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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. Patrick Beverley Jersey . 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. Danilo Gallinari Jersey . He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. Luc Mbah a Moute Jersey .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. http://www.cheapclippersjerseys.com/ . The Canadiens captain, who underwent surgery on his injured biceps in the off-season, had been skating with the team in a non-contact capacity since last week. NEW YORK -- The sons of former big leaguers Lenny Dykstra and Charlie Leibrandt were among the players selected Friday during the second day of the Major League Baseball draft. Luke Dykstra, an infielder at Westlake High School in suburban Los Angeles, was drafted in the seventh round by Atlanta. Hes the second son of the former All-Star outfielder to be drafted; infielder Cutter Dykstra was a second-round pick by Milwaukee in 2008 and is currently in Washingtons system. "Hes just like his dad," Braves scouting director Tony DeMacio told MLB.com, referring to Luke Dykstra. "He plays with his hair on fire." Florida State left-hander Brandon Leibrandt went in the sixth round to Philadelphia. He was 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA this season, but missed several weeks with a severely bruised left leg. "The Phillies were a little bit of a surprise," Leibrandt said in a statement released by Florida State. "I didnt think they were going to be one of the front-runners, but they called me at the start of the sixth round, we had a good talk and the rest is history." Leibrandt got the news while he was with his family, including his father, who won 140 games over 14 major league seasons. "Out of everyone, I think my mom was the most excited," Brandon Leibrandt said. "She went a little crazy, so I had to calm her down. But overall, I just couldnt have asked for anything more." Seminole State Junior College right-hander Jake Cosart, the brother of Astros starter Jarred Cosart, was a third-round pick by Boston. "As cool as it wouldve been for him to be an Astro itts so awesome that hes part of such a storied org. Cheap Clippers Jerseys Authentic. In Boston," Jarred Cosart wrote on Twitter. "Congrats (at)JakeCosart." Detroit took UCLA catcher Shane Zeile, the nephew of former big leaguer Todd Zeile, in the fifth round. Zeile led the Bruins by hitting .324 with two homers and 28 RBIs. After having no picks in the first two rounds, Baltimore made eight selections Friday, including Notre Dame right-hander Pat Connaughton, who also started at guard for the Fighting Irish basketball team. After averaging 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds on the court, the 6-foot-5 Connaughton went 3-5 with a 3.92 ERA in 62 innings on the mound for Notre Dame. "Its a dream come true to be able to play at a place like Notre Dame and have it pay off," Connaughton told the schools website. "When I saw my name, I was surprised and excited all at the same time. I was pumped that its an East Coast team and a great organization to learn and develop in." The Orioles had forfeited their first two picks after signing free agents Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez during the off-season. Their first selection came in the third round with Florida high school lefty Brian Gonzalez, who went 90th overall. Miami right-hander Javier Salas, who pitched the second perfect game in Hurricanes history this season, went in the 10th round to Milwaukee. The draft will be completed with rounds 11-40 on Saturday via conference calls with all 30 teams. Houston led off for the third straight year Thursday night, taking California high school lefty Brady Aiken with the first overall pick. 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