BOSTON, Massachusetts - There are times over the course of a season when a team needs its ace starter to be a stopper. For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey. "I feel like thats why one of the reasons Alex pursued me and wanted to make the trade because he felt like I could be a guy that could help stop streaks when they werent going in our favour. Its not necessarily extra pressure but you do feel a real responsibility to be your best." Consider the situation: Following a franchise record-tying 11-game win streak the Blue Jays traveled to Tropicana Field, where the worst always seems to happen, and promptly lost the first two games of a three-game set against the division rival Rays. In stepped Dickey for an unusually early 12:10 afternoon start. 93 pitches and only two ground ball singles later, the Jays had won 3-0 and avoided the possibility of a lengthy losing skid. "Thats his job," said veteran Mark DeRosa. "Thats his job. Hes a number one, you know. We fully expected him to go out, maybe not throw a two-hit potential no-hitter the way he was rolling, but I have all the confidence in R.A. He knows, he knows, anybody who reads his post-game comments, this guy is thinking 10 days in advance. He knows what it takes and hes been there before and won a Cy Young." The Jays have won 12 of 15 despite Thursday nights 7-4 loss to the Red Sox. While the club, for the most part, has received excellent starting pitching during the stretch, a clearly defined staff ace has yet to emerge. Dickey is hesitant to discuss Wednesdays outing as a turning point in his season but his personal catcher, Josh Thole, who caught the knuckleballers Cy Young 2012 season with the Mets, suggested it could be. Thole struggled to catch the knuckleball in Wednesdays pregame bullpen session. It was even more difficult in-game. These are good signs. "I mean thats what I remember," said Thole. "What we saw (Wednesday,) is what I remember. Every fifth day it was a challenge to go out there, warm him up, take him into a game. Thats what I remember." "I dont usually say this but you could tell in the bullpen," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "I kind of kept it to myself but I think Pat (Hentgen) knew as well. We were watching him warm up and you could see the action on the ball." As a knuckleballer, Dickey often is left to his own devices. He can confide in Thole and bounce ideas off Walker but because theyve never thrown the pitch, there is a limit to which they can offer advice. As he does with all of his pitchers, Walker studies video of Dickeys work. He keeps a checklist with him, provided by Dickey, which details Dickeys mechanics. If Walker notices anything off kilter, even in the slightest, he provides Dickey with feedback. "There are some things he does like a traditional pitcher," said Walker. "Anytime he gets out of whack his front side will open up a little too soon, hell get underneath the ball a little too much and that ball will tend to stay up in the zone and take off on him. Like a traditional pitcher, when he stays closed long enough and gets his arm through the zone where it should be, you know out in front consistently, he gets the action that hes looking for." Dickey often travels into the clubhouse in-between innings to watch video. "So I can make an in-game adjustment," said Dickey. "But sometimes the differences are microscopic. Its the difference in an inch or two landing or an inch or two in my wrist position. I mean, thats what youre up against when you tackle becoming a knuckleball pitcher because you have to go through some things you dont have to go through as a conventional pitcher. Thats just part of the territory." Dickey spent most of the first two months pitching in pain. He had what can best be described as a strain on the right side of his upper back, pain he first felt in Kansas City in his third start of season. Being a knuckleballer coming off a Cy Young award was both a blessing and a curse. Throwing a knuckleball isnt as strenuous on the body so Dickey was able to pitch through the injury. Having been a conventional pitcher early in his career, Dickey says the pain would have sent the old him to the disabled list. On the flip side, hes struggled to live up to lofty expectations. With an overall record of 7-8, an ERA of 4.72 and 41 walks – an unusually high number based on his standard – Dickey has heard the jeers from frustrated Blue Jays fans and accepts them as a reality of the business hes chosen. He, too, has been frustrated. Now, hes focused on building off Wednesdays start and continuing the correction of the bad mechanical habits he developed because of the pain in his neck. "Sometimes its tough, especially when youre thinking about trying to throw without pain," said Dickey. "When youre trying just to throw a ball and not have pain in your back, you know, youre distracted maybe from being able to be in the moment with your mechanic." Now healthy, Dickey expects to be better in the seasons second half. Recent starts in San Francisco and, of course, Wednesday in Tampa Bay suggest hes on the right track. His next test wont be easy. Dickey is scheduled to start Mondays Canada Day matinee, at home, versus the offensively potent Detroit Tigers. 