Seattle, WA – Mark DeRosa's pinch-hit, two-run single capped a three-run eighth inning and boosted the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Jose Reyes added an RBI single for the Blue Jays, who have won two straight after losing the first three contests in Anaheim over the weekend.
R.A. Dickey (9-11) snapped a five-start winless stretch. The knuckleball specialist allowed eight hits and fanned five to pick up his first victory since July 1 against Detroit.
Casey Janssen retired the side in order in the ninth on three ground balls to DeRosa.
Hisashi Iwakuma (10-5) was charged with four hits and two runs over 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander had won his previous three decisions, but suffered his first defeat since July 4 at Texas.
Justin Smoak led off the seventh inning with a homer to right field, but the Mariners lost for the fifth time in seven games. Seattle had runners at the corners later in the frame, but Kyle Seager grounded into a double play to end the frame.
Brett Lawrie tripled to right-center leading off the eighth, and one out later Reyes lined a hit to center field. Yoervis Medina entered from the bullpen and retired Rajai Davis on a fly ball.
Jose Bautista singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Edwin Encarnacion walked, and Oliver Perez then gave up DeRosa's line single to left.
Game Notes
The Mariners were upset at a pair of calls in the eighth, ones that should have resulted in pickoffs. Reyes looked out at first and replays showed Encarnacion was tagged out at second, but the latter came after DeRosa's single ... Mariners catcher Jesus Montero, who is currently on the roster of the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, was given a 50-game suspension by MLB Monday as part of the Biogenesis of America investigation. Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera avoided a suspension because he already served a 50-game penalty for a violation stemming from his connection to Biogenesis.
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