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Wow. If Game 2 is anything like the Giants-Cubs opener, its going to be an intense night at Wrigley Field when San Francisco tries to get even with Chicago. Who has the edge??Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Saturdays game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen Jeff Samardzija is on the mound: The free agent delivered exactly what the Giants could have expected, making 32 starts, topping 200 innings, and producing a solid 3.81 ERA. Samardzija works off a 93-95 mph fastball that doesnt generate a high rate of swings and misses but does generate an above-average ground ball rate, especially when he throws the two-seamer.Samardzijas primary secondary pitches in recent years have been a slider and cutter, but in August he suddenly resurrected a curveball he hadnt thrown since 2012, essentially dropping the cutter in the process. The cutter had actually been a pretty effective pitch for him -- batters hit .213/.244/.361 against it -- but the curveball has been even more effective, holding batters to a .179 average in a small sample size so far. Since Samardzija doesnt throw a changeup, the curveball gives him a lower-velocity offspeed pitch to go with the 87 mph slider. The curve is thrown in the low 80s, so maybe the change in speeds will improve the effectiveness of a fastball that batters hit .322/.381/.519 against. (Indeed, his OPS against his fastball went down in August and September). -- David SchoenfieldWhen Kyle Hendricks is on the mound: Speaking of throwing first-pitch strikes, nobody had a higher rate of them than Hendricks, tied with Johnny Cueto at 68.4 percent. That goes a long way to explaining how he led the NL with a 2.13 ERA. Hendricks ranks near the bottom of the league in fastball velocity, but his ERA wasnt just a product of the Cubs defense: He led major league starters in limiting hard contact.He does that by expertly changing speeds with his four-seamer, sinker, curveball, cutter and changeup -- and hitting his spots. Everything is to the corners -- away to lefties, away to righties. No starter had a higher percentage of pitches on the outer half of the plate than Hendricks, with 62 percent of his pitches on the outer third of the strike zone.Hendricks throws his fastball about half the time, increasing the usage of his changeup and cutter this season. Both were deadly weapons as batters hit .135 against the changeup and .164 against the cutter, with good K rates of 29.5 and 25.3 percent. Indeed, dont be fooled by the lack of velocity: His strikeout rate is more than adequate, ranking 24th out of 74 starters. How do you beat him? Its not easy. You can hope he elevates a fastball or misses over the middle, but he doesnt do that often. Knowing he pounds the strike zone, you can try to jump on him early in the count. He didnt have a large platoon split, so thats not a major factor. The Giants do put the ball in play, so maybe their ability to foul off pitches will come into play, waiting for Hendricks to make a mistake. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightBuster Posey. Poseys power disappeared in the second half with only three home runs and he hit only .257 in September. Poseys postseason history at the plate isnt good -- a weak .241/.318/.319 line entering this series over 49 games, with only four home runs. The Giants won the World Series in 2014 even though Posey didnt have an extra-base hit the entire postseason. I doubt they can win if that happens again. -- SchoenfieldWhat will decide tonights gameIf Samardzijas curveball can quiet the Cubs bats. He used his curveball 15 percent of the time in the second half after not throwing a single curve in the first. Opponents hit just .179 on the pitch with a .425 OPS. It would be prudent for Samardzija to throw the curve Saturday ... a lot. The Cubs hit just .193 off curveballs this season, 25th in the majors. Their .577 OPS ranked 20th. Who specifically should he use it against? Addison Russell hit .122 against curveballs this season, 141st of 146 qualifying hitters.?--?Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?As good as Hendricks was this year, with barely a mistake for six months, he still has to prove himself in October. Last postseason, he failed to make it out of the fifth inning in both starts. I expect a higher-scoring game, which isnt saying much after Fridays 1-0 affair, but Samardzija will outpitch Hendricks by just enough. -- Mark SaxonThis is the matchup the Cubs have been waiting for even if they didnt know it. What they do know is Samardzija. He is decidedly more hittable than Cueto, as he has given up 14 hits in 10 innings to his former team -- and the Cubs have scored nine runs off him. Meanwhile, the aggressive Giants will be sliced and diced by Hendricks, leading to a pull-away victory by the home team. -- Jesse RogersWe saw the template for how this series is likely to go in Game 1. Hendricks and his 1.32 home ERA are tough to beat, but we know the Giants wont be rattled by their rough loss Friday. Win Saturday and they still split and have Madison Bumgarner looming in Game 3. Still, Hendricks has just been too good at Wrigley and as solid as Samardzija has been, the Cubs starter has been on a different level. Cubs go up 2-0.?-- Bradford DoolittleWhere the series standsAfter a thrilling Game 1 win, the Cubs have a chance to push the Giants to the brink on Saturday night -- and they better capitalize on it, because Bumgarner will get the ball when the series shifts to San Francisco. ?--?ESPN.comNCAA Jerseys For Sale . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Cheap NCAA Jerseys China . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. https://www.cheapncaajerseysjustwholesale.com/ . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Wholesale College Jerseys . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. NCAA Basketball Jerseys . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph.(STATS) -- It was going to be very difficult for the Big Sky coaches to decide between Eastern Washingtons Cooper Kupp and Gage Gubrud in determining the conferences Offensive Player of the Year.As it turns out, they just couldnt choose one over the other.For the first time in conference history, two players from the same school were selected as the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year.Kupp, the 2015 STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year, became just the fourth player in league history to be named to the Big Sky first team four times. He finished the year with league highs of 91 receptions for 1,297 yards to go with 12 touchdowns.Gubrud, a sophomore, was also a unanimous selection to the first team after leading the conference with 4,086 passing yards with 40 touchdowns. He also led EWU with 463 rushing yards.The duo helped the Eagles go 10-1 and earn the No. 2 seed in the FCS playoffs.Eastern Washington had a conference-high seven players named to the first team and has now had the Big Skys Offensive Player of the Year in 12 of the last 16 seasons.The defensive player of the year went to North Dakota safety Cole Reyes, who made 58 tackles, five tackles for loss, and had three interceptions, along with forcing two fumbles. The junior led the Fighting Hawks to a 9-2 record and the playoffs seventh seed.Montana State dual-threat quarterback Chris Murray was named the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, rushing for 860 yards and 12 touchdowns while throwing for 778 yards and six scores.Weber State transfer Andrew Vollert received Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors after leading the Wildcats with 757 yards and 557 receptions.dddddddddddd The tight end, who began his career at San Jose State, also caught six touchdown passes.The coach of the year will be announced Wednesday.---=BIG SKY POSTSEASON AWARDS=OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- Gage Gubrud, QB, Eastern Washington; Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern WashingtonDEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- Cole Reyes, S, North DakotaFRESHMAN OF THE YEAR -- Chris Murray, QB, Montana StateNEWCOMER OF THE YEAR -- Andrew Vollert, TE, Weber StateBIG SKY FIRST TEAMOFFENSEQB -- Gage Gubrud, Eastern WashingtonRB -- John Santiago, North DakotaRB -- Malik Brown, Southern UtahFB -- Joe Protheroe, Cal PolyOT -- Michael Coe, North DakotaOT -- Matt Fisher, Cal PolyOG -- J.P. Flynn, Montana StateOG -- Cam Keizur, Portland StateC -- Joey Kuperman, Cal PolyWR -- Cooper Kupp, Eastern WashingtonWR -- Shaq Hill, Eastern WashingtonWR -- Emmanuel Butler, Northern ArizonaTE -- Andrew Vollert, Weber StateDEFENSEDT -- Robert Torgerson, Southern UtahDT -- Jay-Tee Tiuli, Eastern WashingtonDE -- Samson Ebukam, Eastern WashingtonDE -- Siupeli Anau, Northern ArizonaOLB -- Mike Needham, Southern UtahOLB -- Trevon Johnson, Weber StateILB -- Chris Santini, Cal PolyILB -- Miquiyah Zamora, Eastern WashingtonCB -- Deion Harris, North DakotaCB -- Xavier Coleman, Portland StateS -- Cole Reyes, North DakotaS -- Zach Bruce, Eastern WashingtonSPECIAL TEAMSPK -- Griffin Roehler, Northern ArizonaP -- Tate Lewis, Southern UtahRS -- John Santiago, North DakotaSTP -- Hakeem Deggs, Northern Colorado ' ' '