match for the club since joining from Stoke

TORONTO -- All-Star slugger Josh Donaldson said the first half of Torontos season has been a little bit of a roller coaster.That ride is heading upwards as the first half ends.Donaldson hit a three-run homer, R.A. Dickey won back-to-back starts for the first time in a month and the Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 6-1 on Sunday in the teams final game before the All-Star break.Toronto heads into the break having won eight of nine and 18 of 25. The Blue Jays are second to Baltimore in the AL East and tied with Boston for the first wild-card spot.We feel pretty good with where were at right now, Donaldson said. Weve been playing well as of late. Hopefully have a nice break, everybody comes back ready to go and continue this momentum.Dickey said Torontos recent surge feels like it could be a sustained thing.Donaldson is the sixth player in American League history to hit at least 20 home runs and score 80 runs or more before the All-Star break. The others were Lou Gehrig (1936), Ted Williams (1946), Reggie Jackson (1969), Frank Thomas (1994), and Alex Rodriguez (2000).I think that has something to do with the guys hitting behind me, Donaldson said, referring to slugger Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders. Bautista is currently recovering from a sore left big toe. Encarnacion and Saunders will be joining Donaldson for the All-Star Game in San Diego.Donaldson is the first player to score 80 or more runs before the break since 2008, when Ian Kinsler (84) and Hanley Ramirez (80) both did it.Dickey (7-9) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time since victories at Boston on June 3 and at Detroit on June 8.We didnt do much against Dickey, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. We hit a couple of balls hard early and after that he settled in. He did a very nice job.Jesse Chavez got two outs in the eighth and Brett Cecil got the third. Bo Schultz finished for Toronto, which has won eight of 11 against Detroit.The Blue Jays took a 2-0 led against Anibal Sanchez (5-10) in the second when catcher Josh Thole hit a bases-loaded single. For Thole, the RBI were his first since hitting a solo home run at Tampa Bay on April 4, Torontos second game of the season.Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, made it 5-0 with a two-out drive in the fourth, his 23rd.Saunders made it 6-1 with an RBI single off Kyle Ryan in the eighth.Sanchez lost his second straight start, allowing five runs and eight hits in four innings. He has lost seven straight decisions as a starter, including five in a row on the road.I want to make the second half strong, Sanchez said. Right now I can say I had the worst first half of my whole career. Ive got to continue working.Encarnacion sat out after dropping his appeal of a one-game suspension for making contact with umpire Vic Carapazza. An All-Star this season for the third time, Encarnacion was suspended for bumping Carapazzas shoulder after being ejected at the end of the first inning in Torontos 19-inning loss to Cleveland on July 1.THIS IS 40Toronto continued its 40th season celebrations with a pregame ceremony honoring several former Blue Jays, including Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, slugger Joe Carter and two-time World Series-winning manager Cito Gaston.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: OF J.D. Martinez (right elbow) is taking swings but is still a few weeks away from a return, Ausmus said.Blue Jays: Donaldson started at DH for the second straight day, with Darwin Barney at 3B.UP NEXTTigers: Following the All-Star break, RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.07) starts the opener of a three-game home series against Kansas City. Verlander has won once in his past four starts.Blue Jays: Toronto heads on the road after the All-Star break, with RHP Marcus Stroman (7-4, 4.89) starting the opener of a three-game series at Oakland. 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The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Seth Joyner Youth Jersey . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. LONDON -- Premier League clubs Burnley and Middlesbrough were eliminated by lower-division sides in the second round of the League Cup on Wednesday, while Leicester and Chelsea were paired in the standout match of the third round.Fourth-tier Accrington pulled off the biggest shock of the night, beating Burnley 1-0 thanks to a goal late in extra time by Matty Pearson.Second-tier Fulham came from a goal down to beat Middlesbrough 2-1, with Lasse Vigen Christensen getting the west London teams winner in extra time.Sunderland needed a late goal from on-loan Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj to beat third-tier Shrewsbury 1-0, while Bournemouth settled for a 2-1 win at fourth-tier Morecambe.Januzaj fired a rising shot into top corner in the 83rd minute to avoid any potential upset for a Sunderland side that has lost both its opening Premier League games under new manager David Moyes.Marc Wilson scored Bournemouths winner in the 54th minute in his first match for the club since joining from Stoke.ddddddddddddClubs who are involved in European competition join the competition in the third round, the draw for which was made on Wednesday.Premier League champion Leicester was drawn at home to Chelsea, pitting its manager Claudio Ranieri against his former club. Manchester United will play away to third-tier Northampton, which knocked out West Bromwich Albion on penalties on Tuesday and beat Liverpool in the 2010-11 competition.Also, titleholder Manchester City must travel to Swansea in an all-Premier League game, Arsenal will play Nottingham Forest away, Liverpool goes to Derby, and Tottenham was drawn at home to third-tier Gillingham, which beat Watford on Tuesday in the other shock of the second round. ' ' '