"Playoffs, man,'' Lackey said when asked why his motor was running so hard in that 7 1/3 scoreless innings of three-hit ball. "This is what you play for. I've been playing awhile, and this is pretty much the only reason I'm still going. I'm trying to win rings and trying to be part of something special as a team.''
The other is that Lackey has recovered from the Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for a season to look like every bit the gunslinger he was when he won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series as a rookie.