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Komine made 11 starts on the road this season and lost eight of them, posting a 7.34 ERA while allowing 13 homers in 57 2/3 innings. Now, in pointing this out, the object is not to make the Hawaiian right-hander self conscious or even edgy. But, he will be starting for Sacramento Tuesday night against the Richmond Braves in the Bricktown Showdown and in case anyone has forgotten, the game's not being played in northern California.

The second annual showdown between the champions of the Pacific Coast and International Leagues will be played at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, which technically is a neutral site. Realistically, though, it's a road game, but it's one in which Komine is more preoccupied with results than the zip code.

In fact, he may even have a bit of confidence. After all, he did start two games for the River Cats in the PCL playoffs, and both of them came on the road. His first playoff start was at Salt Lake City, and the results followed the path Komine (5-12, 4.87 regular season) had set during the regular season. While he didn't take the loss, he allowed six runs on eight hits, two of which were homers, in five innings.

Not much to gain confidence from there. But he pitched the opener of the finals at New Orleans and not only did he pitch well, he won. Komine allowed two runs on four hits over six innings to earn his first road victory of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time. So, he's confident that what he did down in The Big Easy was just a precursor to what he'll do in Bricktown.

"The road starts have really killed me this season," said Komine, whose only other Bricktown start as a pro came in 2006 and resulted in a loss. "I've given up a lot of runs on the road. It wasn't a mental thing, it just happened to work out that way. It's mind boggling. I think I got past the road thing, though, in New Orleans. It was my first road win, and I've pitched at Bricktown quite a bit during the Big 12 Tournament [with Nebraska].

"I've gotten the run support on the road, it's just bad timing. We score a lot of runs, and I give up more. There's no mental block about it, though. You step on the mound and you don't think about. You look at the stats and put it past you. If you're a pitcher, you just need to be consistent."

Consistency is also something for which Blaine Boyer will be seeking Tuesday night. The Richmond right-hander finished off the regular season strong, going 2-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 innings over his final four appearances (two starts). But his two postseason starts haven't been as sharp. He's 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA, having allowed nine hits and four walks in 10 innings.

Unlike Komine, Boyer (4-3, 4.30) did fare well enough on the road this season, going 3-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 14 games, nine of which were starts. If Boyer did face a problem this season it wasn't being away from Richmond, it was getting used to a role. He had been primarily a reliever since early in 2005, but the Braves put him back in the rotation this season.

"This year has been a little different because of the whole starting thing," he said. "It's an adjustment. And I sound like a broken record when I keep telling people about the difference, but it's like being a sprinter and marathoner. You have to prepare differently, and there is a learning curve, and I feel like I've got it down now and am comfortable.

"I know I can give my all for more than one or two or three innings. I feel like I hit my stride about a month ago. Coming out the pen, you're fierce and can go right after someone. I'm working on finding that fine line between blowing it all out and having a little extra in the tank to get me into the sixth inning and one day into the seventh and eighth innings."

Boyer's season-high was six innings, which he accomplished twice. He lasted five innings in his last outing at Durham on Wednesday. He's hoping for better against the 'Cats.

"This game is important because it's going to cap off our season," Boyer said. "We fought hard to win a championship. It's just going to be that much better when we take this home Tuesday night."

Kevin T. Czerwinski is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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