TORONTO -- Andrew Cashner bounced back in a big way for the Orioles on Tuesday night in Toronto, and his timing couldn’t have been better.

With the Orioles’ relievers worn thin and another heavy bullpen day expected on Wednesday behind opener Nate Karns, Cashner turned in six shutout innings by scattering four hits and three walks to set up a 2-1 Baltimore win and improve its record to 4-1.

Cashner pounded his fastball high in the zone while working the edges of the plate, and was clearly feeling good as his four-seam fastball averaged 93.9 mph, which is just above his typical average.

“Any time you can put fastballs at the top of the zone, it’s tough to really get on top of,” Cashner said. “Especially if you can put off-speed down at the bottom of the zone, but I think we’ve been doing a really good job at pitching up in the zone early in the season.”

Cashner got by with a little help from his teammates, who put together a game that was nearly mistake-free. In the second inning, Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen ripped a ground ball back up the middle at 104.3 mph, but Hanser Alberto was positioned well, and made a diving snag before throwing across to Chris Davis at first for the out.

Two innings later, Cashner found himself with runners on the corners and just one out in a scoreless game, but Cashner forced a ground ball from Jansen once again, and the Orioles turned an easy double play behind him.

“We take a lot of pride in our defense, and that’s something we’ve talked about since the first day,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “Our goal is to catch the ball behind the pitcher and to not give up extra outs, to limit damage and be fundamentally sound defensively. As you see, when you do that, you’re in games and you give yourself a chance to win.”

Hyde knows that the Orioles will need to take advantage of their opponents’ mistakes along the way this season. That started in Monday’s series opener, when they allowed Blue Jays starter Sean Reid-Foley to do some self-inflicted damage early in the game. On Tuesday night, that meant bending, but not breaking when they gave the Blue Jays a chance.

“That’s why we preach defense so much,” Hyde said. “It’s hard to keep a team down when you’re making defensive mistakes, rolling the lineup over more; allowing extra time for your pitching staff and bullpen because there’s extra outs and you made extra pitches.”

Cashner’s final challenge of his start came in the bottom of the sixth, after loading the bases on two singles and a walk. But after a quick mound visit, he forced Rowdy Tellez to fly out to left field to end the threat.

“For him to compose himself and make a pitch to get out of the inning -- after 88 pitches at that point -- was huge,” Hyde said. “After having a tough first start, coming back and doing this today, shows his character.”