"Sometimes you feel great when you get the rest and som

TORONTO -- Toronto ace R.A. Dickey felt like he had complete-game potential at the start of Thursdays game against Houston. He was in decent form over the first four innings before the Astros turned on a few floating knuckleballers and built a lead that was too much for the Blue Jays to overcome. Dickey gave up a two-run homer to Robbie Grossman in the fifth inning and a three-run shot to Jonathan Villar in the seventh as Toronto missed a chance for a three-game sweep by dropping a 6-4 decision to Houston at Rogers Centre. "Its a real surprise when I have a knuckleball like that and have the outcome that we had," Dickey said. Jason Castro added a solo shot in the eighth inning off reliever Esmil Rogers to help send Toronto (5-5) back to the .500 mark. Colby Rasmus hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays, who scratched out three runs in the bottom of the ninth to make a game of it. "Were disappointed, but they outplayed us," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. Dickey (1-2) allowed five earned runs, three walks and six hits over seven innings. He said he was pleased with the speed and action on his knuckleball. "It was moving so much, I was throwing it hard, it felt great out of my hand," Dickey said. "And then we just had a couple of hiccups and it happened really quickly." Starter Dallas Keuchel (1-1), meanwhile, was sharp for Houston (4-6). He went seven innings and allowed five hits and one earned run. "He really showed it tonight against a really good hitting lineup," said Astros manager Bo Porter. "He was outstanding." Keuchel has now gone at least seven innings in each of his three career starts against Toronto. "Those guys that have got a little finesse, a little command, they have a tendency to give us problems," Gibbons said. Toronto brought the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth but Maicer Izturis hit a comebacker to Anthony Bass, who recorded the one out for his first save. Leadoff man Melky Cabrera doubled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt but was left stranded when Jose Bautista popped up and Edwin Encarnacion grounded out. Castro led off the fourth inning with a sharp single to centre field for the Astros first hit of the game. He was forced out at second base when Jose Altuve hit into a fielders choice. Dickey caught Altuve leaning towards second base on a leadoff and picked him off for the second out before fanning Chris Carter. Marc Krauss led off the fifth with a double off the wall in right-centre field and moved to third when Matt Dominguez grounded out to first base. Grossman turned on a 3-0 pitch for his first homer of the season. Dominguez made a stellar defensive play in the fifth inning to rob Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., of a sure hit. The Houston third baseman dived to his left and threw from his knees to get the speedy Canadian by a half-step. Rasmus followed with a solo homer that hit the facing of the second level in right-centre field. It was his first home run of the season. Gibbons challenged a call later in the frame when Cabrera was called out at first base. Cabrera stumbled out of the batters box and Dominguez bobbled the ball at third base before recovering to fire a throw that was barely in time at first. The umpires reviewed the play and the original call stood to end the inning. In the seventh, Dominguez hit a one-out double and Grossman walked. After a visit to the mound by pitching coach Pete Walker, Villar crushed Dickeys first pitch to deep centre for his second homer of the season. Astros reliever Josh Fields gave up two runs in the ninth when pinch-hitter Adam Lind doubled to the gap in left-centre field. Lind scored when Bass made a throwing error to first. Houston is expected to be one of the lesser lights in the American League West this season. However, the Astros have shown some pop early on with 14 homers in their first 10 games. "This game, it can be cruel," Dickey said. "It doesnt matter if youre the New York Yankees or the Houston Astros. Theres big-league ball players on the other side of that diamond and if you leave a ball over the middle of the plate, theyre going to hit it. "It doesnt matter who they are." Notes: Both teams had eight hits. ... Announced attendance was 15,778. ... Cabrera went 2-for-5 to improve his batting average to .333. Former Blue Jays slugger Vernon Wells owns the teams season-opening hit streak record of 12 games in 2006. ... The game took two hours 49 minutes to play. ... Blue Jays reliever Steve Delabar was not available after taking a liner off the leg in Wednesday nights game. Gibbons said X-rays were negative and that Delabar was walking around and feeling good before the game. ... J.A. Happ allowed one run on four hits in 4 2/3 innings in a rehab start for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday. The Blue Jays placed the left-hander on the disabled list March 30 due to lower back tightness. The Bisons dropped a 7-4 decision to the Pawtucket Red Sox. ... The Blue Jays will kick off a nine-game road trip against Baltimore on Friday night. Right-hander Dustin McGowan (0-1) is scheduled to start the opener of the three-game series against Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman (1-0). Cheap Yeezy 350 v2 Clay . