Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) delivers a pitch against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Saturday, July 23, 2016.Kevin Sousa
R.A. Dickey has conquered the treacherous slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro to help raise awareness about human trafficking in India, and he has made it his mission in baseball to try to tame the untameable knuckleball.
But one challenge one of the oldest players in the majors continues to struggle with is keeping the ball in the ballpark.
The home run has been the 42-year-old's nemesis this season. He knows it, and it is beginning to wear on him.
"I think it's only human that you question some of the methods and you question some of the selections," Dickey said on Wednesday, when asked if self doubt about his pitching prowess was creeping in as the setbacks mount. "Or you go back and watch tape and you think I should have done this differently or whatnot.
"But at the end of the day, if I've learned anything through my experiences as a baseball player it's that you kind of got to have blinders on and trust the pedigree. I know it's in there and it's been in there for a number of years."
Dickey was stung for two more long balls on Wednesday at a sold-out Rogers Centre as the San Diego Padres (44-58) won 8-4 over the Blue Jays (57-45).
Adam Rosales hit a two-run shot in the third inning and Brett Wallace chimed in with a solo effort in the fifth to help the Padres avoid a three-game sweep of their interleague series.
Now the Blue Jays can look forward to a day off on Thursday to prepare for what will be a big home weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles, the team residing on top of the American League East, with the Blue Jays nipping at their heels.
While things continue to purr pretty smoothly for the Blue Jays, Dickey's continuing struggles remain a concern.
At a stage in the season when Dickey has historically revved up his performances, he is stumbling, having lost all three of his starts since the All-Star Game earlier this month.
And it hasn't been pretty.
Over that three-game span, Dickey has allowed 17 earned runs and 16 hits (including six home runs) over 14 2/3 innings for an unseemly 10.48 earned-run average.
He has surrendered 26 home runs this season, which ties him with Ian Kennedy and Chris Young of the Kansas City Royals.
Dickey said he has no explanation for why his home run rate is so high.
"I don't have a reason and so you've just got to keep pressing forward and one [knuckleball] will come out of your hand and won't do much," he said. "And the next one will be like the best one you've ever thrown.
"You've just got to have a short-term memory and keep going."
Dickey was working on three days rest as Toronto manager John Gibbons opted to bump the start of Marco Estrada and his wonky back to Friday against the Orioles, but the plan was a failure.
Dickey fell into trouble in the third inning when Rosales corked his seventh home run, a two-run shot to left field, which moved the Padres in front 2-0.
The Toronto defence, usually a team strength, let Dickey down in the San Diego fourth, when the Padres scored two runs, one of them unearned, to pull ahead 4-0.
Both the runs occurred on the same play in which the Blue Jays committed two errors, starting with the normally sure-handed centre fielder Kevin Pillar, who could not find the handle at the wall on a Christian Betancourt double.
The hit allowed Ryan Schimpf to score from first.
When Betancourt noticed the mistake, he decided to go for third and the throw from second baseman Devon Travis, who had taken the relay from the outfield, was in the dirt and scooted past Josh Donaldson at third.
That throwing error allowed Betancourt to prance home for an unearned run to make it 4-0.
"We play better than that," Gibbons said. "That's one of those plays that happens every now and then. That's rare for us."
Then, when Wallace lined up a Dickey knuckler and sent it skimming over the wall in right for a solo shot leading off the fifth, this one was pretty much in the bag for the Padres.
Dickey, 7-12, took the loss as he allowed seven runs off just four hits over 52/3 innings.
The win was recorded by Luis Perdomo, 5-4, who was effective over 5 2/3 innings, holding Toronto to four runs off six hits.
Gibbons fielded a rather makeshift lineup for the game, sitting out Michael Saunders and giving Melvin Upton Jr. his first start in left field since he was traded by the Padres on Tuesday.
Troy Tulowitzki was also given the day off with super-sub Darwin Barney getting a turn at shortstop.