As the Toronto Blue Jays (24-34) try to worm their way back into the American League East picture, they will need ace R.A. Dickey (4-7, 5.18 ERA) to round into form. He will battle the defending World Series champions today, the San Francisco Giants (31-27) at AT&T Park at 3:45 p.m. Live stream the game here or listen to the Giants radio broadcast KNBR 680 or the Blue Jays' by tuning in to SN590.
San Francisco will attempt to complete a two-game sweep of the Jays by being patient against Dickey, who is walking 3.9 batters per nine innings, the highest that number has been since 2009 when Dickey was playing for the Minnesota Twins.
After three standout seasons with the New York Mets, including a Cy Young award last year, Dickey is walking more hitters, striking out fewer hitters, and widening the already huge chasm between knuckleballs thrown and fastballs. Dickey's vaunted knuckleball has also dipped three miles per hour, which may be able to partially explain why he's surrendering 1.45 home runs per nine innings.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons spoke about Dickey's velocity dip, saying, "He's been battling that, trying to find (the velocity on the knuckleball)."
Dickey himself said he's frustrated with his performance this year. There is big pressure on him to succeed after Toronto dealt catcher Travis d'Arnaud, the organization's top prospect for him. "I certainly won't (quit searching for answers)," he said. "And I'll find it."
The Giants may be a good opponent for Dickey to find his groove against; they are a team built more around their rotation than a potent offense and they are fourth from the bottom in terms of team home runs.
Dickey will be opposed by Barry Zito (4-3, 3.88 ERA). While Zito's performance is often erratic, the Giants haven't lost a home game started by the left-hander in more than 10 months.
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