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(SportsNetwork. Harrison Barnes Jersey .com) - If you would have said a year ago that the Boston Red Sox would be back in the American League Championship Series this season, you likely would have been laughed at. But, one year removed from losing 93 games, that is exactly the position the Red Sox find themselves in, as they kick off the best-of-seven set versus the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park on Saturday. Boston is back in this round for the first time since 2008 after upending the Tampa Bay Rays in four games of the ALDS. Only two teams were worse than Boston in the AL in 2012, leading to the dismissal of manager Bobby Valentine after just one season. So, out with the old and in the new, as the team hired John Farrell away from Toronto to be its new skipper. All Farrell did was put himself atop most peoples AL Manager of the Year ballots, as he guided the Red Sox to a 28-game turnaround and ended the year 97-65, leading the club to its first AL East title since their World Series championship season of 2007. The 97 wins were also the second most for the team since 1978. Farrell, of course, was the Red Sox pitching coach under Terry Francona, and his impact was immediately evident, especially among the starting staff which saw its ERA decrease by nearly two runs from the prior season. Nobody benefited from having Farrell back more than Game 1 starter Jon Lester, who was a miserable 9-14 in 2012, but bounced back to go 15-8 this past season, while pitching to a 3.75 ERA. Lester gave up two runs in 7 2/3 innings in a win over the Rays in the ALDS and has held the opposition to a .199 batting average with 46 strikeouts to 16 walks in 49 2/3 postseason innings. Including his Game 1 win over the Rays, Lester is 8-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 14 starts since the All-Star break. Hes also allowed three runs or less in eight of his nine postseason starts. "The more serious the game is, the better he gets," said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "Sometimes when youre facing teams when you maybe dont have the record or the lineup isnt as strong, maybe you can let off a little bit. But he has the ability to turn it on whenever he wants. So if hes in trouble, hes got no problem getting out of it." Detroit, meanwhile, is back in this round for the third straight season after a hard-fought five-game win over the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. Justin Verlander flirted with a no-hitter in the clincher and wound up giving up two hits over eight scoreless innings in the Tigers 3-0 win. "I can usually tell by the look on his face and his demeanor prior to a game when hes zeroed in and locked in," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland, "and he was locked in tonight." Now the Tigers turn their attention toward the Red Sox, as they try to get back to the World Series for a second straight season. Detroit went 93-69 to win a third straight AL Central crown thanks to another amazing campaign from Miguel Cabrera, and despite a wildly inconsistent season from Verlander. While Verlander struggled, the rest of the staff thrived, specifically right- hander Max Scherzer, who enjoyed the best year of his career, as he won an MLB-best 21 games, while pitching to a 2.90 ERA and striking out 240 batters over a career-high 214 innings. In Verlander, Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez the Tigers produced three 200- strikeout pitchers on the same team for just the third time in history, the first since the 1969 Astros. Sanchez, who led the AL with a 2.57 ERA, will get the start for the Tigers in Game 1 against the Red Sox. Often overlooked because of his high-profile teammates, Sanchez was one of the best pitchers in either league over the second half of the season, going 7-2 with a 2.20 ERA after the All-Star break. Sanchez, though, was rocked by the As in the ALDS to the tune of six runs -- earned -- in 4 1/3 innings. "Its a big day for me, especially because Im going to start the series again," Sanchez said. "This team, a pretty good team. But I think every day is different. I need to keep working. I need to be focused tomorrow." Detroit left-hander Phil Coke has been added to the roster for the ALCS after missing the division series with elbow problems. Coke gives the Tigers another option out of the bullpen, although he struggled this year, going 0-5 with a 5.40 ERA. Right-hander Luke Putkonen was left off the ALCS roster to make room for Coke. Right-hander Bruce Rondon, who also missed the division series against Oakland with elbow trouble, is still out. Boston and Detroit have been playing one another since 1901, but amazingly this is the first postseason matchup between the charter AL clubs. The Tigers were 4-3 against the Red Sox in 2013, winning three of four at Comerica Park in June and dropping two of three at Fenway in September. In fact, the last time they met Boston smacked eight home runs and won, 20-4. Custom Dallas Mavericks Jerseys . THE THUNDER & PACERS BENCHES: In a nutshell, not impressive at all. Wesley Matthews