Josh Donaldson: Donaldson’s 3 hits, 3 RBI lead Jays to a win

Right-hander R.A. Dickey pitched a four-hitter and Josh Donaldson went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Cleveland Indians, 5-1, Wednesday night at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

“There’s a plethora of reasons”, Dickey said.

Countless Jays fans would concur. Against Cleveland, he was at it again, this time burnishing his legend with two daring exploits on the basepaths. When Kipnis’ throw tailed toward third base, Donaldson dove around the tag attempt from catcher Yan Gomes, touching the plate with his left hand before landing on his chest. That just isn’t done.

“He’s smoking hot with the bat right now“, manager John Gibbons said.

Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich went 4 for 5 and is hitting.324 since May 23. Michael Brantley lazily scooped up a single, which allowed Josh Donaldson to hustle into second base. When he rose, his uniform was filthy.

“I could care less what Adam Jones is saying”, said Bautista.

Dickey was flawless through three innings.

NATIONALS 4, CARDINALS 3 (at St. Louis) – Ryan Zimmerman hit two home runs to knock in three of Washington’s four runs. As O’Day walked to the dugout, the pitcher started to chirp at Bautista from across the diamond.

Many people have yet to fully engage with the hefty policy issues sparked by the lengthy campaign for the October 19 vote, so heading down to the ol’ ball game is a way to connect with ordinary folk and slide beyond the political debates that many might consider too inside baseball.

“One of the things you have to accept when you’re a knuckleballer is to live and die with that throw”, he said. Donaldson still sits 11th in the AL with a.304 average, so you figure that’s good enough.

Floyd said it was “fun” to get into a game for the first time in more than a year. “Once he got it rolling, man, for a ball to move that much and for him to command it that well, it was really impressive”.

Zimmerman reached 200 career home runs with his second shot.

Now his record is 10-10, his ERA 4.09. He had given up eight over the previous 99 1-3 while posting a 2.81 ERA – which would have been the lowest mark of his career over a full season.

“We had a refresher as far as what pitches I throw”, Floyd said. “That’s always nice to pitch with the lead”.

Even after replacing a homegrown Canadian star in Lawrie, Donaldson became a fan favourite nearly right away. “He’s got such a great game clock”. You can’t teach that. “When he got in the game he just couldnt drive it down and that was certainly the game plan against these guys.

It was the season debut for O’Malley, who appeared in 11 games for the Los Angeles Angels last season, but spent all year in Triple-A before being called up Tuesday. It was the second multihomer game of the season for Gomes and the third of his career.

“I put it in my back pocket at the time, and I never needed it because I threw hard”, he said. And one-time Ontario premier Mike Harris swept to office in 1995, with many voters opining that he was the political guy with whom they would most enjoy going for a beer. “We expect to go out there and we expect to play with intensity, and play smart”.

The sight of buttoned-down political leaders in the stands cheering on the country’s hottest sports team should come as no election-season surprise, observers say. As noted CBSSPorts.com, he oversaw the renovations at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, and has led the team to outperform their low payroll (bottom third in the league at $80 million).

Today it is 76-57, the same as it was after 133 games in 1992 and 1993.

September 1 marked the 25th anniversary of the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history.