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Originally Published: May 8, 2005

New face in Boston's doubleheader

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By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
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• 12:05: The Red Sox and Mariners open a rare, pure doubleheader, and in the second game, the long-awaited and much-needed Wade Miller takes the ball for Boston; this will be his first game since June 25, 2004.

• 1:05: The Yankees will try to make it two victories in a row, with Kevin Brown -- who is 1-6 since he punched a wall last September -- throwing for the Yankees, against Oakland's Rich Harden.

• 1:07: The Pitching Matchup of the Day will be in Toronto, where the Jays' Gustavo Chacin throws against Mark Buehrle of the White Sox, in a battle of lefties. Chicago seemingly has not lost a game since sometime in 1906; they're on a pace to win 124 games this season.

• 1:35: The Reverse Lock of the Day will be in Baltimore, where Royals left-hander Brian Anderson gets to face the Orioles' many tough right-handed hitters, with the left-center field fence about 350 feet away (364 officially, although players who've romped there have their doubts about that). Rodrigo Lopez pitches for the Orioles, who are in first place, while the Royals have lost five straight. All logic points to the Orioles winning, so look for a K.C. victory.

• 2:15: The Padres are on the verge of a four-game sweep in St. Louis, but they've got the Dreaded No. 5 Starter Jinx working today; the Padres' No. 5 starters never seem to win. Tim Redding pitches against the Cardinals' Jason Marquis.

• 8:05: The Most Likely Hitter To Go Deep will be in Cincinnati, where Eric Milton toils for the Reds. He's already allowed 11 homers in 32.2 innings, which puts him on a pace to surrender something close to 60 for the season. We'll go with the hot hand in Jeff Kent; he's going yard.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Saturday
The Good
The Atlanta Braves have won four straight, including Saturday's 4-1 victory over Houston. Horacio Ramirez fired seven scoreless innings for the victory.

The Bad
The Chicago Cubs have lost seven straight games, and already they are five games under .500 -- and they're ahead of the Astros, who have lost five straight and continue to struggle for runs.

The Ugly
The Colorado Rockies have played 16 road games. They've won one, and they're 11 games out of first -- five games better than the Kansas City Royals, who are already 16 games out of first.

Buster Olney is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. His book, "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," is available in paperback and can be ordered through HarperCollins.com.