It will be a tale of two pitchers Sunday when the Pittsburgh

It will be a tale of two pitchers Sunday when the Pittsburgh Pirates and visiting Miami Marlins close their weekend series at PNC Park.Pittsburgh right-hander Trevor Williams (12-9 Carlos Gonzalez Jersey , 3.15 ERA) is at the top of his game, confident and looking to finish the season as one of baseball’s hottest pitchers.Miami right-hander Jeff Brigham (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will make his second major league start after nerves got the better of him in his debut.Article continues below ...Williams will make his 28th start of the season. He has allowed four runs in his past nine starts, has gone 5-2 with a 0.72 ERA in eight outings since the All-Star break, and has been the starter in eight of the Pirates’ 14 shutout wins.“I’m confident in my ability to pitch at the big league level and have success at the big league level,” Williams said. “It’s just a matter of executing pitches.”That and control are the crux of it.“It’s pitchability,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “It’s flat-out pitch execution. He’s a technician. He’s hitting spots. He’s throwing his fastball where he wants it, and he’s changing speeds. And it’s really hard to hit.”Williams hasn’t faced the Marlins this year. He went 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in two appearances (one start) in 2017.Brigham was brought up from Triple-A New Orleans on Sept. 2 and made his major league debut that day against Toronto. He lasted only three innings, giving up three runs and four hits, with four walks and two strikeouts.“I didn’t stay within myself early,” Brigham said. “It was a big day for me and definitely a good learning experience.“My tempo was a little slow and I wasn’t finishing my pitches — wasn’t trusting myself. I think that’s one of the big issues there. A lot of pitches were left up.”Brigham was a combined 10-3 with a 2.36 ERA in three minor league levels before that debut, so Miami manager Don Mattingly suspects the rookie will be better when he calms down.“Talking with (catcher) Chad (Wallach) http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-dj-lemahieu-jersey , he had never seen him all over the place like that,” Mattingly said. “So, hopefully, it’s one we get out of the way and next time out, he settles down and we get more like what we think we have. I think you can chalk that one up to (nerves).”The teams are in different places, too, even though both are looking to next season rather than the postseason.The Pirates (71-71) on Sunday will be aiming for a sweep, a sixth straight win and a chance to get back above .500. Miami (56-86) has lost eight of 11 and is in a race to avoid 100 losses.One hitch for Pittsburgh is the loss of right fielder Gregory Polanco. He left Friday’s game after an awkward slide into second.The report Saturday was that he will miss the rest of the season because of a significant bone bruise on his left knee and a left shoulder injury. Polanco leads the team with 23 homers and 81 RBIs. Elsa/Getty ImagesThe Boston Red Sox held on for dear life with a5-4win over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Friday at Fenway Park. Shaking off any concerns about his recent dip in velocity, Chris Sale shut down the dangerous Yankees lineup by scattering five singles and striking out eight over 5.1 innings. He was charged with two runs after reliever Ryan Brasier allowed both of his inherited runners to score.J.D. Martinez got Boston's offense going with a three-run homer in the first inning. Steve Pearce and Xander Bogaerts each added an RBI in the bottom of the third. The Red Sox chased off Yankees starter J.A. Happ after he gave up five runs on four hits and one walk in two innings.BYU鈥檚 Cosmo the Cougar Is the Next Superstar MascotJoshua Johnson Is HS Footballs Quadruple ThreatThe Champions x Queer EyeHappy 26th Birthday to OBJ 馃帀Happy Anniversary to the Cubs Curse-BreakingD-Rose Turned Back the Clock and Put Up 50Will Drake鈥檚 Favorite Teams Reverse the 6 God Curse?Sports Worlds Halloween Costumes Went HardUp Your Halloween Game with Giant Pumpkin RegattaThe Champions: Episode 6 Is ComingDubs Trolled Fergie So Hard It Became a ChallengePurdue Footballs No. 1 Fan Is Inspiring the TeamOne Road to MLB Starts with a Bottle Cap and BroomstickIts Been a Wild Month with Flyers鈥?Mascot Gritty馃専The Champions: Episode 5 馃専CP3-Rondo Blowup Was a Long Time ComingMahomes Is Showtime Off the Field TooCFBs Creative Entrances Put WWE to ShameWorld Pole Climbing Championships Are Something ElseNBA Let Players Know They Have to Cover Branded TattoosRight Arrow IconChris Sale Silences Critics with Outstanding StartOne of the major talking points in Boston coming into the playoffs was how Sale's velocity would look after a disturbing downward trend late in the regular season.Per CBS Sports'Mike Axisa, Sale's average fastball velocity was 90.2 mph in his final start Sept. 26 against the Baltimore Orioles.The seven-time All-Star seems to have figured out something in the eight days he had to prepare for Game 1:Alex Speier alexspeierSale: Average 95.2 mph, topped out 96.6, more sliders (10) than 4-seamers (9) in the first. 