the same environment as last (time), Kershaw again, Hendricks said. Im excited in a sense to get another crack at it. Its obviously going to be fun. It should be a close game. Its definitely going to be imp

PITTSBURGH -- Those who primarily follow the National League -- say, for instance, Pittsburgh Pirates fans -- might not have heard much about right-hander Joe Musgrove.Musgrove (1-1, 4.18 ERA) began the season with Double-A Corpus Christi and has had arguably a meteoric start to his career with Houston. He will be on the mound Tuesday when the Astros play the second of three games at PNC Park.At 6 feet 5, 265 pounds, Musgrove, 23, can look imposing, and he has pitched accordingly -- thanks to his performance and a couple of opportunities.He was recalled from Triple-A Fresno Aug. 1 because Doug Fister was going on paternity leave. He came on in relief Aug. 2, pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings against Toronto and setting a major league record for strikeouts by a reliever making his major league debut with eight.The starter that day, Lance McCullers, then went on the DL, so the Astros kept Musgrove around and gave him his first start, Aug. 7 against Texas, then another and another. The statistic that jumps out: He has 23 strikeouts and three walks in 23 2/3 innings.In his first start, which turned out to be a 5-3, 11-inning Astros loss to the Rangers, Musgrove retired the first 10 batters he faced before giving up three hits in the fifth. Then he settled back down and retired seven of the last eight batters he faced as he pitched through the seventh.He tired at the end but still gutted through his performance, Astros manager A.J. Hinch told the Houston Chronicle. Thats a big step for a young kid to come up here, get his first start and finish his outing. Its really easy to nitpick at the end when youre tired, not make a pitch, and end up having me go out and get you at 6 2/3, as opposed to seven.So there was a good growth day for him. Hes got a lot of charisma, he knows what hes doing, and hes going to attack the zone. I really like what I see from his first two outings.Musgrove has gone 1-1 since that no-decision.Tuesday, he will oppose right-hander Ivan Nova (9-6, 4.83 ERA), meaning it could be a strikeout contest.Nova is 2-0 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts since Pittsburgh acquired him from the Yankees. In his most recent start, a no-decision Wednesday in a 6-5 Pirates win in San Francisco, Nova gave up four runs on six hits over four innings, with five strikeouts and no walks.Houston and the Pirates are in similar battles to try to climb into a wild-card spot, but they are moving in different directions lately.The Astros 3-1 win Monday in the series opener was their fourth win in a row and kept them 3 1/2 games behind Baltimore, which holds the second American League wild-card spot.Since falling to 11 games under .500 on May 22 at 17-28, Houston is 48-32.Winning is contagious and playing good baseball is contagious, said Mondays winning pitcher, Doug Fister. Weve been playing pretty well the last few days, the best weve played in a while.The game Monday was Pittsburghs fourth loss in a row, leaving the Pirates two games behind Miami and four behind St. Louis, which holds the second National League wild-card spot.Manager Clint Hurdle often cites an even keel as critical, and hes emphasizing it even more now.Were very consistent in what we do, and one thing I remind them of is to think with reason, not to think with emotion; make decisions with reason, dont make decisions with emotion, Hurdle said. Many of them have been there in that situation before. Ive been in that situation before. Its not for lack of effort or attitude. Youre getting attitude, youre getting effort, the game can swing back and forth sometimes.Youve got to play through it. You hold fast. These are the times when the coaching staff and myself need to show up. Somebodys got to hold the wheel, keep them positive, keep them playing forward and keep them optimistic. 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McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. CHICAGO -- It was not hard to spot Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw before Game 5 of the NLCS in Dodger Stadium. Uniform pants rolled up to his knees, his preferred look, Kershaw went through his pregame normal work in extra-normal circumstances.All Kershaw has to do now is save the Dodgers season.Three-time NL Cy Young winner Kershaw threw seven shutout innings in Los Angeles 1-0 Game 2 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field on Sunday, and with a similar performance in the same place in Game 6 on Saturday could force a Game 7. The Cubs have a 3-2 series edge after winning the last two games.After pitching three times in six days, including saving the clinching Game 5 of the NLDS at Washington, Kershaw will have an extra day of rest this time.Its kind of nice, Kershaw said Thursday. Havent had that in a while, so its good. Should be ready to go.I think you do everything you can to try and keep it just like another start at the beginning. Then obviously the magnitude and the situation of the game kind of raises everybodys adrenaline. But trying to keep it the same right now.The Cubs took a 3-2 edge in the series by winning Games 4 and 5 in Los Angeles, when their somnambulant offense erupted for 18 runs and 26 hits -- 13 hits in each game. Anthony Rizzo homered in Game 4 and Addison Russell had two-run homers in each game to snap playoff skids.Rizzo had two hits in the first seven postseason games. Russell had one.A quick repeat matchup normally plays into the hitters hands, Kershaw said.The more you see somebody, the more familiar you get with them, Kershaw said. I mean, thats true for sure. So I dont think theres anything that you do to counteract it. Theres no secrets, anyway, in the game right now. Theres so much information. They know every pitch that I throw and every count and every situation. So its just a matter of not really focusing on that and just trying to compete every single pitch and execute.You maybe have a little less margin for error facing them the second time, but just be better, I guess.The Cubs will advance to their first World Series since 1945 by winning one of the next two games.dddddddddddd Game 7 would be Sunday.Cleveland, which beat Toronto in the ALCS, is in its first World Series since 1948 and awaits the winner of the NLCS.Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks, who opposed Kershaw in Game 2, led the major leagues with a 2.19 ERA this season and is among the favorites to win the NL Cy Young this year. Kershaw had a 1.69 ERA in 149 innings, 13 innings short of qualifying for the title after a back injury forced him to miss two months in the middle of the season.Its going to be the same environment as last (time), Kershaw again, Hendricks said. Im excited in a sense to get another crack at it. Its obviously going to be fun. It should be a close game. Its definitely going to be important. But ... you have to have simple thoughts, take the same approach as you would any other game.Cubs second baseman Javier Baez, whose three-run double in the eighth inning put the 8-4 Game 5 victory out of reach, is hitting .371 with a homer and seven RBI in the series. He has the highest batting average of an NL player with as many as 20 postseason at-bats. Kris Bryant is hitting .343 with homer and five RBI.Third baseman Justin Turner has had the Dodgers most production postseason, hitting .313 with a playoff high eight RBI.The team that has scored first has won each of the first five games of the series, and Los Angeles was the only team to score in Game 2, when Kershaw threw seven shutout innings and Kenley Jansen retired the final six in only 14 pitches in the 1-0 victory. Adrian Gonzalezs opposite field homer in the second inning was the only score.Youd much rather go home under these circumstances than any other, and you want to get it done as quickly as possible, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.Its going to be a formidable event. Our guys will absolutely be ready for the moment, I promise you that. ' ' '