Dein erstes Forum » me tied at 3. Mathis hit a two-run single in

The best team in baseball meets the squad that does even years better than anyone. Who has the edge as Jon Lester and the Cubs host Johnny Cueto and the Giants in Game 1?Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Fridays game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen?Cueto is on the mound:??Few pitchers are as fun to watch as Cueto, with the twists and turns in his delivery and his five-pitch arsenal. One of the few big-ticket free agents from last winter who delivered on his contract, Cueto went 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA and ranked third in the NL in innings pitched.Of his pitches -- four-seamer, two-seamer, changeup, cutter, slider -- the changeup is the one that rates as a big strikeout pitch, with a 35 percent K rate. He throws it only 23 percent of the time with two strikes, however, while throwing one of his fastballs 50 percent. He does get a high rate of grounders with both his four-seamer and two-seamer, preferring to throw inside to righties while painting the outside corner against lefties. With all the Cubs left-handed and switch-hitters, I wonder if well see the changeup a little more often, especially deep in the count -- and the Cubs love to work deep counts.Another key pitch has been his cutter, a pitch that Cueto seemed to lose the feel for when he struggled with the Royals last season. He throws it over 20 percent of the time and while it doesnt have a lot of movement, it has late movement, making it more of a weak contact pitch than a swing-and-miss offering. -- David SchoenfieldWhen?Lester is on the mound: Lesters late surge made him a strong Cy Young contender, as he went 9-1 with 1.46 ERA over his final 12 starts. He gave up two runs or fewer in 24 of his 32 starts, although one of his bad outings came against the Giants in May when he gave up five runs in 2.2 innings.Lester has made a notable change in his approach, throwing his fastball more than ever. He threw it 60 percent of the time, when he was under 50 percent two years ago. Lester has maintained his velocity pretty well through the year and at 32 still averaged 92 mph with his fastball, still above-average for a left-hander. The feeling was Lester had fallen in love too much with his cutter, although it has remained an effective pitch as batters hit just .212/.268/.302 against it. He still throws it about 20 percent of the time.His curveball has become a two-strikeout wipeout pitch, with a K rate above 50 percent, and batters hit .092 against it in 96 plate appearances ending with the pitch. He doesnt throw it a lot -- about 10 per game -- but look for him to use it with two strikes against right-handers. Like all Cubs pitchers, Lester certainly benefited from the teams excellent defense. He also led all qualified starters in strand rate at 84.9 percent as batters hit .173 against him with RISP. He allowed 28 stolen bases but had 13 caught stealings, a negligible rate for baserunners. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightKris Bryant. The likely NL MVP after hitting .292/.385/.554 with 39 home runs 102 RBIs and a league-leading 121 runs, Bryant has settled nicely into the No. 2 spot in the order in front of Anthony Rizzo. Bryant hit two home runs in last years playoffs but also hit .179 with 12 strikeouts in nine games. He needs to get on base in front of Rizzo if hes not mashing it over the fence.?-- SchoenfieldWhat will decide tonights gameBatters have just a .554 OPS against Cuetos changeup this season, which is third-best among NL pitchers with at least 500 thrown. Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo could challenge Cueto on that pitch. He hit .367 on changeups this season, the third-best batting average against the pitch in the NL. His 1.065 OPS also ranked third in the NL. Rizzo was 1-for-3 against Cueto this season, with that only hit coming on one of two changeups he saw from Cueto (the other was the first pitch of that same plate appearance).?--?ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?Even though Jon Lester has averaged more pitches per start in September than Giants starter Johnny Cueto, theres little debate he has thrown less stressful pitches. The Giants used every ounce of energy just to make it to Chicago, but that balloon will burst Friday, at least for one night. Lester will repeat the success from his early September performance against the Giants where he no-hit them into the seventh inning while the Cubs squeak one more run across than their opponents for a close victory. -- Jesse RogersIt really hasnt been that long since the Cubs have played meaningful baseball, but it sure feels like a long time. The Cubs have to slam the accelerator from the first pitch because with Madison Bumgarner looming in Game 3, there can be no re-acclimation period. But in Jon Lester, theyve got the right postseason veteran on the mound. There will be some tenuous moments but the Cubs will take Game 1. -- Bradford DoolittleThe Cubs real advantage in pitching wont start to emerge until we get to Game 2, because Johnny Cueto has the credentials to neutralize Jon Lester. He might not have the deep history of success in October that Lester or Madison Bumgarner do, but he dominated the New York Mets in Game 2 of the last World Series, so hell have that to draw on. Plus, the Cubs have been sitting idle while the Giants will come in with momentum and, as tough as Lester is, his stuff will look pedestrian compared to the 99-mph fastballs they faced from Noah Syndergaard. The Giants will grab this one and put mega-pressure on the Cubs.?