Dickey outduels Iwakuma as Blue Jays top Mariners
SEATTLE - Seattle Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma was on his game Monday night, but Toronto's R.A. Dickey was even better.
The veteran knuckleballer outdueled Iwakuma and got a hand from pinch-hitter Mark DeRosa in the Blue Jays' 3-1 win in front of a Canada-friendly crowd of 32,300 at Safeco Field.
DeRosa broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning, setting off a rare celebration in the stands for the visiting team as thousands of Canadian fans from nearby British Columbia made the 2 1/2-hour trip from the border.
"You could feel the energy in the building," said Toronto's Brett Lawrie, who went 3 for 4 and came a home run short of hitting for the cycle. "It was just great to be a part of, seeing all those people coming down from Canada."
Dickey gave up just one run over 7 2/3 innings but was trailing 1-0 before the Blue Jays (52-60) put together a three-run rally in the eighth.
Lawrie hit a leadoff triple, and Jose Reyes tied the score 1-1 with a one-out RBI single, knocking Iwakuma out of the game.
The Blue Jays then loaded the bases with two outs against Yoervis Medina. Oliver Perez replaced Medina, and DeRosa came on to bat for Adam Lind. DeRosa drove an 0-2 pitch to left field, scoring Reyes and Jose Bautista to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead.
DeRosa is hitting .357 (5-for-14) as a pinch hitter this season.
"He's having a good year for us, primarily playing against left-handers," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of DeRosa, who is now hitting .231 on the season. "He's got some big, big hits. He's been productive."
Dickey (9-11) allowed eight hits and two walks while striking out five. The only run he permitted came on a solo home run by Seattle's Justin Smoak to lead off the eighth inning, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead.
Iwakuma (10-5) wound up charged with two runs and four hits over 7 1/3 innings. He suffered his first loss since July 4, having gone 3-0 over his past five starts heading into Monday.
"He'd been in command of the game, and we felt good about sending him out there for the eighth inning after 93 pitches," said Robby Thompson, acting manager for the Mariners. "It unfolded on us a little bit (in the eighth), but he pitched a really good game."
Casey Janssen pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 20th save of the season.
Seattle (52-60) stranded seven runners while losing for the eighth time in 14 games since manager Eric Wedge left the team following a minor stroke.
Iwakuma and Dickey have now split a pair of meetings this season, with the Mariners beating the knuckleballer 8-1 May 4 in Toronto.
NOTES: From the no-news-is-good-news department, Toronto found out Monday that OF Melky Cabrera was not among the players disciplined Monday for their ties to Biogenesis. Cabrera already served a 50-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. ... The Blue Jays reinstated LHP J.A. Happ from the 60-day disabled list and named him Wednesday's probable starter. Happ has been sidelined since taking a line drive off his head in a May 7 game in Tampa Bay. A knee injury Happ sustained trying to avoid the line drive is being cited as the injury that has kept him off the field until a recent rehab assignment. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Toronto designated RHP Michael Schwimer for assignment. ... The Mariners are now 9-3 in games played on Mondays.
