Struggling pitcher thrust into heart of series
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Struggling right-hander Javier Vazquez will start for the New York Yankees in Game 4 of their AL Division Series against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
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If you have a shred of humanity, watching Jon Lester take a major league mound for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer in late August of 2006 and win a 6-2 decision over a tough Cleveland Indians lineup last night had to tug at the heartstrings.
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Pitching, as usual, will play a critical role in these playoffs, positively and negatively.
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After last year&#39;s stunning NL Division Series loss to the Marlins, one of the major knocks on the Giants was their relative lack of speed and their inability to put pressure on the opposing team.
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Understandably, Curt Schilling was the first topic of conversation after his performance last night in Boston's 6-2 Game 2 World Series victory. He went six great innings. The game is nine innings.
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Summoned in the bottom of the seventh to help create a bridge to closer Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Timlin's larger role in Game 4 of the World Series last night was to use his vast postseason experience in what looked like a combustible situation.
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Sometime during the last several weeks, pitcher Jarrod Washburn began to sense a change in the mood surrounding the Anaheim Angels. Losing was no longer an option.
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As the World Series success of the Red Sox proved, a team coming off a drought-breaking win over its archrival can be difficult to stop.
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They hit for average and power, run with abandon and last night, they went through one of baseball&#39;s greatest pitchers to earn their way into the World Series.
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VIERA, Fla., Feb. 26 -- That night last June, Shawn Hill took to the mound at Fenway Park knowing his right elbow wasn't quite perfect, knowing the situation was bound to go bad. The previous two evenings against the Boston Red Sox, the starting pitchers for the Washington Nationals had failed to...
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They could end their remarkable losing streak against the Marlins at Pro Player Stadium at a baffling 14 games entering the three-game series that began last night.
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Getting to the playoffs has become pretty much of a given for the Atlanta Braves. So had postseason wins over the Houston Astros &#151; until now.
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For all of the fuss about Pedro Martinez&#39;s genealogical assertions, the critical factor in the American League Championship Series has been Boston&#39;s inability to provide for its pitchers.
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NEW YORK -- Tracing the tracks of their tears back to the ballpark in the Bronx where all the horrible things happened last October, the Red Sox returned to the American League Championship Series last night, fell behind, 8-0, then rallied mightily before again succumbing to the Yankees, 10-7.
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ST. LOUIS - The Houston Astros put their hopes in a pitcher untested in the postseason when they give Pete Munro the ball to start Game 2 of the NL Championship series on Thursday, one night after dropping the opener to the St...
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HOUSTON -- Now it's Roy Oswalt's turn to try to pitch the Houston Astros to their first playoff series victory.
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Astros ace Roger Clemens has been -- understandably --the focal point of today's Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. That is not to say St. Louis starter Jeff Suppan is an afterthought. In fact, he could play a major role in helping the Cardinals advance to the World Series.