three games is still a lot.

It definitely had that playoff atmosphere. It was two guys, going head-to-head, that are arguably our No. 1?s right now.

The biggest thing was not coming in here and getting swept. That would have put a damper on where we?re trying to get to. We play these guys three more times. We knew that as long as we didn?t lose six times to these guys out of the last 20 games, we feel confident in our ability to win the East.

He strikes out people with his movement. Obviously, the ball was dancing. He mixed in some other pitches when he needed to.

I've never been a Palmeiro fan.

You want to come in here and sweep because you can extend your lead, but you don't want to get swept. By winning yesterday, there was a lot of pressure taken off this team as far as having to avoid a sweep today and leaving here with a one-game lead.