-- Mark SaxonWhere the series standsThe Cubs won 16 more games than the Giants. In the wild-card era, teams with 15 or more than wins than their opponent is 9-1 -- with only the 116-win Mariners of 2001 losing to the 95-win Yankees. The Cubs are the heavy World Series favorites, but if they split these first two games, Madison Bumgarner looms in the distance for Game 3. ?--?Schoenfield Wholesale Nike Shoes China Paypal . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Authentic Wholesale Nike Shoes China . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. http://www.wholesaleshoesnike.com/ . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. Wholesale Nike Shoes For Sale . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Wholesale Nike Shoes Online . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers.MIAMI -- Ike Davis didnt waste any time in giving the Mets the lead in the seventh. Davis smacked a first-pitch fastball to right field that scored Marlon Byrd from first base for a go-ahead RBI double in a three-run inning that lifted New York to a 6-5 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday night. "Im seeing the ball well," Davis said. "I was just looking for something out over the dish to be able to hit hard somewhere." Byrd slid in just underneath the tag of catcher Jeff Mathis. "Youre hoping your safe," Byrd said. "If you see the replay, (home plate umpire) Andy (Fletcher) is right there on top of the call so he saw everything. He had a great view and I was just glad he called me safe." The Mets also got RBI singles from Daniel Murphy and Byrd in the seventh to overcome a 5-3 deficit after leading 3-0. "It energized us a lot," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "It brought us out of a huge hole and I think its a great step forward." The win snapped a five-game losing streak to the Marlins and a three-game losing streak overall. Murphy drove in three runs for the Mets and is hitting .356 (31 for 87) with 19 RBIs in his last 20 games. "Just seeing the ball a little bit better, I dont know, its baseball," Murphy said. "Sometimes you get beat up and sometimes you dont." David Aardsma (2-0) pitched an inning in relief of Jeremy Hefner for the win. Bobby Parnell retired Giancarlo Stanton with runners on first and third to end it for his 21st save in 25 opportunities. Jeff Mathis drove in two runs for Miami. Miamis Jacob Turner was in line for the win when he was pulled with a 5-3 lead after 6 1-3 innings. But relievers Mike Dunn and A.J. Ramos (3-4) struggled to get out of the seventh as the Mets scored three runs. "Obviously, in my mind I drew up totally differently," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. Murphys RBI single off Dunn pulled the Mets to 5-4. Ramos then relieved Dunn and gave up a tying hit by Byrd. Davis then gave the Mets the lead. Parnell, New Yorks fifth pitcher, allowed a one out pinch-hit single too Greg Dobbs in the ninth.dddddddddddd Pinch-runner Juan Pierre stole second with two outs. Christian Yelich walked and Pierre advanced to third on defensive indifference setting it up for Stanton, who grounded out to first base to end the game. The Mets scored three runs in the third inning with two outs to go up 3-0. Murphy started the scoring with a two-run single and scored on an RBI double by David Wright. "There were times I felt I had the ability to throw the pitch where I needed to and there were times when I felt like it wasnt there at all," Turner said. "Its kind of frustrating." Miamis Ed Lucas tripled to deep centre to score Stanton to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth. The Marlins then loaded the bases with one out, but Hefner appeared to get out of the jam when he got Mathis to pop out and Turner hit a soft grounder to shortstop Omar Quintanilla. However, the groundball went under Quintanillas glove for an error allowing two runs to score. Murphy alertly scooped up the ball and got Jacob Marsinick caught in a rundown to keep the game tied at 3. Mathis hit a two-run single in the sixth to give Miami a 5-3 lead. Hefner allowed five runs -- three earned -- four hits and a career-high five walks in 5 1-3 innings. "To just give free passes away like that, that could have really hurt us and cost us the ballgame, but its a credit to the bullpen and a credit to Murph and the guys that came through in the clutch hitting to come and win the game," Hefner said. NOTES: Aardsma is one of four relievers in the NL to not allow an inherited run to score this season. ... Stanton is batting .481 (13 of 27) with four home runs in eight RBIs in his last eight games at Marlins Park. ... Marlins pitchers Jose Fernandez and Steve Cishek were selected co-winners of the National Leagues player of the week. "Weve played some pretty good baseball and those guys have been a big part of it," Redmond said. ... The Mets will send RHP Zack Wheeler (4-1, 3.72 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday for his first start against the Marlins, who will counter with RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-1, 3.54 ERA). ' ' '