Colabello homers, Jays beat Royals 5-2 in testy game

Dickey threw seven masterful shutout innings, manager John Gibbons and reliever Aaron Sanchez were ejected and the Blue Jays’ bats were popping in a 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals in front of a sellout crowd Sunday at Rogers Centre. Toronto (54-52) is one game back of Minnesota for the second AL wild-card spot, with the Twins in town beginning Monday for a four-game series.

Zobrist hit solo home runs from both sides of the plate, Eric Hosmer singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Royals beat Toronto 7-6 on Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak. Blue Jays 5, Royals 2.

Oh yeah, and then there’s all of the commotion.

In the aftermath, Royals veteran Edinson Volquez sneered at the behavior of All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson. Soon after, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki took a pitch high and inside off the elbow before Donaldson, again, was brushed back by a risky pitch in his next appearance. Gibbons and Chris Colabello, who had just been replaced for defense, both ran out to join the scrum.

He also ejected Sanchez for hitting Escobar the next inning, and also tossed bench coach DeMarlo Hale, who was acting as manager.

The Toronto Blue Jays are not done yet. He homered on Thursday, smashed two doubled and a walk-off single on Friday and added another homer on Saturday. He threw 101 pitches.

Things didn’t boil over until the eighth inning, however. That mess started in the middle innings, when Pedro Villarreal hit Andrew McCutchen, who seems to be a hit-by-pitch magnet.

Unhappy about getting plunked, Donaldson had some words with Volquez on the way to first as home-place umpire Jim Wolf warned the teams. He struck out on the next pitch.

Even though the Blue Jays designated the 30-year-old Valencia, it appears that he could be claimed when he is eligible to be selected off waivers on Monday. He was immediately ejected, erupting more boos from the puzzled Toronto fans.

When the dust settled, Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna was summoned on for a four-out save.

Ezequiel Carrera’s bunt single to lead off the third got Toronto going, and Donaldson’s two-run double cut into the deficit. The Blue Jays acquired both Tulowitzki and ace David Price before the trade deadline. Toronto hung on to win 5-2, thereby taking three of four games from the best team in the American League.

When a 2-2 pitch came close to Donaldson, he became upset. He ended to day 0-3 with three strikeouts. Tirado, 20, pitched 31 games of high-A ball this season, and Cordero, 23, threw his last 17 games in double-A.

It was the first time Kansas City has lost a series since June 29-July 1 in Houston.

Until then, the Royals will head to Detroit for a three-game series starting on Tuesday. He hit. 303 over 335 games with Philadelphia, tying for the National League lead with 184 hits last season.

Vegas betting expert Steve Fezzik doesn’t expect the bad situation in Oakland to get much better this season.

Let’s leave aside the message-sending nonsense for a minute, and just agree with Gibbons that: “For where we are, that was an important game for us”, that it was a big test for Sanchez and Osuna on a hot-tempered day. This new Blue Jays roster does not crumble in the grand moment, it expands into it. Fills it whole.

Brandon McCarthy (Glendale native) Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher: In his first season with the Dodgers after signing a lucrative contract, McCarthy saw his season come to an end after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow in a game April 25 against the San Diego Padres.