4 changeups Gerardo Parra Jersey , 1 two-seamer.New York appeared to be in for a long night. The Bronx Bombers didn't have a runner reach third base until the sixth inning.BYU鈥檚 Cosmo the Cougar Is the Next Superstar MascotJoshua Johnson Is HS Footballs Quadruple ThreatThe Champions x Queer EyeHappy 26th Birthday to OBJ 馃帀Happy Anniversary to the Cubs Curse-BreakingD-Rose Turned Back the Clock and Put Up 50Will Drake鈥檚 Favorite Teams Reverse the 6 God Curse?Sports Worlds Halloween Costumes Went HardUp Your Halloween Game with Giant Pumpkin RegattaThe Champions: Episode 6 Is ComingDubs Trolled Fergie So Hard It Became a ChallengePurdue Footballs No. 1 Fan Is Inspiring the TeamOne Road to MLB Starts with a Bottle Cap and BroomstickIts Been a Wild Month with Flyers鈥?Mascot Gritty馃専The Champions: Episode 5 馃専CP3-Rondo Blowup Was a Long Time ComingMahomes Is Showtime Off the Field TooCFBs Creative Entrances Put WWE to ShameWorld Pole Climbing Championships Are Something ElseNBA Let Players Know They Have to Cover Branded TattoosRight Arrow IconThis start was everything the Red Sox needed it to be and also the first of its kind for the team since 2013:Alex Speier alexspeierSale is the first Red Sox starter to record an out in the 6th inning since John Lackey in G6 of the 2013 World Series. Hes done after 5 1/3 innings, 93 pitches of shutout ball, though he does leave a couple runners on for Brasier.Jason Catania JayCat11Most strikeouts by a Red Sox lefty in a postseason game8: Chris Sale in 2018 ALDS Game 18: Jon Lester in 2013 WS Game 18: Jon Lester in 2008 ALCS Game 78: Bruce Hurst in 1986 WS Game 1It was also a vast improvement for Sale after he allowed nine runs on 13 hits in 9.2 innings over two appearances against the Houston Astros in last year's ALDS.Sale is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball when he's at the top of his game. Heledall AL starting pitchers with 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings andranked secondwith 6.5 FanGraphs wins above replacement (min. 150 innings).If the Red Sox have to turn to Sale again in the series, they can feel much better about his ability to silence one of the best lineups in MLB. Red Sox Bullpen Woes Threatening to Derail Dream SeasonUnfortunately for the Red Sox, their bullpen had to log significant innings in Game 1. Relief pitching has been their Achilles' heel all season, and it nearly cost them in their first playoff game.When Sale departed, the Red Sox held a five-run lead. That has virtually guaranteed them a victory since they acquired the 6'6" left-hander prior to the start of last season:ESPN Stats amp; Info ESPNStatsInfoChris Sale finished 12-1 in the regular season when the RedSox netted him at least 3 runs of support.Hes 27-4 in those games since joining the Red Sox at the beginning of last season.Boston leads New York 5-0 in #ALDS Game 1. yx96F2yjInOnce Boston manager Alex Cora went to his stable of relief pitchers, starting with Brasier, an air of panic set in over Fenway Park:Russillo ryenarussilloSale out after two hits allowed going 5 1/3 innings, to bring in a guy that has pitched 30 innings after missing 4 seasons and is the 2nd best RP by default...this game has changed so much.The Yankees loaded the bases against Boston relievers in the sixth and seventh innings. Brasier and Brandon Workman combined to give up three hits, two walks and one run in just 0.2 innings.Rick Porcello and Craig Kimbrel settled things down by recording the final six outs to preserve the win.Boston's bullpen scuffled down the stretch with anAL-worst4.84 ERA in September. That group did everything possible to give away this game, but the Yankees weren't able to cash in on those chances in the later innings.After a historic season in which the Red Sox won a franchise-record 108 games http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-todd-helton-jersey , the bullpen has to pick up its performance to avoid an October disappointment. Yankees Missed Opportunities Set Up Must-Win Game 2The good news for New York is there's a quick turnaround heading into Game 2 on Saturday.The bad news is this is a game the Yankees will reflect back on if they don't win the series. It started out looking like a potential disaster. Happ, who had a 2.98 ERA in 21 career appearances against the Red Sox, only recorded six outs.Once Happ was gone, four Yankees relievers combined to allow four hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six scoreless innings.Their ability to put zeroes on the board gave the offense chances to at least tie the game. Gleyber Torres struck out as the go-ahead run with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Didi Gregorius grounded out with the tying run on second to get Boston out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh.Aaron Judge closed New York's deficit to one run with a solo homer off Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel to start the ninth:BYU鈥檚 Cosmo the Cougar Is the Next Superstar MascotJoshua Johnson Is HS Footballs Quadruple ThreatThe Champions x Queer EyeHappy 26th Birthday to OBJ 馃帀Happy Anniversary to the Cubs Curse-BreakingD-Rose Turned Back the Clock and Put Up 50Will Drake鈥檚 Favorite Teams Reverse the 6 God Curse?Sports Worlds Halloween Costumes Went HardUp Your Halloween Game with Giant Pumpkin RegattaThe Champions: Episode 6 Is ComingDubs Trolled Fergie So Hard It Became a ChallengePurdue Footballs No. 1 Fan Is Inspiring the TeamOne Road to MLB Starts with a Bottle Cap and BroomstickIts Been a Wild Month with Flyers鈥?Mascot Gritty馃専The Champions: Episode 5 馃専CP3-Rondo Blowup Was a Long Time ComingMahomes Is Showtime Off the Field TooCFBs Creative Entrances Put WWE to ShameWorld Pole Climbing Championships Are Something ElseNBA Let Players Know They Have to Cover Branded TattoosRight Arrow IconKimbrel settled down after that to strike outBrett Gardner,Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit in order to earn the save.With the Yankees failing to take advantage of opportunities Boston handed them, they are facing a must-win scenario Saturday.Last season, they were able to overcome a 2-0 series deficit against the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS by winning three straight games. But winning away from Yankee Stadium in October has been a difficult task. They are 1-7 in their last eight road playoff games dating back to 2017.Trying to win three straight games against a Red Sox team capable of scoring runs in bunches鈥攁nd a potential return for Sale in Game 4 or 5鈥攎akes it imperative that New York doesn't continue to miss chances like it did Friday.What's Next?The Red Soxwill look to take a commanding lead in the series by sending David Price (16-7, 3.58 ERA) to the mound against Masahiro Tanaka (12-6, 3.75 ERA) and the Yankees for Saturday's Game 2 at 8:15 p.m. ET.