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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. 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. 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LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Cheap Air Max 97 China Discount . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Two teams with four-game unbeaten streaks meet Sunday at Childrens Mercy Park, as Eastern Conference-leading New York City FC makes its first-ever visit to Kansas City to face Sporting Kansas City.NYCFCs unbeaten streak actually comprises four straight wins, tied for the longest by any MLS team this season. The streak has the squad on top of the Eastern Conference standings with 30 points. NYCFC had a pair of shutout victories in the past week, defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-0 and the New England Revolution 1-0. They have a 272-minute shutout run that stands as the longest active streak in MLS.New York City FC is 5-2-1 on the road this season, with two more road wins than any other team. The Sky Blues are unbeaten in four straight road games dating back to mid-May, winning three and posting shutouts in their last two. Overall, they are 8-5-6 (30 points).David Villa, a World Cup champion with Spain, leads MLS with 12 goals, while Italian World Cup champion Andrea Pirlo ranks among the top five in chances created. Frank Lampard missed the first 2 1/2 months because of injury, but has scored three goals in his last four appearances, including the game-winner in Wednesdays triumph at New England.Sporting KC is coming off a dramatic, stoppage-time 3-2 victory over Columbus Crew last Sunday.dddddddddddd Matt Besler scored his first goal since 2011 with a 91st-minute header. Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi also scored for Sporting, who had their first three-goal game of the season.The win helped Sporting back above the line in the playoff push with a 7-8-4 record (25 points), good for fifth spot in the Western Conference.Besler and Zusi both likely will make milestone appearances Sunday. Besler should make his 200th MLS start (including playoffs), while Zusi is set to start his 150th regular season game.Sporting Kansas City was victorious in its first-ever meeting with New York City at Yankee Stadium on March 28, 2015. Ike Oparas 12th-minute header off a Besler throw-in gave the visitors a 1-0 victory.Sporting Kansas City will be without leading goal scorer Dom Dwyer, who will serve a one-game suspension Sunday due to caution accumulation. Three players are listed as questionable, as Nuno Coelho (thigh), Chance Myers (hamstring) and Paulo Nagamura (thigh) recover from recent injuries. Meanwhile, New York City FC likely will be without defender Ethan White (adductor strain) and forward Steven Mendoza (core injury). ' ' '