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Jim Bowden, ESPN Baseball Analyst 10y

Top 10 big-game pitchers in MLB

On Wednesday night, baseball fans will be treated to one of the best pitching matchups of the season, as Felix Hernandez toes the rubber in Texas against Yu Darvish.

These are two of the best pitchers in the game in the midst of their respective peaks, and this matchup got me thinking about the best big-game pitchers in the baseball right now. We've seen a number of guys with a history of shining in big spots recently retire, such as Chris Carpenter and Andy Pettitte, which has me re-calibrating my ranking of the best big-game pitchers in the game.

Here is my list of the top 10 big-game pitchers in MLB today, based on how I've seen them pitch in their biggest games and how I think they would do if given the opportunity to pitch in Game 7 of a World Series.

A couple of players who I would have included in past years but didn't make the cut here are Matt Cain and Cole Hamels. Cain hasn't been the same pitcher in the past 13 months, but if he can recapture his 2012 form, he'd be in the top five. As for Hamels, his recent injury raises questions about whether he will be able to dominate when he returns.

On to the rankings.

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1. Clayton Kershaw | LHP | Los Angeles Dodgers

Like Hamels, Kershaw is also on the DL, but he is so good that I can't justify putting anyone else at No. 1 on this list. (Also, his ailment, a back issue, is not related to his arm.)

Some might question Kershaw's placement here based on getting shelled in his most recent postseason start, Game 6 of the 2013 NLCS, but let's not forget how dominant he was in the LDS, when he allowed only one run in two starts against Atlanta while striking out 18.

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2. Madison Bumgarner | LHP | San Francisco Giants

Bumgarner has pitched in two World Series and has yet to give up an earned run, going 2-0 and yielding just five hits in 15 innings while punching out 14.

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