This week in starting pitching proved to be a resurgence, of sorts, for big names that may have fallen off the leaderboards, or from fantasy owners’ radars. These five starting pitchers - in either one or two appearances - dominated Week 19. The name of the game, in looking at small sample sizes, is to consider wisely whether a hot streak begins - or ends - with one week of success.

Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

In what has been a largely inconsistent season for Nationals’ pitching, Strasburg put up two stellar performances against NL East foes in Week 19. Taking on the surging Braves in the midst of their 14-game winning streak, he pitched seven innings of five-hit, two-run ball in which he struck out nine and walked only one. Last night, matched up against Philadelphia, Strasburg went the distance for his first shutout of 2013 - a four-hit, 10 K gem that took only 99 pitches to complete, much to manager Davey Johnson’s appreciation.

Martin Perez, Texas Rangers

The 22-year-old Perez, only recently a fixture in the Rangers’ rotation, followed up a solid performance in Anaheim with a complete game effort against the last-place Astros. On August 5th, Perez went 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking four. Against Houston, 80 of his 115 pitches were strikes, which laid the groundwork for a four-hit, one-run performance that lowered his season ERA to 3.44. Before July 31, Perez had never thrown more than 99 pitches in one single start, but 111 and 115 in his most recent outings are reason to believe that the Rangers are confident in giving the youngster more opportunity to help them down the stretch.

Anibal Sanchez, Detroit Tigers

Since his return from a shoulder sprain on July 6th, the Tigers limited Sanchez to around 100 pitches over his five starts in the month of July. In his two Week 19 starts, the leash was let out a bit, and Sanchez delivered on the opportunity to pitch deeper into games. Against their AL Central division foes, Sanchez struck out 11 Cleveland Indians in 7.2 innings, dominating opposing batters in a no-decision. In New York for his next turn in the rotation, Sanchez was the recipient of a well-deserved win - his tenth on the season - after allowing only four hits and two runs in a seven-inning, eight-strikeout effort.

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

Lincecum’s season has been marked by wild inconsistency, perpetuating fantasy owners’ conundrum of whether to start the former ace, sit him, or toss him to the scrap heap. His performance against the struggling Brewers on August 8th - on the heels of a strong outing in Tampa - makes the case for optimism when it comes to Lincecum’s future. In eight innings, The Freak snuffed out any hints of a Milwaukee offense, limiting them to one hit and no runs while striking out eight. More encouraging perhaps, is that Lincecum has limited damage and shown an increased ability to pitch deep into games in his most recent starts because he has kept his walk count, on both occasions, to one.

Matt Harvey, New York Mets

Among pitchers with one start in Week 19, Harvey may have enjoyed the most dominant game of all. Taking on Colorado, Harvey allowed four hits, struck out six and walked no Rockies in a complete game win at Citi Field. Currently the league leader in WHIP, strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings, wins haven’t been easy to come by for Harvey, as run support has been an issue all season. A shutout that requires only 106 pitches to complete is a good way to ensure a “W”, regardless, and the case for Harvey is no longer one that needs to be proven in fantasy baseball.