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. Wholesale Yeezy 350 v2 Static . - Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game on Feb. http://www.yeezys350cheap.com/fake-yeezy-350-clay-wholesale.html . Last July, F1 teams held in-season testing sessions at Silverstone to assess new tires provided by Pirelli after several blowouts on the same circuit at the British Grand Prix in June prompted a furious response from drivers and even a boycott threat the following week. Cheap Yeezy 350 Black . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract. Fake Yeezy 350 Citrin . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth.TORONTO – The first-place Blue Jays hit the halfway mark of the season with 45 wins and a two-game lead on Baltimore in the American League East, territory unfamiliar to a franchise still waiting for its first playoff game since October 23, 1993, the night Joe Carter walked off Mitch Williams into World Series lore. "Im proud of the way the guys played," said manager John Gibbons. "It was kind of a so-so start and we kicked it in there in the month of May and put ourselves in a good position. Now, you know, we just need to do that again in the second half or even improve on that but Im very, very happy with the effort and the way the guys have been playing baseball. Its that simple." You wont find a Mission Accomplished banner hanging in the clubhouse. The expectation is much greater. "Has it met it yet? No," said Casey Janssen. "Our expectation is to make the playoffs and win the World Series and were not there yet. Weve got a long way to go. I think everyone believed we could be this type of team but were not throwing a party yet, we know that. We know theres a ton of talent here and its the AL East so anything can happen." Despite a recent downturn in offensive production, through 81 games Toronto continues to sit in the top seven of most major categories. The club sits first in the majors with 104 home runs. Its fourth with a .262 batting average and .331 on-base percentage. The on-base plus slugging percentage of .767 ranks third and its 272 walks are seventh. The most pleasant surprise and biggest disappointment reside on the same spot: the pitchers mound. The pleasant surprise: Blue Jays starters lead the American League with 35 wins (a number not reached until the 135th game last season) and the staff ERA of 3.87 is best in the AL East. The biggest disappointment: the bullpen, the ray of sunshine in a stormy 2013 season, has compiled baseballs fourth-worst ERA (4.48). Its a target for improvement. "I think there are some times when weve got to be better in the bullpen," said Gibbons. "Weve got to shore that up a little bit. Its like anything, consistency over the whole pitching staff and hopefully you stay healthy enough." The Blue Jays have been fortunate to remain relatively healthy, dealing with injuries theyve been able to cover. Maicer Izturis was a backup infielder. Brandon Morrow wasnt pitching well when he got hurt. Colby Rasmus missed 33 games with a hamstring strain and the Jays got by with an Anthony Gose-Kevin Pillar platoon in centerfield. The medical staff is now doing the dance with Jose Bautista as he deals with a hamstring probleem, which could be made worse if rushed.dddddddddddd Bautista will run sprints on Saturday morning and depending on how he feels, could be available to at least pinch hit on the weekend. QUIET TIME FOR JANSSEN Wondering where closer Casey Janssen has been these days? Hes around. He just hasnt pitched much due to a lack of save opportunities. Since notching his 12th save of the season on June 15 in Baltimore, Janssen has appeared twice. He mopped up the epic, 14-9 comeback win on June 20 in Cincinnati. He threw the ninth inning of a 6-6 game against the Yankees on June 24 and got the win when the Blue Jays walked off. It can be difficult for relievers when they go through a period without consistent work. "I feel like saves come in bunches at times," said Janssen. "You get opportunities to pitch maybe in a lopsided game one way or another if it gets to be too long. Sometimes there are times when you dont get in but you get up. Im one of those guys that always has relied on my command and I guess it comes a little more natural to me than others." Janssen has 12 saves in 14 opportunities this season. "Sometimes the rest is good, knowing that the tough stretch is going to come at some point," said Janssen. Expect Janssen to get into a game before the weekend is over, regardless of whether Toronto has a lead of three or less. Janssen speaks to pitching coach Pete Walker about his schedule, who relays the message to manager John Gibbons. If Janssen goes four or five days without action his arms reaction to its diminished workload becomes less predictable. "You wonder if your arms going to be a little cranky or if its going to be super fresh," said Janssen. "Sometimes you feel great when you get the rest and sometimes youre kind of knocking the dust off a little bit." Remember that Janssen had an abbreviated spring training thanks to stiffness in the back of his pitching shoulder. He didnt appear in a Grapefruit League game until the final week of March. Then, in Montreal, he strained his left oblique and didnt make his season debut until May 12. Its been a build for Janssen, who anticipates being able to pitch on three consecutive days, if needed, as the importance of each game ramps up. "I feel like Id love to do it and Id love to have the opportunity to do it," said Janssen. "I think a lot of those three in a rows depend on how the first two went and the stress level of those innings. My goal is to be able to pitch in every opportunity possible, especially as the season gets further along and as this division and the race gets tight and everything like that." ' ' '