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(Sports Network) - The New York Yankees really need Hiroki Kuroda to be the pitcher he was in the first half if they have any intention on reaching the postseason. The Japanese right-hander goes after his first win in seven starts on Thursday when the Yankees play the rubber match of their three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Kuroda was one of the best pitchers in baseball through the first four months of the season, as he went 10-6 with a 2.38 ERA at the start of August. However, he is just 1-5 since then and has pitched to a 6.69 ERA over his last six starts (0-4). He gave up five runs over six innings in a loss on Friday at Boston, although he settled in after a four-run first. "As a starter, I think my responsibility is to go at least six or seven innings," Kuroda said afterward through an interpreter. "Thats what Im telling myself to do." One of Kurodas bad outings came in Toronto back on Aug. 28, when he allowed seven runs (5 earned) in five innings. He is 4-2, though, in his career against the Jays with a 3.71 ERA. New York kept its fleeting postseason hopes alive on Wednesday, as Vernon Wells two-run double in the top of the eighth inning capped a late rally that propelled the Yankees to a much-needed 4-3 win. The Yankees averted a fifth straight loss by putting up four runs in the eighth, with Robinson Cano and Alfonso Soriano each coming through with RBI hits in front of Wells go-ahead double. The victory also closed New York within 2 1/2 games of Texas for the ALs second wild card spot. David Huff (3-1) contributed to the comeback by tossing 3 2/3 innings of one- run ball in relief of starter Phil Hughes, while Mariano Rivera shut the door with a four-out save in which he worked out of a mild jam in the ninth. Toronto received a two-run homer from Colby Rasmus, his fourth in as many games, and a solo shot from Ryan Goins, but had just six other hits and fell to 2-6 on its current nine-game homestand. J.A. Happ threw seven-plus strong innings for the Blue Jays in a no-decision, permitting just one run on four hits while striking out a season-high seven. Steve Delabar (5-5) was tagged with the loss after surrendering two runs on three hits and registering only one out in the eighth. "Ive just happened to hit a rough bump lately, but its not going to change my mindset from day to day," said Delbar. "Im going to come back tomorrow and get right back at it." Heading to the hill for the Jays on Thursday will be righty Todd Redmond, who is 3-2 with a 4.10 ERA. Redmond did not get a decision Friday against Baltimore, despite a solid outing that saw him allow just a run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss. Redmond was on the other end of the Kuroda loss back on Aug. 28 and held the Yanks to two runs in 5 2/3 innings of that one. New York has won 14 of its 18 meetings with the Jays this season. In fact, since 2001, Toronto has won the head-to-head matchup with New York just one time, going 10-8 against the Yanks in 10. Custom Washington Wizards Jerseys . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team. Gilbert Arenas Jersey .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. http://www.cheapwizardsjerseyssale.com/k...wizards-jersey/. Felix Pie had an RBI double earlier in the inning, as Baltimore rallied for three runs to overcome a 3-2 deficit. J.J. Hardy had two hits and Matt Wieters chipped in with an RBI double for the Orioles, who pushed their winning streak to three games. Michael Jordan Wizards Jersey .com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills. Wes Unseld Wizards Jersey . Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night.TORONTO - Never mind the new quadrennial. Team Brad Jacobs wants to be a force on the mens curling scene for at least the next eight years.The new season is underway and the reigning Olympic champions are trying to build on their strong results from the last two years. The 2018 Winter Olympics is one long-term goal and theyre even looking ahead to the 2022 Games as another.And of course theyre hoping for more success at the Tim Hortons Brier, Grand Slams and other major events along the way. Our team is hungry, said team third Ryan Fry. We want to be known as one of the best teams to play the game and we want to hold on to that No. 1 spot as long as we possibly can.Fry joined forces with Jacobs, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden in 2012 and the quartet clicked immediately. The Northern Ontario rink won the Brier in 2013 and added silver at the world championship.They kept up their stellar play last season and reached their goal of an Olympic title at the Sochi Games last February. I think what we were able to accomplish over the last two years together really shows that the work ethic has to be there in order to achieve success in the sport now, Fry said in a recent phone interview. The one thing that we have that a lot of teams may not have — or have to work at very hard — is our chemistry.Right now I dont know if its matchable.That cohesion gives the Jacobs rink a distinct advantage this season considering all the recent lineup changes among top mens teams around the country. Fry and his teammates have also worked to improve their training routines, shifting some of their focus from heavy weightlifting to aerobics.Were spending a little more time making sure were strong in all parts of our game, Fry said. Its not just looking big out there but its actually