Dickey struggles with home run ball, Blue Jays lose 14-5
TORONTO (AP) - Home runs have hurt knuckleballer R.A Dickey all season.
Dickey gave up a grand slam to Seattle slugger Nelson Cruz in his shortest outing in more than five years, and the Mariners routed the Toronto Blue Jays 14-5 on Saturday.
Hisashi Iwakuma pitched six innings to win his fifth straight start, Cruz connected twice and Seattle matched a season high with 19 hits.
Dickey (7-11) has yielded 24 homers this season. Only Kansas City's Ian Kennedy and Chris Young (26) have allowed more.
"It was a tough one to try to control today," Dickey said about his signature pitch. "I hit two guys with it. It took off inside to a couple lefties. But I really didn't get much of a chance today."
Dickey left after the first four batters reached safely in the fourth. He gave up six earned runs, matching a season worst, and seven hits.
Cruz hit his ninth career grand slam in the third, connecting after Dickey hit consecutive batters.
"I felt like I executed a pretty good pitch to Cruz and he did a good job of staying with it," Dickey said.
Dickey gave up three home runs at Oakland in his previous start. He has allowed 110 homers since joining Toronto before the 2013 season, the most in the majors in that span.
"I thought (Dickey) had a pretty good knuckleball early on," manager John Gibbons said. "What killed him was he hit those two guys and Cruz came up and hit the grand slam."
Cruz added a three-run drive off Drew Storen in the eighth for his 20th career multi-homer game. He has 25 home runs this season, the fourth-highest total in the AL.
Kyle Seager hit a two-run homer and Nori Aoki had two RBIs and scored twice as the Mariners won their third straight, a streak that began with Wednesday's walkoff win over the White Sox.
"Hopefully that was the wake-up call that we need," Cruz said.
Iwakuma (11-6) allowed two runs and four hits.
Unbeaten since June 22 at Detroit, he is 5-0 with a 2.50 ERA in his past five outings and 10-2 in 12 starts since May 20.
"He's been our most consistent guy all year, there's no doubt," manager Scott Servais said.
Wade LeBlanc pitched the final three innings for his first save.
Former Mariners players Michael Saunders and Justin Smoak combined for three home runs against their old team, but it was nowhere near enough for the Blue Jays, who gave up a season-worst 14 runs.
Saunders hit two solo homers, one off Iwakuma in the sixth and another off LeBlanc in the eighth. It was his eighth career multihomer game and third this season.
Saunders, who also connected in Friday's 2-1 loss, matched his career high with 19.
Smoak hit a two-run drive off LeBlanc in the eighth, his 11th.
WALK THIS WAY
Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson walked twice. He leads the AL with 67 walks.
COLABELLO'S SUSPENSION OVER
Blue Jays 1B Chris Colabello has been reinstated from the restricted list after serving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Colabello was suspended April 22 after the commissioner's office said he tested positive for a drug sold under the name Turinabol. He lost $227,891 of his $521,126 major league salary while suspended. Colabello was designated off the 25-man Toronto roster Saturday, but was kept on the 40-man roster. He's expected to be assigned to Triple-A Buffalo.
THE DECIDER
Iwakuma has received a decision in 17 of his 20 starts.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mariners: Seattle placed SS Ketel Marte (mononucleosis) on the 15-day DL, retroactive to July 20, and recalled LHP David Rollins from Triple-A Tacoma.
Blue Jays: OF Ezequiel Carrera started for the first time since July 16, He had not started the previous four games because of a sore Achilles tendon.
UP NEXT
Mariners: LHP Wade Miley (6-7, 5.36) is 0-5 with a 5.60 ERA in his past five starts.
Blue Jays: LHP J.A. Happ (12-4, 3.43) is 6-0 in seven starts since his most recent loss, June 6 at Detroit. Happ's next victory will be his career-high 13th.