Jersey . The Toronto Argonauts (11-7) look for an opportunity to repeat as CFL champions when they host the surging Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-8) on Sunday. http://www.nbamavericksauthority.com/jose-barea-ma...ersey-c -5/ . Atletico Madrid made it three wins from three thanks to a double from in-form striker Diego Costa in a 3-0 victory at Austria Vienna, leaving the Spanish side on the brink of the last 16 already to continue its brilliant start to the season.TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan is playing the part of the all-star perfectly. In Torontos last game before the NBA all-star break this weekend, DeRozan, who was named a reserve on the Eastern Conference team, scored 31 points -- including 14 in the third quarter -- to lead the Raptors over the Atlanta Hawks 104-83 on Wednesday. Raptors coach Dwane Casey says hes been pleased with his all-stars constant improvements. "Hes done a great job every year of getting better," Casey said. "I know he wont (get complacent), because hes such a conscientious (guy). Hes a basketball junkie. I dont see him taking time off this summer just because he made the all-star team." Kyle Lowry delivered another solid performance, scoring 16 points and 13 assists. While he wont be heading to New Orleans for all-star festivities, Lowrys strong play this season has helped Toronto go into the break leading the Atlantic Division for just the second time in franchise history. "Kyles an all-star on and off the court in my opinion," DeRozan said. "My opinion, he should be in New Orleans as well. We wouldnt be where we are today if it wasnt for Kyle. I wouldnt be where I am now if it wasnt for Kyle, to be honest. We all understand that." Patrick Patterson started for the Raptors in place of Amir Johnson, who missed his second consecutive game to rest a sore right ankle, and scored 14 points in his second start of the season. While the Raptors got off to a slow start on Wednesday night, they found themselves trailing by only five after the first quarter, despite shooting just 29 per cent from the floor. They woke up in the second quarter and took a 45-44 lead into the half. Toronto had a strong start to the third quarter, opening on a 7-0 run to take an eight-point lead and force the Hawks into a timeout. The Raptors didnt look back from there. Thanks to a brilliant quarter from DeRozan, the Raptors stretched their lead to double figures midway through the third and outscored the Hawks 33-21 to take a 78-65 advantage into the fourth quarter. After scoringg 11 points in the first half, DeRozan exploded for 14 in the quarter, on 5-for-6 shooting including two three-pointers and a three-point play. Seth Curry Jersey . . Toronto continued to dominate in the fourth quarter and easily rolled to the victory from there. "I commend our guys for coming out and focusing in the second half," Casey said. Point guard Greivis Vasquez says he saw the victory as part of an overall goal that extends beyond this regular season. "(Were) third in the East, leading our division," Vasquez said. "If thats not a motivation then youve got to get the heck out of here. You dont see these opportunities very often. Were committed to the team and we understand what were playing for. "We want to be third. We want to win our division. We want to make a run in the playoffs but weve got to finish the season strong and keep building confidence." The Hawks were led by Gustavo Ayons 18 points and 10 rebounds, with Paul Millsap adding 17 points. Torontos Jonas Valanciunas struggled from the floor, connecting on just 1-for-9 field goals, but grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Atlanta was without starter DeMarre Carroll after he strained his left hamstring in a 100-85 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. Lou Williams started in his place. Kyle Korver extended his NBA record for most consecutive games with a made three-point field goal to 120 games, connecting on 2-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc against the Raptors. The Raptors will resume their season in Washington against the Wizards next Tuesday. Toronto will send three players to New Orleans for all-star festivities, headlined by DeRozan playing in Sundays all-star Game as well as in the skills competition on Saturday night. Terrence Ross will defend his Slam Dunk title and Jonas Valanciunas will represent the team in the Rising Stars game between the leagues best rookie and sophomore players. NOTE: Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris was at the game, and the Regina native showed off the bronze medal he won at the Sochi Olympics. Cheap Chargers Jerseys Cheap Rams Jersey Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Vikings Jerseys Cheap Patriots Jersey Cheap Saints Jerseys Cheap New York Giants Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Raiders Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Steelers Jerseys Cheap 49ers Jerseys Cheap Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Titans Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys ' ' '
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