Bewerbungen » rking Arkansas third straight game

CLEVELAND -- The Chicago Cubs lavished Jon Lester with a $155 million contract in the winter of 2014 precisely for moments like the one he faced Tuesday night.On the road. Under the lights. In Game 1 of the World Series, with a chance to take a big step toward ending 108 years of franchise futility.And for the first time on baseballs biggest stage, Lester faltered. While his performance in Chicagos 6-0 loss to the Indians was hardly a meltdown, the left-hander managed just 5 2/3 ordinary innings when something significantly more was required to keep up with Cleveland ace Corey Kluber.Jonny pitched -- wasnt on top of his game, but really gave us a chance to win, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.The Indians didnt so much knock Lester around while sending him to his first World Series setback in four starts so much as they took advantage of the limited opportunities he gave them during a shaky first inning. Cleveland opened a two-run lead that felt considerably larger the way Kluber was dealing.When youre going against a guy like Kluber whos locked in from pitch one, to give up two in the first, its tough, Lester said.Lester took the mound having allowed just one run in 21 innings in the World Series during a career that includes a pair of championship rings he earned with the Boston Red Sox. By the time he got the final out of the first, Cleveland had doubled that total.Things began innocently enough. He struck out Rajai Davis and Jason Kipnis before Lesters postseason dominance briefly vanished.Francisco Lindor singled and took a massive lead off first, knowing all about Lesters inability to hold runners due to a tic that prevents him from making pickoff attempts with any kind of consistency or accuracy. At one point, Lester stepped off and Lindor found himself a good 25 feet off the bag. Yet rather than throw over, Lester stood and watched as Lindor scampered back to safety.It was hardly the first time opposing runners have toyed with Lester. Yet it seemed to be one of the rare occasions when it rattled him. He had trouble working out of the stretch and walked Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana to load the bases. Jose Ramirezs swinging bunt then brought Lindor home to stoke an already electrified crowd. When a 1-1 pitch hit Brandon Guyer on the leg, Chicago trailed 2-0.The first inning was tonights game, Lester said.Though he settled down -- thanks in part to catcher David Ross throwing out Lindor trying to steal in the third -- Lester again ran into trouble in the fourth when No. 9 batter Roberto Perez lined a solo shot that clanged off the railing above the wall in left field for the first of his two home runs.Yet its not the home run but the walks that are going to stick with Lester regardless of how comfortable -- or uncomfortable -- he felt when pitching with runners on base.I just didnt execute some things out there tonight, he said. Maybe if they get out of the first with nothing, maybe things are different.Lester, who came in 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA during the 2016 playoffs, handed the ball to manager Joe Maddon with two outs in the sixth and trudged to the dugout after giving up three runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.And when Perez clocked a three-run shot off reliever Hector Rondon in the eighth, the Cubs found themselves turning to Jake Arrieta for Game 2 on Wednesday night hoping to avoid heading back to Wrigley Field down 2-0 following a rare stumble by their ace who typically oozes October cool.Tomorrow we can get right back in it, Lester said. Everybody counted us out after Game 3 (of the NLCS) and called us the worst best team in baseball. ... Ill look to Jake to pick us up. Leandro Barbosa Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Kelly Oubre Jr. Jersey . 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The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn Tigers are rested from an open date while Arkansas has reached the midpoint of a grueling stretch against ranked teams.A win in their matchup Saturday would elevate either teams mood and, perhaps, their season.The 21st-ranked Tigers (4-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) hope to have a healthy Kerryon Johnson back running the ball with the extra week following a dominating win over Mississippi State. The 17th-ranked Razorbacks (5-2, 1-2) are fresh from their first league victory, 34-30 over No. 23 Mississippi.Theyre also on Round 3 of a five-week stretch against ranked SEC teams.To play in the SEC West, its just a way of life, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said.As close as they come historically, this rivalry had mostly produced fairly one-sided games in recent years before the Razorbacks 54-46 win in four overtimes last season.Auburn holds a 6-5-1 record in meetings at Jordan-Hare Stadium and has overall outscored Arkansas just 633-629 in 25 previous games.The Tigers this season have had one of the SECs better defenses while Arkansas managed to score 34 points on the Rebels and 30 in a loss to No. 1 Alabama two weeks ago.Our offense is really starting to hum the last couple of games, Bielema said.Auburns offense has been humming pretty well lately, too. Much of that on both counts has to do with the leagues two most efficient passers, the Tigers Sean White and the Razorbacks Austin Allen.A still-inexperienced White helped bring Auburn back on the road last season and further cemented the trust of his coaches and teammates.We were still learning about Sean at the time, Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. We learned a lot about him that day. We saw the way he handled pressure and getting hit. He showed a lot of toughness that game.---Some other things to watch for when Auburn hosts Arkansas:AUBURNS BACKS: Johnson injured his right ankle early in the Mississippi State game, and has practiced this week, though Malzahn hasnt disclosed much about his status beyond that.dddddddddddd Kamryn Pettway wound up rushing 39 times for 169 yards and three touchdowns in that game for a team thats third in the SEC in rushing.RUSHING WILLIAMS: Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams took over as the SECs leader in rushing yards following his career-best 180-yard rushing performance against Mississippi. The sophomore had his neck broken in the game against the Tigers last year, missing the final six games of the season, but hes returned to top form this year -- having gained 785 yards on the ground through the first seven games.RAZORBACKS VS. RANKED: Saturday will be Bielemas 46th game as the coach of the Razorbacks, and it will be his 23rd against a ranked opponent. Five of those have come this season, with Saturdays game against the Tigers marking Arkansas third straight game against a ranked member of the SEC. Next up: No. 15 Florida and No. 25 LSU.MAD MALZAHN: Malzahn tries not to dwell on last years game against his home state Razorbacks, but it appeared to be a turning point in the season. After that, Auburn struggled down the stretch until the bowl game. When I think about it, it still makes me mad, but thats last year, Malzahn said. Thats history. Theres nothing I can do about it.EFFICIENT QBS: White is the leagues highest rated passer with a 157.2 rating and a 69.7-percent completion rate. Allen is the second-most efficient thrower (156.0) and also leads the SEC with 18 touchdown passes.---AP Sports Writer Kurt Voigt contributed to this report.---AP college football web site: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '