DANGER » degree, but Pattersons shoes have not been easy to fill.

TORONTO -- R. Starling Marte Pirates Jersey .A. Dickey, his knuckleball moving like the noggin on his bobblehead giveaway, gave the Toronto Blue Jays a sorely needed quality start Sunday. And the rest of the team also stepped up, with Brett Lawrie and Edwin Encarnacion combining to drive in four runs in a 7-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Toronto (12-13) leaves for an eight-game road trip, which starts Tuesday in Kansas City, having washed away the taste of a sour four-game losing streak at home. The Jays, who had given up 36 runs on 47 hits and 22 walks during the four-game slide, badly needed a change of direction. Dickey said a talk by manager John Gibbons after Saturdays 7-6 loss, when a Jays comeback fell just short, had done the trick. "He was just so encouraging," said Dickey, who got the win on his first major-league bobblehead giveaway day. "I think everybody left the clubhouse feeling at ease about who we are as a team. So we just needed to come out today and be ourselves. And we were able to do that. "We fought hard. Guys were getting dirty, diving for balls, taking the extra base. I was able to throw strikes and we had a great team win today." Said Gibbons: "It was a much-needed win, I will definitely say." On a weekend where racism in sports made headlines thanks to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the Jays made Major League Baseball history with a record six Dominicans in the starting lineup: Encarnacion, Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Juan Francisco and Moises Sierra. The Dominicans signed the lineup card, which Bautista said was going to be sent to the Dominican Museum of Baseball. "It was an honour to be part of that today," said Reyes. An announced sellout of 45,260 at the Rogers Centre saw Dickey outduel Jon Lester with Lawrie providing the early offence before the Jays put the game away with two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth. Lawrie, who entered the game hitting .165 but leading the team in RBIs, drove in two runs with a homer and double to increase his RBI total to 20. Dickey (2-3) scattered five hits over 6 1/3 innings, giving up one run and striking out six. Walks have been a thorn in the Jays side. Toronto pitchers had issued 108 free passes going into play Sunday -- second-worst in the majors -- with Dickey tied for the MLB lead with 18. But Dickey was in control Sunday. He threw 95 pitches, including 62 strikes, and didnt issue a walk for the first time since October 2012. "When I have one to zero to two walks, its usually going to be a pretty good day," he said. "And thats what I have to get back to and today was a step in that direction." Relievers Steve Delabar and Esmil Rogers closed out the game for Toronto, which outhit Boston 9-6. Lester (2-4) deserved better from his seven innings. He gave up four runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking none. He threw 120 pitches, 80 for strikes, as Boston (12-14) was denied its first sweep of Toronto since June 10-12, 2011. The Boston left-hander came into the game with a 15-7 career mark against Toronto, having held the Jays to a .199 batting average. It was the first win for Dickey since April 5 and came after three starts in which he went 0-2 with 13 walks in 13 1/3 innings. He used his fastball more than usual, knowing that Boston led the league in pitches seen. "So I knew they were probably going to be patient. And nothings worse than seeing a fastball down the middle from a knuckleball pitcher and letting it go," he added. Some observers thought Dickey seemed irked at being pulled in the seventh inning. The pitcher, who has faded in some previous starts, said hes just "passionate" about what he does. He acknowledged he had told both Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker to keep a close eye on him in case he did falter. After the Jays went ahead 2-1 in the third, Dickey and Lester took turns mowing down the opposition. It took some time but Toronto bats finally came alive, welcome news for Dickey who had only got five runs in support before leaving in his five previous starts. Toronto increased its lead to 4-1 in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Encarnacion and Lawrie and an RBI groundout by Sierra. Lester had retired 10 straight prior to the inning. Reyes scored on an RBI single by Bautista -- who extended his on-base streak to 25 games -- in the eighth before Encarnacion drove in two more with another double. Dickey retired his first five hitters before giving up a run on three straight singles with the RBI going to Jackie Bradley Jr. Lawrie tied it up with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the second, depositing a 3-2 Lester delivery into left-centre for his sixth homer. Lawrie has just 17 hits this season but seven have been for extra-base hits. Toronto went ahead 2-1 in the third on Cabreras two-out RBI double, sending Josh Thole home. Thole, Dickeys personal catcher, singled down the left-field line and then advanced on Jonathan Diazs sacrifice bunt. Cabrera, who came into the game leading the majors in hits, now has 39 including 13 of the extra-base variety. Dickey was slated to head home after the game, with a couple of bobbleheads under his arm for his kids. "Theyre not going to be collectors at my house," he said. "The heads are going to be popped off by the end of the day." Chad Kuhl Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. Bill Mazeroski Pirates Jersey . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest.ATLANTA - The Raptors will be without their sixth man for at least another week, they learned on Tuesday. After a re-evaluation of the ulnar collateral sprain in his right elbow on Monday, Patrick Patterson, who has missed the teams last five contests, was ruled out of game action for another seven days, though he will be able to return to limited basketball activity. Patterson, wearing a supporting brace on his injured elbow as he got some work in during Raptors shootaround, was disappointed to hear the news. "[Its] more bad news than good," he admitted ahead of Tuesdays game in Atlanta. "I had hopes that I would be able to come out here and participate with the team and get back to basketball." The Raptors versatile back-up said hes experiencing very little pain in his right arm, just discomfort, one of the reasons why he had hoped to be back on the court by now. "From when it initially happened up until now I had pain, constantly, on the court, certain types of movements or certain types of contact would aggravate it," said Patterson, who leads all Toronto reserves in scoring, averaging 9.7 points along with 5.2 rebounds since being acquired from Sacramento on December 9. "But now, today, theres very little pain. All the movements that hurt before dont hurt now. In my mind, Im thinking I can [play] just going off that pain factor, but doing the ultrasound and seeing the images and seeing how far its come along to today, Im definitely happy to know how soon I can return." Its not clear exactly how Patterson initially sustained the injury. He believes it originally occurred in a game against the Wizards back in February and he aggravated it in a win over the Kings on March 7. "It is frustratting," he said, not being able to pinpoint exactly how he hurt his elbow. Jameson Taillon Jersey. "If I knew what happened, hopefully I could prevent it from happening again." Patterson had become one of the teams most valuable and consistent contributors, anchoring a second unit that has been much improved since his arrival in December. In his absence, Dwane Casey has used the trio of Steve Novak, Chuck Hayes and Tyler Hansbrough as stopgaps off the bench. Unlike Patterson, a well-rounded, two-way player, his three replacements are best suited in situational roles. Each forward has stepped up to some degree, but Pattersons shoes have not been easy to fill. Without Patterson in the lineup over the previous five games, the Raptors bench has been outscored by a total of 50 points. The oppositions reserves have bested them by 65 alone over the last two contests. "At least we have to hold serve," Casey said of his second unit. "Weve got to find a go-to player or a guy that can produce for us, point-wise, with that second unit. Pat was giving us some points or at least spacing the floor for us where it did give [Greivis Vasquez] opportunities to drive to the basket." Casey would not call the latest news on Pattersons injury a setback. The team was not expecting him to be able to return right away. The Raptors forward will be assessed again after this seven-day period and if the new timetable holds true he should miss another four-to-six games. "It could be worse, thats the way I always look at it," said Patterson. "Thats what my team and the training staff is telling me, it could be worse, but youre in a positive situation, at least you know where you stand and how soon you can come back." ' ' '