Blue Jays try to secure R.A. Dickey

The Toronto Blue Jays tried Sunday night to close a trade for New York Mets ace R.A. Dickey, with the deal hinging on whether the National League Cy Young Award winner could work out a new contract.

The Mets would get prized catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud. There was speculation Toronto also would receive catcher Josh Thole and send catcher John Buck and minor league pitcher Noah Syndergaard to the Mets.

Dickey, a 38-year-old knuckleballer, was 20-6 with a 2.73 earned-run average last season. He is signed for $5.25 million next year, and the Mets started exploring trades after they couldn’t agree to a contract adding two years.

D’Arnaud, who turns 24 in February, hit .333 at triple-A Las Vegas with 16 home runs and 52 runs batted in. He tore a knee ligament in June and had season-ending surgery.

ETC.

Garcia wins by three strokes

Sergio Garcia won the rain-shortened Johor Open in Malaysia, closing with an 11-under-par 61 for a three-stroke victory in the Asian Tour’s season-ending event.

The 32-year-old Spanish star finished at 18-under 198 for his second victory of the year and 24th international title. He also won the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship in August.

American Jonathan Moore also shot a 61 to finish second.

::

Charl Schwartzel was a runaway winner for the second week in a row, coasting to a 12-shot victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Malelane, South Africa, on the European Tour.

The 2011 Masters champion finished with a total score of 24-under 264. He won by 11 strokes in Thailand last weekend.

He entered the final round with a 10-shot lead and closed with a 69.

::

Australasian Tour rookie Daniel Popovic completed an improbable wire-to-wire victory in the Australian PGA, shooting a three-under-par 69 for a four-stroke victory at Coolum.

Popovic finished at 16-under 272. The Australian opened with rounds of 64, 70 and 69.

::

Ryan Lochte won two more races at the short-course swimming world championships, finishing the event at Istanbul, Turkey, with six golds and one silver. The result matched his medal total from the last championships, in 2010.

Lochte won the 100-meter individual medley, a day after he set the world record in the event. The five-time Olympic champion finished in 51.21 seconds.

Lochte then joined the U.S. team of Matthew Grevers, Kevin Cordes and Thomas Shields to win the 400-meter medley relay in 3:21.03, with Russia second and Australia third. Lochte’s time of 45.22 seconds was the fastest on the team.

::

Milwaukee Bucks center Joel Przybilla was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for throwing a basketball that hit a referee during a game against the Clippers.

The incident occurred with 1 minute 36 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 111-85 loss to the Clippers on Saturday night.

::

Ted Ligety cruised to his third giant-slalom win of the season by more than two seconds after an opening run that left his rivals in awe, giving the United States Ski Team two wins in two days at Alta Badia, Italy.

Ligety sliced his way down the classic Gran Risa course in a two-run combined time of 2:37.27.