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He regained his regular starting place under Jose Mourinho in the season that ended at the weekend without Chelsea winning a trophy. Nationals Adam Eaton Jersey . - Alex Dostie scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Gatineau Olympiques to a 5-3 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Sunday.ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha lost his no-hit bid on Ryan Zimmermans infield single with two outs in the ninth inning, and St. Louis beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 Tuesday night to close in on the NL Central title. Making his ninth career start, Wacha came about as close as possible to finishing off the third no-hitter in the majors this season. Instead, the Busch Stadium crowd let out a loud, collective groan as he became the third pitcher to have a bid broken up with one out to go. Zimmerman hit a chopper just over the 6-foot-6 Wacha, and the ball bounced slowly toward shortstop. A charging Pete Kozma grabbed it with his bare hand and whipped a throw to first that was a little wide, pulling Matt Adams off the bag as Zimmerman arrived. "I think it nicked off my glove a little bit," Wacha said. As the ball left Zimmermans bat, several Cardinals started to climb the dugout railing, ready to pour onto the field to celebrate. Second baseman Matt Carpenter did a little hop, all set for the final out. But first base umpire Jeff Kellogg correctly called Zimmerman safe, and the Cardinals sagged right along with their fans. Third baseman David Freese sat crouched in the infield, stunned at how close his 22-year-old teammate had come. Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright put his hands on his head in disbelief. Wacha (4-1) was pulled after Zimmermans hit and walked off to a huge ovation. The right-hander struck out nine and walked two. "I guess I wasnt meant to throw one tonight," he said. Trevor Rosenthal got Jayson Werth to ground out for his second save. With anticipation building and fans on their feet in the ninth inning, Wacha retired pinch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi on a grounder to Kozma before throwing a called third strike past Denard Span. But on the next pitch, Zimmerman spoiled it. Texas Yu Darvish lost a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning against Houston on April 2 and San Franciscos Yusmeiro Petit had his try at perfection end one out shy against Arizona on Sept 6. Cincinnatis Homer Bailey and the Giants Tim Lincecum threw no-hitters in July. The last two no-hitters by St. Louis pitchers came from roookies -- Bud Smith in 2001 and Jose Jimenez in 1999.dddddddddddd It has been 30 years since there was a no-hitter in St. Louis. Bob Forsch finished off his second for the Cardinals on Sept. 26, 1983, against Montreal. Drafted 19th overall out of Texas A&M last year, Wacha has been up and down from the minors a couple of times this season. But he came up big for the Cardinals in the final week as they try to nail down their first division title since 2009. St. Louis, which already clinched a playoff berth, began the night with a two-game lead in the NL Central over Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The Reds lost to the New York Mets 4-2, falling three games back with four to play. The Cardinals have won four of five. They remained a half-game behind Atlanta for the best record in the NL. Washington was eliminated from playoff contention with a 4-3 loss to St. Louis on Monday night. The Nationals have dropped three of four. Wacha retired his first 14 batters before Adam LaRoche reached on an error by Carpenter at second base with two outs in the fourth. Span tried to break up the no-hitter with a two-out bunt in the sixth. The ball rolled just foul near third base, and the crowd booed lustily. Left fielder Shane Robinson made a running catch of a tailing liner off the bat of Anthony Rendon to end the eighth. Robinson drove in Carpenter with a two-out single off Gio Gonzalez (11-8) in the third. Carpenter began the rally with his major league-leading 55th double. Yadier Molina pushed the lead to 2-0 with a run-scoring double in the fourth. Gonzalez came within inches of a no-hitter himself this month. He finished with a one-hit shutout against the Mets after pinch-hitter Zach Lutzs seventh-inning single landed right on the first base line behind the bag. This time, Gonzalez allowed two runs and six hits over seven innings. He struck out six. NOTES: Wacha was seeking the 11th no-hitter in Cardinals history. ... Nationals RHP Jordan Zimmermann (19-7, 3.18 ERA) gets his last scheduled shot at 20 wins on Wednesday when he faces RHP Shelby Miller (14-9, 3.12) in the finale of the three-game series. ... The Cardinals are 14-2 against NL East opponents at home. 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