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TORONTO – The periods of tumult are when corroding questions and doubts can set in, and is when players individually, teams collectively most need games like this. R.A. Dickey, searching for answers, found his stamina and his command to finally beat the Boston Red Sox. The bullpen, pitching of late as if they’ve ingested kryptonite, delivered one of the great escapes it’s known for. And an offence that often wilts before opposition aces eked out an early lead against Jon Lester and then, pivotally, added on late.
Yes, Sunday’s 7-1 victory before a sellout crowd of 45,260 was simply one of 162, but whether you want to say it was a crucial counter-punch, stopped the bleeding or turned the tide – pick your cliché – certain wins carry more meaning than others. This, for so many reasons, was one of them.
“You can feel, not the pressure, but you can feel the frustration build,” said Dickey. “(Manager John Gibbons) spoke to us after the (7-6 loss on Saturday) and was just so encouraging that everybody left the clubhouse feeling at ease about who we are as a team. …
“Today was a textbook win for a baseball team. We executed, we sacrificed guys over, we played defence, we pounded the strike zone, we didn’t have a walk, a lot of great things happened. It was good to see what happens when we do have a complete ballgame.”
The Blue Jays (12-13) certainly needed one after four straight losses and defeats in seven of the past 10 outings, and it came with them in salvage mode against the rival Red Sox (12-14), who arrived in Toronto in disarray and leave after at minimum finding their footing. Having Lester outduel Dickey to complete a sweep as the misery capper to a 1-5 homestand would have been a swift boot in the delicates, especially ahead of an eight-game road trip.
Instead, Dickey delivered an ace-type of performance for six dominant innings, and then when he needed an assist with one out in the seventh after hitting Will Middlebrooks and a Xander Bogaerts double, Steve Delabar brilliantly protected a 2-1 lead by getting Jackie Bradley Jr., on a weak popper to third, and David Ross on a fly ball to centre.
“That’s the game right there, possibly,” said Gibbons.
The Blue Jays then choked the last bits of hope from the Red Sox in the bottom of the frame on consecutive doubles by Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie, whose homer in the second tied the game 1-1, and went ahead 4-1 when Lester misplayed a Moises Sierra comebacker. A three-spot in the eighth, highlighted by Encarnacion’s double, put things away.
Like Dickey said, textbook stuff.
“We’ve been roughed up this homestand until today,” said Gibbons. “The tough part is we had the lead in most of those games, other than Friday night here, that’s what gets you. Our leads were comfortable leads, but there’s no secret to how the game works. You get a good start, you’ve got a chance.”
Dickey lost both his starts against the Red Sox last year – including a season-high, eight-run pounding at Rogers Centre on the first weekend of the season – so the rebound against them is buoying.
So too is that for the first time since he joined the Blue Jays, he didn’t walk a single batter, and he avoided the middle-inning fade that’s plagued him in recent starts. The splits against him the second and third time through the lineup were frightful, but Sunday he kept things under control through six, calling it “a step in the right direction.”
At the same time, he also spoke to Gibbons between the sixth and seventh innings and “told him to keep a real close eye on me, because I didn’t want what had happened in the past to spiral out of control.”
Far from it, Dickey not only matched Lester – who allowed four runs in seven innings of work – he was better than him. Lost amid some of the knuckleballer’s early struggles is that through his first six outings, the Blue Jays have scored only seven runs while he’s on the mound.
In terms of margin for error, he’s had very little to work with.
“Frankly, that’s what I’m paid to do and I take responsibility for that,” said Dickey. “Hopefully I can keep us in the game long enough to where we’re going to bust out the way we did.”
After Monday’s off-day, a daunting piece of schedule looms with many bigger picture shoes to drop.
Closer Casey Janssen threw a bullpen session he was pleased with Sunday morning, and will head out on a rehab assignment after he throws another in the days ahead.
Dustin McGowan is set to start Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals and top prospect Marcus Stroman could be in the rotation the next time his turn comes up Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Even if McGowan’s stay in the rotation gets extended, Stroman may still be called up to serve as the sixth man in the rotation next month.
And with games in National League parks ahead, a roster adjustment to give Gibbons more options on his bench is also a possibility.
That is all to come. For now, Sunday’s victory provided a nice little exhale, and a glimpse into what the Blue Jays can be.
“We’ve all got to do our job, whether it’s hitting or pitching or the staff,” said Delabar. “When we all come together and make it right, we’ll get good results.”
Now, they must make it a more regular occurrence, not a once-in-a-while kind of thing.
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