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BOSTON, Massachusetts - There are times over the course of a season when a team needs its ace starter to be a stopper. Pete Rose Jersey . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey. "I feel like thats why one of the reasons Alex pursued me and wanted to make the trade because he felt like I could be a guy that could help stop streaks when they werent going in our favour. Its not necessarily extra pressure but you do feel a real responsibility to be your best." Consider the situation: Following a franchise record-tying 11-game win streak the Blue Jays traveled to Tropicana Field, where the worst always seems to happen, and promptly lost the first two games of a three-game set against the division rival Rays. In stepped Dickey for an unusually early 12:10 afternoon start. 93 pitches and only two ground ball singles later, the Jays had won 3-0 and avoided the possibility of a lengthy losing skid. "Thats his job," said veteran Mark DeRosa. "Thats his job. Hes a number one, you know. We fully expected him to go out, maybe not throw a two-hit potential no-hitter the way he was rolling, but I have all the confidence in R.A. He knows, he knows, anybody who reads his post-game comments, this guy is thinking 10 days in advance. He knows what it takes and hes been there before and won a Cy Young." The Jays have won 12 of 15 despite Thursday nights 7-4 loss to the Red Sox. While the club, for the most part, has received excellent starting pitching during the stretch, a clearly defined staff ace has yet to emerge. Dickey is hesitant to discuss Wednesdays outing as a turning point in his season but his personal catcher, Josh Thole, who caught the knuckleballers Cy Young 2012 season with the Mets, suggested it could be. Thole struggled to catch the knuckleball in Wednesdays pregame bullpen session. It was even more difficult in-game. These are good signs. "I mean thats what I remember," said Thole. "What we saw (Wednesday,) is what I remember. Every fifth day it was a challenge to go out there, warm him up, take him into a game. Thats what I remember." "I dont usually say this but you could tell in the bullpen," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "I kind of kept it to myself but I think Pat (Hentgen) knew as well. We were watching him warm up and you could see the action on the ball." As a knuckleballer, Dickey often is left to his own devices. He can confide in Thole and bounce ideas off Walker but because theyve never thrown the pitch, there is a limit to which they can offer advice. As he does with all of his pitchers, Walker studies video of Dickeys work. He keeps a checklist with him, provided by Dickey, which details Dickeys mechanics. If Walker notices anything off kilter, even in the slightest, he provides Dickey with feedback. "There are some things he does like a traditional pitcher," said Walker. "Anytime he gets out of whack his front side will open up a little too soon, hell get underneath the ball a little too much and that ball will tend to stay up in the zone and take off on him. Like a traditional pitcher, when he stays closed long enough and gets his arm through the zone where it should be, you know out in front consistently, he gets the action that hes looking for." Dickey often travels into the clubhouse in-between innings to watch video. "So I can make an in-game adjustment," said Dickey. "But sometimes the differences are microscopic. Its the difference in an inch or two landing or an inch or two in my wrist position. I mean, thats what youre up against when you tackle becoming a knuckleball pitcher because you have to go through some things you dont have to go through as a conventional pitcher. Thats just part of the territory." Dickey spent most of the first two months pitching in pain. He had what can best be described as a strain on the right side of his upper back, pain he first felt in Kansas City in his third start of season. Being a knuckleballer coming off a Cy Young award was both a blessing and a curse. Throwing a knuckleball isnt as strenuous on the body so Dickey was able to pitch through the injury. Having been a conventional pitcher early in his career, Dickey says the pain would have sent the old him to the disabled list. On the flip side, hes struggled to live up to lofty expectations. With an overall record of 7-8, an ERA of 4.72 and 41 walks – an unusually high number based on his standard – Dickey has heard the jeers from frustrated Blue Jays fans and accepts them as a reality of the business hes chosen. He, too, has been frustrated. Now, hes focused on building off Wednesdays start and continuing the correction of the bad mechanical habits he developed because of the pain in his neck. "Sometimes its tough, especially when youre thinking about trying to throw without pain," said Dickey. "When youre trying just to throw a ball and not have pain in your back, you know, youre distracted maybe from being able to be in the moment with your mechanic." Now healthy, Dickey expects to be better in the seasons second half. Recent starts in San Francisco and, of course, Wednesday in Tampa Bay suggest hes on the right track. His next test wont be easy. Dickey is scheduled to start Mondays Canada Day matinee, at home, versus the offensively potent Detroit Tigers. Mike Schmidt Jersey . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks. Darren Daulton Jersey .C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. Sheets recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season to tie the Riders club record. http://www.baseballphilliesofficial.com/howie-kendrick-jersey-c-31/ . Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati because of a knee injury, but the 5-foot-10, 249-pounder had been expected to fill a need on Clevelands roster.WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals found a way to tie a back-and-forth game with 3:27 left against Ottawa on Wednesday night. It lasted just 64 seconds before Zack Smith and the Senators retook the lead. Bobby Ryan scored two goals and the Senators topped the Capitals 6-4. "The big test for us was when they tied the game. We didnt handle momentum swings very well in the first period or in some previous games," said Ottawa coach Paul MacLean, whose team has dropped four of five coming in. Smith scored the go-ahead goal with 2:23 remaining when he took a pass from Chris Neil at centre ice, skated in against defenceman Nate Schmidt and beat goaltender Braden Holtby from the left circle. Smiths goal came after Washingtons John Carlson tied the game with Smith in the penalty box. Chris Phillips had a goal and an assist, and Mika Zibanejad and Colin Greening added goals for Ottawa. Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Senators, who trailed 3-1 after one period. "Obviously a huge two points for us tonight," Phillips said. "We need to build off this momentum and keep it going. We look at the standings and were not in a great spot right now. We need to get on a bit of a roll." It was Ottawas first win in regulation at the Verizon Center since March 12, 2006. Eric Fehr, Marcus Johansson and Brooks Laich also scored for Washington, which led 3-1 before dropping its fourth straight. "We played a solid game (losing Saturday) in Toronto; we played lousy tonight," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "Not good decisions. We get a lead and we still dont do the right things." Zibanejad had given Ottawa a 4-3 lead at 6:05 of the third when he deflected a Jason Spezza shot past Holtby for Ottawas third power-play goal of the game. Craig Anderson stopped 29 shots for Ottawa. Holtby made 35 saves for Washington. Trailing 3-1 after one period, Ottawa tied it in the second as it outshot the Capitals 19-3. "A lot of angry guys in here," Anderson said of the Ottawa locker room after the first 20 minutes. "We werent happy with our effort that first periiod. Jeremy Hellickson Jersey. Obviously not happy with being down by two goals. But we held ourselves accountable. Each and every guy knew it wasnt good enough." With a man advantage, Phillips skated down the left side and blasted a shot from the circle over Holtbys glove to make it 3-2 at 6:36 of the second period. Exactly four minutes later, Greening tied it when he beat Holtby with a shot through traffic from the right circle. "We had them," Carlson said. "We were close to putting our stamp on it. But we let them back." After totalling three goals in its three previous games, Washington scored three in less than three minutes during the first period. They broke a 1-1 tie with two goals 47 seconds apart. During a power play, Alex Ovechkins shot was deflected in front and Johansson banged the puck home at the 14:06 mark. Washington made it 3-1 when Jason Chimeras pass deflected off Joel Wards skate behind the end line out in front to Laich, who beat Anderson with a backhand for his fourth goal. "We saw a very good hockey team in the first period with 18 shots and three goals and did a lot of things right," Laich said, "and for the rest of the game we saw a very bad hockey team. Bad decisions, bad penalties, getting outworked." The Capitals took a 1-0 lead at 12:10 on a delayed penalty call when Fehr wristed a shot home from the slot. Ottawa tied it on a power play just over a minute later as Ryan deflected Patrick Wierciochs shot from the point for his 12th goal. It was the first time this season the Capitals have allowed three power-play goals in a game, and the Washington penalty kill unit has given up at least one goal in the past six games. NOTES: Capitals F Martin Erat, who on Monday demanded a trade, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ... Washington recalled D Tyson Strachan from Hershey of the AHL. Strachan fought Neil after Neil levelled Schmidt late in the first period. ... Ottawas Mark Borowiecki (neck strain) was out of the lineup. 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