having your body feel as good as it possibly can.The changes have paid off with some solid results early this season. They topped a strong field to win the Shorty Jenkins Classic in Brockville, Ont., last month and reached the final of the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard last week.They will take an impressive 19-5 overall record into the first Grand Slam of the season, the Oct. 28-Nov. 2 Masters in Selkirk, Man. At 36, Fry is the oldest member of the team. E.J. Harnden is next at 31, two years older than Jacobs — his cousin — and three years older than brother Ryan. Fry has played for several skips over his career while the Harndens broke through in 2008 with their first Brier appearance.Jacobs moved in as skip in 2009 and they won bronze at the national playdowns in 2010. Fry later rounded out the current lineup and last year they became the first Northern Ontario team to win the Brier since 1985.This is the team we want to play with, Fry said.Weve spent a long time looking for it, he added. We know we have the ability and the talent to stay at the top. Its just going to be collectively working together to keep improving our game. As long as the four of us are committed and are able to commit the amount of time and energy it takes to stay there, were confident that we can stay at the top or somewhere close to the top for a long period of time.Its just honestly going to come down to whether or not were able to do it with the rest of life coming into play, i.e. families, jobs, careers, things of that nature.Not only are they finally among the elite teams in the country — theyre now the rink to beat. And their goals are just as high now as they were two years ago.We want to, at the end of it, say that weve won everything that there is to win in curling and nowadays that includes the Grand Slams and the Canada Cup, Fry said. There aree so many major events that were lucky enough to be able to play in now that we have an opportunity to prove ourselves almost biweekly.dddddddddddd Were looking at all the majors as goals of ours to win.But the Brier, to me its still one of the things I grew up watching and something that I have a huge passion for. So obviously the Brier and provincial championships are very major in our planning for what we want to accomplish this year.Part of the challenge is to maintain the work ethic and training that helped set them apart.We know that if we want to stay at the level that we want to stay at for the next four years, and potentially were even talking going forward to 2022 — so youre talking a good seven, eight (more) years together — for us to do that as we get older, you need your bodies to stay in a 25-year-olds shape, Fry said. So not necessarily lifting the heaviest weights is going to be the best way to achieve that.So were just really making sure that we have the right training program in order to have longevity in the sport.The four members of Team Brad Jacobs are known for their chiselled physiques and a focused intensity. They often use a defensive style but can make the quick switch to an offensive game as needed.They also arent afraid to show their emotions on the ice. Fry admits it took some time for them to learn how to use their strong personalities for the teams greater good.Instead of doing things that may hinder our ability to win, we started looking at it as a way to grow together as a team and individually, Fry said. I think that the fact that were all honest and able to make those changes to ourselves and to the team dynamic, it really helped elevate us at a very quick pace.The domestic curling scene is quite different now than it was a year ago. Kevin Martin has retired and top skips like Kevin Koe, Glenn Howard, Jeff Stoughton, Brad Gushue and John Morris all made some lineup changes.Howard said he thinks the Jacobs rink has shown that its at the top of the class right now.They had a great formula and they seem to really have a good team dynamic and good team cohesiveness going on, Howard said. They had a little bit of a temper and a little bit of an edge to them which I think theyve learned to control. Theres nothing wrong with that as long as you can control it and I think they did that and they did that beautifully.If they have a bad end or a bad game, they bounce back very well and thats the sign of a true champion team.The Jacobs rink has no plans to rest on its laurels now that it has enjoyed major victories.Were playing enough to give ourselves the best chance of staying at the world No. 1 (position), Fry said of this season. Were honestly just chasing those 100 per cent games and trying to be as good of a team as possible. I know for a fact that when were playing at our ability and we dont let anything else get in the way of it, were very tough to beat.The wins and the championships and all that stuff take care of themselves if youre able to do that.It also helps when team camaraderie is strong. Were honestly four best buddies, Fry said. It helps that three of the members of our team are family. But we legitimately love spending time together. Theres no three other guys that any of us would rather win with than the guys that we have on our team.Thats something that I searched for for a long time and I know the guys have searched for it for a long time. We just really enjoy competing but being able to compete together. I think its that chemistry that we have that really brings us up a level.———Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. ' ' '