Mike Napoli, left, is congratulated by Xander Bogaerts after hitting a three-run home run in the first inning of Sunday’s 6-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ont.Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
Mother's Day was being celebrated at Rogers Centre on Sunday, and the ball yard was all done up in pink.
The scoreboard was pink, and pink bunting was displayed in the standing-room-only area for fans located beneath the stadium's main video board in centre field. Even the baseball bags on the diamond were spruced up with pink tags commemorating the occasion.
Many of the players were decked out accordingly as well. The face mask, chest protector and shin guards worn by Boston Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon were all tinged with pink. And some of the batters swung pink bats.
R.A. Dickey, the Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher, got into the spirit, looking resplendent with rose-coloured baseball spikes.
But the knuckleballer was definitely not feeling in the pink once the game started, his marquee pitch not doing its normal robust dance.
The Red Sox (14-17) were able to square up on far too many of Dickey's offerings, jumping on him early to fashion a 6-3 victory over the Blue Jays (16-16).
Dickey allowed all the runs over six innings of work in which he surrendered seven hits, including two homers.
Four of the runs were coughed up in the first inning, in which the Red Sox took a choke hold on the Blue Jays. The telling shot: a three-run homer by Mike Napoli.
The Red Sox then added two more in the fifth – after the Blue Jays had cut the score to 4-1 – with Pablo Sandoval stroking a long home run to centre.
The Blue Jays ran out of gas after that.
"Frustrated, very frustrated," Dickey said of the outing, which dropped his record to 1-4. "I'm tired of saying I'm one poor pitch away from a good outing every outing.
"Both the home runs came with two outs. The home run to Sandoval was actually a fairly good knuckleball, I thought. The one to Napoli was not a good one."
With the way he has been hobbling around on the field, it was not too surprising that the Blue Jays placed Michael Saunders on the 15-day disabled list before the game. The team is calling it left-knee inflammation – the same knee he had surgery on in February to remove the meniscus he tore by stepping on a sprinkler head during spring training in Florida.
(Saunders was in the lineup for Saturday's game, a 7-1 win over the Red Sox, after missing the previous four. He recently had his knee drained of fluid.)
The injury kept the 28-year-old out of the lineup for the first 17 games of the season. In the nine games he has played since his return, he is hitting .194 and his mobility has obviously been affected.
"I've been trying to grind through this thing for a little bit – kind of had that tough-man mentality that I'll get through it," Saunders said. "But it's gotten to the point where it's truly affecting my ability to play the game. So once that happens, it's not fair to anybody."
To take his place on the roster, the Blue Jays selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Steve Tolleson, from Buffalo, of the International League.
Chris Colabello got the start in left field for Toronto in Sunday's game, with Kevin Pillar in centre and Ezequiel Carrera in right. Jose Bautista is still restricted to designated-hitting duties with a sore right shoulder.
Colabello continues to shine since getting called up last week. He went three-for-four on Sunday, his third multi-hit game in his past five outings. He is now hitting .556 (10-for-18).
For the Blue Jays, who will now head to Baltimore for the start of a seven-game road trip on Monday, the setback did little to detract from what was a decent homestand.
Toronto took two of three from the New York Yankees and two of three from the Red Sox, both rivals in the tightly packed American League East.
"I feel good right now. I like the way we've been playing overall," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "A good homestand against two tough teams. I thought our pitching was much better. That's one area we thought it was due to turn anyway."
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This marks the third time this season that the Blue Jays have faced the Orioles, and don't be surprised to see bad feelings continue to simmer. The Blue Jays believe Baltimore pitchers have been deliberately throwing at them, while the Orioles say some Toronto players are guilty of showmanship. It should be an interesting three games. It is the first home series for Baltimore since April 29, when spectators were not allowed in for their game against the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards after rioting forced a lockdown in the city. The Blue Jays will be without Michael Saunders for a little while, as the Canadian outfielder was put on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with inflammation in his left knee.
May 11, 7:05 p.m. (ET):
Baltimore RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2, 2.36) vs. Toronto RHP Marco Estrada (1-1, 2.93).
May 12, 7:05 p.m. (ET):
Baltimore RHP Chris Tillman (2-4, 6.25) vs. Toronto LHP Mark Buehrle (4-2, 6.00).
May 13, 7:05 p.m. (ET):
Baltimore RHP Miguel Gonzalez (3-2, 3.57) vs. Toronto RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-2, 3.62).
All games are at Camden Yards.