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Dickey tops fellow veteran Colon as Jays roll

TORONTO -- Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey came out on top in the battle of 40-plus-year-old starting pitchers by limiting his former team to one run over 7 1/3 innings in a 7-1 victory over Bartolo Colon and the Mets on Thursday night at Rogers Centre.

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This game marked the first time two starting pitchers in their 40s were matched up against each other since San Diego's Greg Maddux and Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer took the mound on Aug. 15, 2008. Dickey and Colon also happen to be the only starting pitchers currently in the Majors who are at least 40 years old.

Dickey clearly came out on the better end after he carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and didn't allow a run until the eighth, when Lucas Duda hit a solo shot to right. He tied a season high with seven strikeouts and allowed three hits while pitching around five walks, including three in the second inning.

Video: NYM@TOR: Dickey gives up one run, fans seven in 7 1/3

"I've felt like my arm strength has been coming back a little bit from the first month of the season, consistently hitting some velocities that help with the movement," said Dickey, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in his last four starts. "For the most part, I was pretty consistent in the zone. I had that one inning when I felt like there were some marginal calls, but outside of that, I felt it was pretty good all night."

Colon wasn't able to make it out of the fifth inning with most of the damage coming in a five-run fourth. He was charged with seven runs -- six earned -- on nine hits and one walk while striking out four. It was Colon's shortest outing since he surrendered nine runs -- eight earned -- over 4 1/3 innings against the Cardinals on May 20.

Chris Colabello hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays, while Kevin Pillar had his second multihit game in as many days.

Video: NYM@TOR: Colabello drills a solo shot to extend lead

"We came in here, they had two well-pitched games, we didn't swing the bats very good," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We've got to go get some sleep on the plane ... because we've got a game to play tomorrow night and we'll get ready for that."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Dickey walks off to standing O: Dickey has plenty of fond memories from his time with the Mets, but this time he got to savor a moment against his former squad. The former National League Cy Young Award winner walked off the field in the top of the eighth inning to a standing ovation from the 27,588 fans at Rogers Centre. He faced two batters over the minimum from the fourth inning until the Duda homer with one out in the eighth, which brought his night to a close. More >

Coming up short on D: Despite no official errors against him, Wilmer Flores' defensive woes continued throughout the Blue Jays' five-run fourth. With two men on and one out, Pillar hit a line drive to shortstop, where Flores jumped for a ball that was not over his head. It glanced off his glove for a single to load the bases. The next batter, Ryan Goins, hit a grounder to first, where Duda fielded and fired to Flores. The shortstop subsequently fell to the turf during his attempt to turn the double play as Pillar slid to upend him, allowing a run to come home and the inning to continue. More >

Video: NYM@TOR: Pillar singles off Flores to load the bases

Started from the bottom: The bottom of the Blue Jays' lineup has been red hot recently, and that production continued Thursday night against the Mets. Pillar opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI single to center field. He added another single in the five-run fourth inning and is now batting .382 (26-for-68) with two doubles, four homers and 16 RBIs since May 27. Goins added an RBI and a run scored, and Toronto is hitting .426 (23-for-54) out of the Nos. 7-8-9 spots in the lineup over its last five wins.

Video: NYM@TOR: Pillar opens the scoring with a single

Bad Bart: Defensive issues were Colon's enemy throughout his fifth loss of the season. But it didn't help that the Blue Jays hit him hard throughout. The result was an outing that matched Colon's shortest of the season. Two batters after Colabello's homer to lead off the fifth, Colon was out of the game.

Video: NYM@TOR: Colon fans Smoak to end the frame

QUOTABLE
"I was happy that the young buck won tonight." -- the 40-year-old Dickey, on his matchup against the 42-year-old Colon

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Blue Jays have won eight games in a row at Rogers Centre, which is their longest streak since July 21-Aug. 5, 2007 (eight games). The Mets, meanwhile, have dropped 13 of their last 16 games away from Citi Field. Their 10-21 road record ranks 29th in baseball.

In taking the loss, Colon broke Dwight Gooden's franchise record with a decision in his 26th consecutive start. Colon is 16-10 during his streak, which dates back to last July 23. More >

REPLAY REVIEW
Fan interference came into play in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Jose Reyes roped a fly ball down the right-field line. A fan reached out into fair territory and caught it on the fly, resulting in an automatic double. A brief replay review followed, but the call stood.

Video: NYM@TOR: Fan interferes on Reyes' hit, call stands

WHAT'S NEXT
Mets: Jacob deGrom will look to continue his recent run of success when the Mets open a three-game set in Atlanta on Friday at 7:35 p.m. ET. Owner of a 1.25 ERA over his last six outings, deGrom will try to avoid walking anyone for the fourth time in six starts.

Blue Jays: Right-hander Marco Estrada will take the mound when the Blue Jays open a three-game series against the Orioles on Friday night at Rogers Centre at 7:07 p.m. ET. Estrada allowed five runs over five innings during his last start against the Red Sox, but he still picked up the victory thanks to an offense that scored 13 runs. Estrada has allowed four runs or more in three of his eight starts this year.

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Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB and Facebook, and listen to his podcast. Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDiComo and Facebook, and listen to his podcast.
Read More: Jose Bautista, Chris Colabello, Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey