ms like that. I think they surprised us out there with

TORONTO – Minutes after Kevin Pillar played the hero in Monday nights 5-4 Blue Jays walk off win over the Twins, he alluded to a conversation he shared with Jose Bautista earlier in the evening. The two were in the batting cage moments before game time. Bautista was taking final warm up cuts. Pillar was hitting soft toss. The one-time utility player turned All-Star pulled aside the clubs young, fourth outfielder and offered him some advice. Pillar described it as a discussion about hitting. Bautista told him there was nothing wrong with his swing, that he should remain aggressive in the batters box in order that the pitcher doesnt get too comfortable. He reminded Pillar that in Pillars role, he could step to the plate in crucial, late-game situations. Sure enough, Pillar got the game-winning single to snap a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning. Sure enough, he remained aggressive, perhaps too much so early in the at-bat when Pillar swung at the first two pitches down and out of the strike zone. With the count 1-2, Pillar took a pitch on the outer half to right field, Erik Kratz came around to score and the Blue Jays celebrated. Pillar thought enough of the conversation to share it with the assembled media postgame. Bautista seemed surprised to be approached on the topic. "You hope to have an effect on all your teammates, no matter what you talk about or discuss," said Bautista. "Even if its, hey youre opening up a little bit or having a 10-minute talk about being mentally ready, preparation and mindset and all that. You hope that your teammates listen to you. You dont hope that they do exactly what you say and if you say hop on one foot they start doing it, but if you make a comment that you think is going to help you hope they at least listen. Digest it and if it helps and it works then so be it." The type of conversation Bautista had with Pillar is rare this season, according to Bautista, because the Blue Jays are laden with veterans. The need doesnt arise as often. This, too, is the second year the group has been together after being arranged in the flurry of high-profile offseason moves made in November and December, 2012. "I think each person is more knowledgeable of others capabilities, more realistic with the expectations," said Bautista. "I think last year, people didnt know what to expect exactly with other players. Expectations might have been a little unrealistic, sometimes on the higher end and sometimes on the lower end. Sometimes you might have expected more out of somebody and that might have been not right. Sometimes you expected less and the guys surprise you. So now I think everybody is more in tune with each others capabilities." DICKEY THROWING MORE FASTBALLS R.A. Dickey is using his fastball more this season than he did last year. Hes thrown a heater 14.3 per cent of the time in 2014, compared to 11.9 per cent last season. This years number is more reflective of his 2012 Cy Young award season with the Mets, when 14 per cent of his pitches were fastballs. "I think its conscious because Ive had a lot of high-pitch games," said Dickey. "I had a 31-pitch first inning against (the Twins on Monday night), I had like a 30-pitch against the Royals, first inning. I need to get back to trying to induce contact earlier in counts so in that regard it has been something that Ive consciously tried to do. Especially with teams, Minnesota for instance is a team that leads the league in pitches taken so whenever you have a club like that you want to try to get ahead of guys as much as possible." Dickey is also conscious of his walk rate, which has skyrocketed this year. Hes issued a free pass to 10.2 per cent of hitters hes faced, compared to 7.5 per cent last year and 5.8 per cent in 2012. In each of his last two starts, hes allowed home runs off his fastball. On June 4 in Detroit, Miguel Cabrera took him deep on a first pitch fastball in the first inning. On Monday night against the Twins, leadoff hitter Danny Santana hit a home run off a full count fastball. Dickey had been falling behind in that first inning in Detroit and thought he could sneak a heater by Cabrera. "That was just a roll of the dice," said Dickey. "I had gone 2-0 with the first two hitters and felt that he would want to get in a hitters count. I tried to steal a strike the first time through the lineup and his numbers off me, I think hes had like 14 at-bats and two first-pitch swings and so the percentages were in my favour that he was taking and so I tried to play to those and got burned." Half of the home runs Dickeys allowed this season, five of 10, have been off fastballs. Has he become too predictable, throwing fastballs when in need of a strike? "I would hope not because I try to do a good job of throwing a lot of 2-0, 3-1, 3-2 knuckleballs," said Dickey. "Im not in the habit of routinely throwing a fastball in a fastball count but because I dont feature the same velocity as a lot of guys its a lot easier to put the barrel on the ball if theyve seen multiple fastballs in an at-bat; if theyre not well located in particular." JAYS INK TWO MORE PICKS The Blue Jays locked up their second and fifth round picks from last weeks amateur draft. They are highly-touted right-handed pitcher Sean Reid-Foley (49th overall) out of Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Florida and centerfielder Lane Thomas (144th overall) out of Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. Both players are 18 years old. Mariners Jerseys China . Josh Mazzola drove in five runs to lead the Goldeyes (20-12) past the Capitales 11-5 Friday night at Le Stade Municipal in Quebec City. Mariners Jerseys 2020 . -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . Manager Alex Ferguson says the injury was sustained while the player tried to hit a volley toward the end of training on Tuesday. Seattle Mariners Store . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Mariners Jerseys 2019 . First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday.Jonny Evans has warned Northern Ireland another below-par performance against Azerbaijan will endanger their World Cup qualification bid. The team ranked 88th in the world are the visitors to Belfast on Friday night, as they were four years ago early in Michael ONeills reign, when his side had to rely on a stoppage-time David Healy goal to prevent a shock away victory.Worse was to follow later in that World Cup qualification process when Azerbaijan claimed a 2-0 success in Baku, one month after ONeills side had been beaten in Luxembourg during a period when Northern Ireland recorded just one victory in 22 games. Northern Ireland boss Michael ONeill says he couldnt ask for much more from his players Both nations have seen their fortunes improve in the intervening years and three points at Windsor Park would put Northern Ireland above Azerbaijan into second place in Group C as they aim to reach back-to-back finals of major competitions.I think weve come a long way, Evans said as he reflected back on the previous meetings with Azerbaijan.Michael spoke about that, how to deal with teams like that. I think they surprised us out there with how organised they were. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ?￡6.dddddddddddd99. No contract. The expectations on us as a team have risen dramatically and I do think for Azerbaijan as well. Theyre sitting well in the group and Im sure they will be pleased with how theyve started.The last game against them at home, we equalised late on, [but] I think we were in control in that game. I know back then we were disappointed with the result. A car is believed to have developed a technical fault and caught fire outside Northern Irelands team hotel I think now it would be even more so and it would really derail our campaign if we were to perform like that again. It would be disappointing for us to perform like that.In terms of how we approach the game, were in a better mindset and weve got a much clearer plan going into the game of how were going to win.Watch Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan on Friday night. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 7:30pm. Also See: ONeill content with start Sky Live: N Ireland v Azerbaijan Grigg keen to impress for NI Northern Ireland fixtures ' ' '