TORONTO -- R.A. Dickey worked on putting the dance back into his knuckleball. The adjustments paid off.

The right-handed knuckleballer pitched his first complete game of the season, first baseman Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Angels 8-4 Thursday.

"The simple answer is movement, late movement," Dickey said. "I had a lot of late movement tonight, something I haven't had for probably the last month."

The Blue Jays earned their second win in the past nine games to gain a split in the four-game series with the Angels, who got home runs from first baseman Marc Krauss and third baseman David Freese.

Left fielder Danny Valencia also homered for the Blue Jays.

Dickey (2-5) allowed five hits, two walks and four runs while striking out seven to earn his first win since May 4, recording the Blue Jays' second complete game of the season. The other was by left-hander Mark Buehrle.

"In the big leagues nowadays, especially in this park where it's a great offensive park, complete games are tough to come by," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Dickey was outstanding. The last couple of times out, his knuckleball wasn't doing as much, and he made some adjustments. It was great tonight. It was all over the place, and we needed that."

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, "He had that thing moving pretty good. We got off to a good start, but we just couldn't get much more going."

Dickey praised pitching coach Pete Walker.

"I can't really say enough about Pete," Dickey said. "Pete's been integral in the difference in the last month. He was able to capture some stuff on video, and we worked really hard between outings. I would not have caught it on my own. A lot of is about tempo, and a lot of it is about stuff I don't want to talk about."

Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker (3-4) allowed eight hits, two walks and eight runs (seven earned) with four strikeouts in six-plus innings.

"Everything is kind of going bad right now," said Shoemaker, who has one win in his past six starts. "I've just got to find a way to get out of it.

"I've got to turn it around quick. There's not really any other way to say it. It's got to be done quick to help this team out. I don't want to keep putting us in a bad situation."

Scioscia said, "He made a lot of mistakes in tonight's game with his off-speed pitches. He got away with some, and some he didn't. It's in there. He just needs to find the consistency."

Los Angeles shortstop Erick Aybar went 0-for-4 to snap an 11-game hitting streak.

The Blue Jays scored four times in the fifth inning, three on Encarnacion's 10th home run of the season, to take a 6-1 lead.

"We got some big production up and down the lineup, which is what you need to do so, it was just a good all-around game," Gibbons said.

Shortstop Ryan Goins walked with one out and took third on a single by second baseman Steve Tolleson. Designated hitter Jose Bautista grounded an RBI single through the right side of the infield, and Encarnacion homered to left on a 2-0 pitch.

Krauss homered to right, his first of the season, in the first inning to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. Called up from Triple-A last week, he was playing first base in place of Albert Pujols, who was out with a bruised left hand after being hit by a pitch Wednesday.

Krauss took over from Pujols in the fifth inning Wednesday and in the seventh hit a two-run double that provided the winning margin in the Angels' 4-3 victory.

Valencia led off the Blue Jays' third with his first home run of the season, a drive to right, Goins followed with a double to right. Tolleson bunted for a single, and Goins came around to score when Shoemaker was charged with an error on his high throw to first on the bunt.

The Angels (21-20) scored a run in the seventh on doubles by Trout and Freese to cut the Blue Jays' lead to 6-2.

The Blue Jays (19-24) added two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Tolleson led off with a walk and took third on a double by third baseman Josh Donaldson. Right-hander Vinnie Pestano replaced Shoemaker.

Designated hitter Jose Bautista hit a sacrifice fly to restore the five-run lead. Right fielder Chris Colabello walked with two outs, and Donaldson scored on an infield single by center fielder Kevin Pillar.

Trout walked in the ninth, and Freese hit his eighth homer of the season to finish the scoring.

NOTES: 1B Albert Pujols (bruised left hand) was not in the Angels' lineup after being hit by a pitch Wednesday. Pujols hopes he might be ready to play Friday in Boston. ... Blue Jays SS Jose Reyes (cracked left rib) started his rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday. ... 2B Devon Travis (left shoulder irritation) was not in the Blue Jays' lineup for the fifth consecutive game. ... Mike Trout was the Angels' designated hitter after starting the first 40 games in center field. ... The Angels open a three-game series in Boston on Friday with RHP Garrett Richards (3-2, 2.29 ERA) facing Red Sox RHP Rick Porcello (4-2, 4.26). ... The Blue Jays continue a 10-game homestand Friday by starting RHP Marco Estrada (1-2, 3.55) against Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez (6-1, 2.30) in the opener of a three-game series against the Mariners.