interceptions.North Carolina has won nine straight at ho

TORONTO -- All-Star slugger Josh Donaldson said the first half of Torontos season has been a little bit of a roller coaster.That ride is heading upwards as the first half ends.Donaldson hit a three-run homer, R.A. Dickey won back-to-back starts for the first time in a month and the Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 6-1 on Sunday in the teams final game before the All-Star break.Toronto heads into the break having won eight of nine and 18 of 25. The Blue Jays are second to Baltimore in the AL East and tied with Boston for the first wild-card spot.We feel pretty good with where were at right now, Donaldson said. Weve been playing well as of late. Hopefully have a nice break, everybody comes back ready to go and continue this momentum.Dickey said Torontos recent surge feels like it could be a sustained thing.Donaldson is the sixth player in American League history to hit at least 20 home runs and score 80 runs or more before the All-Star break. The others were Lou Gehrig (1936), Ted Williams (1946), Reggie Jackson (1969), Frank Thomas (1994), and Alex Rodriguez (2000).I think that has something to do with the guys hitting behind me, Donaldson said, referring to slugger Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders. Bautista is currently recovering from a sore left big toe. Encarnacion and Saunders will be joining Donaldson for the All-Star Game in San Diego.Donaldson is the first player to score 80 or more runs before the break since 2008, when Ian Kinsler (84) and Hanley Ramirez (80) both did it.Dickey (7-9) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time since victories at Boston on June 3 and at Detroit on June 8.We didnt do much against Dickey, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. We hit a couple of balls hard early and after that he settled in. He did a very nice job.Jesse Chavez got two outs in the eighth and Brett Cecil got the third. Bo Schultz finished for Toronto, which has won eight of 11 against Detroit.The Blue Jays took a 2-0 led against Anibal Sanchez (5-10) in the second when catcher Josh Thole hit a bases-loaded single. For Thole, the RBI were his first since hitting a solo home run at Tampa Bay on April 4, Torontos second game of the season.Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, made it 5-0 with a two-out drive in the fourth, his 23rd.Saunders made it 6-1 with an RBI single off Kyle Ryan in the eighth.Sanchez lost his second straight start, allowing five runs and eight hits in four innings. He has lost seven straight decisions as a starter, including five in a row on the road.I want to make the second half strong, Sanchez said. Right now I can say I had the worst first half of my whole career. Ive got to continue working.Encarnacion sat out after dropping his appeal of a one-game suspension for making contact with umpire Vic Carapazza. An All-Star this season for the third time, Encarnacion was suspended for bumping Carapazzas shoulder after being ejected at the end of the first inning in Torontos 19-inning loss to Cleveland on July 1.THIS IS 40Toronto continued its 40th season celebrations with a pregame ceremony honoring several former Blue Jays, including Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, slugger Joe Carter and two-time World Series-winning manager Cito Gaston.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: OF J.D. Martinez (right elbow) is taking swings but is still a few weeks away from a return, Ausmus said.Blue Jays: Donaldson started at DH for the second straight day, with Darwin Barney at 3B.UP NEXTTigers: Following the All-Star break, RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.07) starts the opener of a three-game home series against Kansas City. Verlander has won once in his past four starts.Blue Jays: Toronto heads on the road after the All-Star break, with RHP Marcus Stroman (7-4, 4.89) starting the opener of a three-game series at Oakland. Stroman allowed two runs in eight innings to beat Kansas City on July 6. Cheap Green Bay Packers Jerseys China . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Arizona Cardinals Kyler Murray Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. http://www.cheapfootballchina.com/ . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Cheap Miami Dolphins Jerseys China . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Cheap New Orleans Saints Jerseys China . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Its the vision Virginia Tech had when it hired Justin Fuente as coach: A high octane offense combined with a resurgent defense led by Bud Foster guiding the Hokies back into the national discussion as an elite program.The Hokies (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) returned to the Top 25 this week at No. 25, and travel to North Carolina to face the No. 17 Tar Heels (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday.Right guard Augie Conte thinks the Hokies have something to prove.Ive never been part of a ranked team here at Virginia Tech where weve actually been ranked and gone out and defended it next week, which is something that Im not necessarily happy about, Conte said, but youre not ranked until you can go out and defend it and prove that you are in a spot where you should be.Virginia Tech hasnt been ranked since the week after it beat Ohio State at the start of the 2014 season. They checked into the poll at No. 17, but lost their next two against East Carolina and Georgia Tech.Conte and his teammates like the recognition, but dont want it to cloud their mission.I guess its cool to get recognized and all that, but I mean, our goal at the beginning of the year wasnt really to be ranked, it was to win the ACC Championship and get some rings, defensive end Ken Ekanem said. But beating North Carolina this Saturday definitely helps us on our way to our goal, so its obviously a big game.The ranking probably means more around campus than in the locker room, running back Sam Rogers said.A lot of people try to put a lot of hype around the game, he said. Were excited because its a great opponent and its an ACC rival, so were excited just to go out there and show what we can do, not so much about where well be after. That stuff will take care of itself.The Tar Heels played for the ACC championship last season and have continued to impress under coach Larry Fedora, now in his fifth season. They have consecutive final-second victoriess against Pittsburgh and at No.dddddddddddd 23 Florida State, but Fedora is equally impressed with how quickly Virginia Tech has gelled in Fuentes first season.Justins done a great job with them, he said. First of all, a Bud Foster defense is like it always is every single year. Theres energy, its tough, they do a tremendous job. And then Justins brought in a more wide-open offense with a quarterback that can beat you with his legs or his arm. Im going to compare it to kind of some of the things that we do on offense. I think theyve got a really good football team, a really good football team.The Hokies have been led on offense by quarterback Jerod Evans, a transfer from Trinity Valley Community College in Texas. The junior has guided an offense that has produced at least 450 yards three times in four games, the first time a Hokies offense has done that since 2000.In four games, Evans has thrown for 13 touchdowns and been intercepted just once. Those numbers would be the best in the conference if not for the Tar Heels Mitch Trubisky, who has 13 TDs and no interceptions.North Carolina has won nine straight at home, which only ups the ante as far as the Hokies are concerned. They have yet to play a true road game, though they did face No. 9 Tennessee in the Battle at Bristol on Sept. 10.Since joining the ACC in 2004, Virginia Tech is 10-3 against ranked opponents on the road.Its definitely fun going into an away stadium and just facing more adversity like that, Rogers said. I really like going in and all the odds are stacked against you. I feel like thats where we do best.---AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard in Chapel Hill, N.C., contributed to this report.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr ' ' '