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MINNEAPOLIS - A second-straight Thursday start unfolded in close to the same fashion for struggling knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Four scoreless innings, a 0-0 tie, only to have things come undone in the fifth. Last week in a loss to Houston, it was a Robbie Grossman fifth inning home run that broke the goose egg. Thursday afternoon, ultimately a 7-0 loss to Minnesota, it was a one-out single by Brian Dozier which led to six-straight Twins reaching base (five hits, one walk), five of whom scored to prematurely end Dickeys day. He teetered throughout, pitching out of jams in the first and fourth, before the dam burst. "I would get count and then really try to finish guys and they would do a good job of laying off really good pitches," said Dickey. "I thought I got squeezed there a couple of pitches but outside of that it was one of those days where youre just not putting the whole game together." Most troubling is the walk total. Dickey issued five more free passes, bringing his season total to 15 in 23 innings, second-most in all of baseball behind Philadelphias A.J. Burnett. "Its certainly moving better at this point, believe it or not, than it was last year," said Dickey. "I feel like over the course of the season, like Ive got 190 innings left, so I truly believe all the peripheral numbers are going to even out." "I mean its pretty amazing you keep that thing in the zone, period," said manager John Gibbons. "He battles that. Thats a lot for him and hell cut down on those, Ive got no doubt about that but you think about it, to be able to throw that thing in the strike zone is pretty tough as it is. But theres no question thats been hurting him." Dickey admitted to being miffed with home plate umpire Chris Gucciones strike zone. At times he was the beneficiary, most notably on a full count, called third strike on Minnesotas Chris Colabello in the first, which stranded a runner at third base. He thought he had Jason Kubel struck out twice in the fifth, got neither call, and Kubel singled home Minnesotas second run. "Im letting some external something impact the inning," said Dickey. "Whether its a ball that I thought should have been a strike or a ball that gets through a hole but were fortunate the other guys are going well. This wont remain this way. Its just tough to weather." Gibbons tried to let Dickey work out of the fifth but after the Kubel single, Josmil Pinto cracked a double off the wall in left-centre that scored two. "Dickeys our guy, its early," said Gibbons. "Hes here to get out of those innings and win games." "I really respect that," said Dickey. "Im appreciative of the opportunity to let me get through the fifth there. I take great pride in trying to go at least six innings in every start and so far this year in two of my four I havent been able to do that and hes given me every opportunity. As the season progresses those decisions, Ill make those pay off for him." Dickey threw a higher number of fastballs than usual. According to BrooksBaseball.net, 25 of his 112 pitches were fastballs, which he didnt attribute the cool conditions - the temperature was zero Celsius at first pitch. "It wasnt ideal but it wasnt something where I was coming in trying to soak my fingers in warm water to try to keep them warm," said Dickey. "I just didnt execute when I needed to make a big pitch and they put good swings on it." "I think it was just trying to balance the velocity of the knuckleball with the fastball so youre trying to throw a few more mid-count fastballs just to try to get them off of (the knuckleball,)" said catcher Josh Thole. Dickeys ERA ballooned from 5.30 to 6.26 in the loss. He dropped to 1-3 on the season, a decision in each start, each decision accurately reflecting the quality of his outing. The Jays starting staff, combined, has a 4.06 ERA through 15 games. Subtract Dickeys 16 earned runs allowed and his 23 innings pitched, the ERA drops to 3.20. "Im traditionally a slow starter and hopefully I can get back on track next time," said Dickey. Kevin Long Jersey . - The New York Rangers have momentum, a unified locker room and Henrik Lundqvist. Discount Nationals Jerseys . After falling 5-0 on home ice in a game that could have tied them for second in the wild card standings, Washington head coach Adam Oates had some strong words for Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin. http://www.cheapnationalsjerseyschina.com/adam-eaton-jersey/. That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season. Nationals Jerseys Outlet . "Rob brings a wealth of coaching experience, having worked both in Canada and overseas in player development," Canada Soccer technical director Tony Fonseca said in a release. Daniel Murphy Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Brandon Lyon that includes an invitation to their big league camp for spring training.CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson is hoping hes on the verge of turning around a disappointing season. The six-time Sprint Cup champion won the pole Thursday night for the Coca-Cola 600, turning a lap at 194.911 mph at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the third round of NASCARs knockout qualifying format. It was the first pole of the year for Johnson, who has yet to win a race this season. "It certainly shows that were going to be strong this weekend," Johnson said. "I dont know that it sends the same message that winning two or three races will send. But I would love to rattle off two or three wins and have people fear the No. 48 as they have in the past. I dont think a pole position does that to the garage area, but you have to start somewhere." Brad Keselowski qualified second and will start on the front row for the seventh time this season. Kasey Kahne was third, followed by Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer. Sprint Cup points leader Jeff Gordons struggles in practice runs carried over to qualifying. He didnt make it out of the first round of qualifying and will start 27th -- one spot behind last weeks All-Star race winner, Jamie McMurray. Johnson has won six Sprint Cup races at the Charlotte, twice from the pole. He said he isnt concerned that he hasnt won a race this season, which would secure a spot in the Chase for the Cup. What has bothered him is the lack of consistency. "We have been close to some wins and been pathetic at other tracks," Johnson said. Johnson was asked if he agrees with the notion that some detractors have enjoyed the fact that he hasnt won yet. "I think there are some people getting satisfaction out of it," Johnson said. "But if I win, I win too much. If I dont win, they say you arent winning enouggh.dddddddddddd So it doesnt matter what I do, I cant win." Johnson was a non-factor in the All-Star race last week at the track in his bid for a three-peat. He said his crew changed the setup in his car this past week, borrowing some advice from teammate Kasey Kahne. "We learned some things from last week," Johnson said. Keselowski said he was bummed he got beat out for the pole -- again. It was the sixth time this season he has qualified second. "Its like kissing your sister," Keselowski said. Patrick will start in the top 10 for the third straight week. She was fast throughout the qualifying session with the top lap in the second round of 194.595. But her lap in third round was more than one second slower. Joey Logano, who is off to the best start of his young career with two wins this season, will start eighth and will be considered one of the favourites on Sunday. Logano has already won twice this season and has historically run well at Charlotte with three top-five and six top-10 finishes in 10 career Cup starts at Charlotte. Track temperatures reached 106 degrees at the start of qualifying, but cooled significantly as the sun set behind the grandstand and the speeds picked up dramatically. Drivers had problems in the first two turns early in qualifying complaining their cars were tight, and had to adjust on the clock. Under the new format all cars are allowed 25 minutes to qualify with the top 24 based advancing to 10-minute session in round two. From that group, the top 12 advanced to the final, five-minute round. "The great thing about the new qualifying sessions is there are multiple opportunities to get it right and that is a good thing," Keselowski said. "That is why it is so much fun." 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