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ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

(Sports Network) - Homer Bailey can punch Cincinnatis ticket to the National League Championship Series on Tuesday, as the Reds try to complete a three- game sweep of the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati has won the first two games of the best-of-five NLDS in San Francisco and is on the cusp of securing its first NLCS berth since getting swept by Atlanta in 1995. "Youre not comfortable at all until its over," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "Weve been there before -- its hard to take the last breath out of anything, and that is [the Giants] last breath, and theyre trying to get a hold, win Game 3, then Game 4, and its back to even. So were trying to stop it from getting back to even [and giving them] any kind of momentum." There was some early speculation that ace Johnny Cueto could be the one making this start after he left his Game 1 appearance after just one-third of an inning with a back injury, but Baker doesnt want to push the issue. "You cant take a chance with Johnny, and we have to see exactly ... we cant have him go out there again and have something else happen to him and come up short again," Baker said. "When he goes back out there, we will make sure to the best of your knowledge that hes OK." So, it will be Bailey, who tossed a no-hitter just two starts ago. Baileys no-no was just the icing on the cake of a season that saw him post career-bests in starts (33), wins (13), innings (208), strikeouts (168) and ERA (3.68). "You know, people take different paths to the top and everybodys path isnt the same," Baker said. "This is the healthiest Homer has been this year. Homer has had something the last three or four years that has prevented him from going the whole year, but he just threw a no-hitter last month, and we feel hes on the way. We think he found what he needs in order to work out and in order to stay healthy. Once you find yourself -- like, everybody doesnt find themselves at the same time. Hes on the way." Baileys season was highlighted by the 16th no-hitter in team history on Sept. 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In five starts versus the Giants, Bailey has posted a 1-0 mark to go along with a 5.59 ERA. However, he has surrendered 19 runs in 29 innings of those outings. Sam Francisco will counter with right-hander Ryan Vogelsong, rather than two- time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and former AL Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito. Vogelsong earned this start, though, and was 14-9 with a 3.37 ERA. "Really, if you look at how consistent he has been for the most part this year ... I think hes earned this and thats how we arrived at this," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Vogelsong. Vogelsong, though, struggled in August (6.32 ERA) and September (6.46), but he recovered to pitch well in his last three starts, allowing one earned run over 17 innings. "He had a hiccup for three or four starts, but his last two starts hes gotten back on track and thrown the ball well," Bochy said. After Brandon Phillips home run set the tone in their Game 1 win over the Giants, the Reds got a terrific pitching performance from Bronson Arroyo on Sunday in a 9-0 rout. Arroyo spun seven innings of one-hit ball, struck out four and walked just one to earn his first career postseason victory. "Its amazing to go out there deep in the ballgame, get an opportunity to kind of do what you do in your craft and have it work out the way it did," Arroyo said. Pablo Sandoval had the lone extra-base hit for San Francisco, which now looks to become the first NL team in Division Series history to rally from an 0-2 deficit to win the series. "We know where were at right now and our backs are to the wall," Giants manager Bruce Bochy admitted. "We have to come out and be ready to play once we get to Cincinnati." History appears to be on the side of the Reds. Since Division Series play began in 1995, the team going up 2-0 has advanced 38 of 42 times, or 90 percent of the time. Only four teams have come back from that deficit, the most recent being the 2003 Boston Red Sox vs. the Oakland As. The others are the 2001 New York Yankees vs. Oakland, the 1999 Red Sox vs. Cleveland and the 1995 Seattle Mariners vs. the Yankees. None of them, though, had to win three consecutive road games to do it. And it has never happened in the NL. Cincinnati won four of its seven regular season matchups with the Giants this past season. Colin Kaepernick Jersey . Charles, who scored on an 80-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, got hurt on a 15-yard run in the second quarter. He got up and tugged at the bottom of his shoulder pads. Kaepernick Jersey . - The home of Sporting Kansas City will continue to be called Livestrong Sporting Park after Lance Armstrongs decision to end his fight against doping charges. http://elevatedcolor.com/new.html . Marie Greyhounds downed the host Ottawa 67s 4-1 on Thursday in Ontario Hockey League play. PARIS -- Canadian Milos Raonic closed out his 2012 tennis season Thursday by dropping a 6-3, 7-6 (1) decision to American Sam Querrey at the Paris Masters. The hard-serving No. 14 seed from Thornhill, Ont., had 10 aces on the day but the American countered with an even dozen, wrapping up the match in 71 minutes. "I didnt create enough chances, didnt do enough with my shots," Raonic said. Querrey was brimming with confidence after defeating top-ranked Novak Djokovic a day earlier. The loss also ended Raonics faint bid to reach next weeks eight-man World Tour Finals season wrapup in London. The players held serve until the second-set tiebreaker when Querrey jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Querrey then connected on a down-the-line forehand winner for five match points. One was enough as Raonic stabbed a volley into the net. The 21-year-old Canadian admitted that he has been feeling under the weather with a virus. "Im sick at the moment, I dont have fever but Im struggling with sinuses," he said.dddddddddddd Raonic has now lost twice this season to Querrey, who eliminated him from Wimbledon in the second round. The Canadian won titles in Chennai and San Jose this season and finished the campaign with a 45-20 record. He also reached finals in Memphis and last month in Tokyo. "After the final in Tokyo, I was optimistic, but then i struggled with my game a bit," he said. "It was a long year with a lot of stress and I didnt handle it all as well as I could have. "This was my first full season and I needed to deal with it all a bit better. On court today I was half a step slow, and didnt play the way that I wanted." Raonic has an exhibition in Toronto planned for the off-season, along with a training block in Barcelona before his 2013 start at the ATP event in Brisbane and the Kooyong exhibition in Melbourne before the Australian Open. ' ' ' 

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