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Originally Published: August 25, 2005

Garland bidding for 17th victory

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By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
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• 1:05 p.m. ET: Chacin pitches against Chacon in Yankee Stadium, and there must be something in those names for the folks at the Elias Sports Bureau to dig up. That's Gustavo Chacin of the Blue Jays, going for his 12th victory, against Shawn Chacon, who has been a revelation for the Yankees, going 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA in six appearances.

• 1:05 p.m. ET: This is going to be an interesting start for Livan Hernandez, because there are signs of physical erosion in his outings lately -- he misses the catcher's mitt by more than he usually does, his control suffering. The Nationals need him, as always, to come up big, and he's facing Cincinnati left-hander Brandon Claussen.

	Silva

	Garland

• 1:10 p.m. ET: A win on Wednesday halted the skidding for the White Sox; the question today is whether Jon Garland can get Chicago headed in the right direction again. He's going for win No. 17, while pitching against Minnesota's Carlos Silva in The Best Pitching Matchup of the Day. The Guy Most Likely To Go Deep is Chicago's Timo Perez, who has a whopping 10 hits in 16 career at-bats against Silva, including a home run.

• 7:05 p.m. ET: The Angels will try to finish off the Orioles, with John Lackey throwing his power stuff against Rodrigo Lopez. But the biggest question in Baltimore will be the whereabouts of pitcher Sidney Ponson, who was arrested for a DUI early Thursday morning. There's a fair chance, perhaps, that Ponson will never put on an Orioles' uniform again.

• 8:10 p.m. ET: Curt Schilling returns to the Boston rotation in The Must-Watch Game of the Day, making his first start since April 23, when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays scored six runs in seven innings against him.

	Vazquez

	Martinez

• 9:40 p.m. ET: The New York Mets exploded for 14 runs Tuesday, and then 18 Wednesday, and tonight, they have Pedro Martinez pitching, facing off against Javier Vazquez of the Diamondbacks. The Mets are hanging around in the wild-card race, sitting just two lengths shy of the leaders.

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.