"The home debut of Toronto Blue Jays rookie third baseman Brett Lawrie was the pregame storyline Tuesday at the Rogers Centre.

As it turned out, another Canadian stole the show.

A's right-hander Rich Harden was dominant over seven innings as Oakland won its third straight with a 4-1 victory before a crowd of 20,521.

Harden came in 0-3 with a 5.74 ERA in eight previous starts against the Blue Jays, the only American League team besides Baltimore he had yet to beat.

He allowed just five hits, struck out eight and walked two.

"Stuff-wise, it was maybe the best he's pitched," A's manager Bob Melvin said.

Harden's performance upstaged Lawrie, 21, a fellow British Columbia native who was 5 for 11 in three games since making his big league debut Friday.

Just the 17th Canadian to play for the Blue Jays, Lawrie received a standing ovation before his first at-bat, only to have Harden strike him out on three pitches.

After flying out in the fifth, Lawrie came up again in a crucial situation in the seventh with the A's leading 3-1.

Harden (3-2) had put runners on the corners with no outs. He retired Aaron Hill on a pop-up and struck out J.P. Arencibia before facing Lawrie.

Harden ran the count full, then got Lawrie swinging on a changeup to escape the jam."