty good," Morrow said. "They were just slapping the ball around the place. I couldn't get them to hit it at somebody. I got a little unlucky in the first. Where I get angry with myself is the leadoff walk in the seventh."

And the Blue Jays (23-22) did it for him with three runs in the seventh. Recent call-up Eric Thames started it with one out on a ground-rule double to left-centre.

"I had it," left-fielder Brian Bogusevic said. "At the last second I froze up. I caught a glimpse of (centre-fielder Michael Bourn) as he was backing me up. I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye and I froze on it. I should have caught it. There was no shadow or anything. I should have had it."

Jose Molina singled with two out to tie the game and Escobar put Toronto ahead with his fourth homer of the season.

"He's definitely got the power," Bautista said. "When he can do it at the right moment like today when we needed it it's huge. He's a great hitter and he's doing a great job for us."

Jon Rauch started the ninth but allowed a one-out single by Bourn and a run-scoring double by Sanchez. He was replaced by Octavio Dotel who picked up his first save by striking out Pence and retiring Lee on a grounder to third.

The Astros (16-30) scored twice in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by former Blue Jays prospect Wallace and a single by Chris Johnson who won Friday's game with a two-run homer in the ninth and had three RBIs on Sunday.

Morrow walked leadoff hitter Bourn, struck out Sanchez and gave up a single to right by Pence.

Pence was safe at second on Lee's grounder to third to load the bases, a play on which Farrell argued was interference. Wallace scored one run with a fly out to left and Johnson singled to right to score Pence. Bautista threw out Lee at third on the play to end the inning.

"I was glad that I picked up on him going to third," Bautista said, "because my instinct was possibly going home because I know there was a guy on second. But once I saw the weird bounce that the ball took I decided to go to third.

"The feeling is great and I would compare it pretty close to hitting the home run."

The Astros scored a third-inning run with three two-out hits -- a double by Lee and singles by Wallace and Johnson.

Johnson made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. It scored Lee who singled, stole second and took third on Wallace's single. It looked promising for Houston at that point.

But as Barmes said, "We've made mistakes a lot of times this year that have hurt us and I made a really big one today. It's pretty frustrating, that's for sure, especially with what our records reads and how it's gone this year."