TORONTO - Corey Patterson's day of surprises started when he looked at the batting order and saw he was a designated hitter. The Toronto outfielder hadn't played the position since he joined the Blue Jays, but soon found himself batting second ahead of Jose Bautista on Saturday.

The surprises continued when Patterson reached first base on his first four at-bats, then hit a walk-off home run to give the Blue Jays a 9-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox in a 14-inning slug fest. Patterson's rocket into right field off a pitch by Chicago's Gavin Floyd (5-5) ended a game that lasted over four hours and saw both combine for 29 hits.

"It's just something we all dream about in baseball," said Patterson. "Playing backyard ball, little league, walk-off homer, whatever. It worked out today. Hopefully we keep it going."

Moving Patterson to DH looked like a stroke of genius for Jays manager John Farrell, who said he did it to give Eric Thames experience in the outfield. Yet Patterson, who admitted he isn't a "typical DH," tied a career high with five hits and seemed locked in throughout the game.

"Some weren't the hardest hit balls," he said, "Some squeaked through there you know with the turf and what not, I was able to get a couple infield hits. ... I was just glad to contribute today, help the team win, and like I say come out and do it again tomorrow."

Early on it seemed as though the Bautista would again dominate the highlight reel. He hit his major league-leading 20th homer in the first inning, driving in two and giving Toronto a 3-0 lead in the first. The homer also made Bautista the fastest Blue Jay to reach the benchmark, which he accomplished in just 44 games. The previous record was 53 games set by George Bell in 1987.

But as the innings wore on, less heralded Jays rose to the occasion.

Juan Rivera gave the Blue Jays an 8-6 lead in the seventh with a big at bat. After Chicago's Edwin Jackson gave up six earned runs with seven strikeouts through 6 2/3 innings, White Sox reliever Matt Thornton gave up a single to Patterson and walked Bautista to load the bases with two outs. Chicago pulled Thornton in favour of Toronto native Jesse Crain, who fired nine pitches at Rivera only to hear the crowd roar as he watched the 10th sail over his head.

"He had a huge at-bat for us, Juan did," said Farrell. "With the three run double after a number of foul balls and a key 3-2 swing."

Chicago got one back in the eighth after Brent Lillibridge tripled then scored on a passed ball, but Toronto reliever Octavio Dotel struck out Brent Morel to end the inning. The game looked to be in the books before Chicago's Paul Konerko doubled off closer Frank Francisco to score Alexei Ramirez and eventually send it to extra innings.

In the 11th the Jays turned to seldom used left-hander Luis Perez (1-0), who was making his fifth appearance with the team. The 26-year-old held the line against Chicago, working 3 2/3 innings and allowing just two hits to earn his first-career major league win.

"It feels great," Perez said through a translator. "Everybody in the club put a little piece on (the win) and today I put my little piece to get this job here today. I know (Farrell) knew we were short in the bullpen and he was trying to stretch it as much as he could."

Perez left an impression on his manager, who needed seven Jays pitchers to get through the game.

"Obviously a lot of strikes, a lot of movement to the fastball," said Farrell. "He threw enough change-ups and breaking balls to keep some guys slowed down and not let them just rush out and get the fastball.

"He did an outstanding job. You can say every pitch he throws is with his back against the wall, but just a very good game all the way around."

Toronto's early lead was short lived when Alex Rios doubled and Lillibridge hit his fifth home run of the year in the second inning. Morel scored on a double by Ramirez to tie the game at three, but Toronto's Carlos Villanueva, making his second career start, struck out Adam Dunn to limit the damage.

Aaron Hill's third-inning double drove in Patterson and Bautista to give the Jays a 5-3 advantage, but Jackson struck out Rajai Davis and Thames to end the inning.

Toronto gave back the lead in the fifth inning after Hill earned an error by allowing Juan Pierre's grounder to roll through his legs. It cost the Jays two batters later when Pierre scored an unearned run on Dunn's single, which blew past Villanueva's head. Villanueva then gave up a double to Konerko before A.J. Pierzynski doubled in two runs to give Chicago a 6-5 lead.

That was it for Villanueva, who finished the inning with outs against Rios and Omar Vizquel. The reliever's performance -- five earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and one walk in five innings -- shouldn't put his new role as a starter in doubt. "He's in our rotation now and for the foreseeable future," Farrell said before the game.