Pirate Galaxy » them now. If Kluber can match Hendricks for

Englands 14 men outfought Argentina, Wales overpowered the Boks, Scotland beat Georgia,?and Irelands win over Australia completed a series of wins over all southern hemisphere teams in 2016.But who gets the vote for selection for the British & Irish Lions team of the week?BACKS15 Stuart HoggAgainst Georgia, he chipped through for Tommy Seymour to score immediately after they fell behind.?He then gathered his own chip forward, with the help of a kind bounce to run in and score before half-time. He was then on hand to finish the move of the game as Ali Price broke from inside his own 22, offloaded to Rory Hughes on halfway before passing inside to Hogg to touch down.14 Jonny MayGiven a chance by Eddie Jones, May has grabbed it without both hands. He was explosive in defence and attack May was sublime. He made a brilliant covering tackle to deny Juan Pablo Estelles a certain try at 14-0. He was a threat on the touchline had a few cross kicks been a little lower but finished well in the left corner.13 Jonathan JosephElliot Dalys red card made for an interesting day for Joseph who had to combine his role at centre with covering on the left wing. it limited how effective Joseph could be when England turned the ball over in attack but his quick hands helped put May in for his try.12 Garry RingroseIt is becoming evident that 21 year-old Ringrose is proving more difficult to dislodge from the Irish team. His substitute appearance against the All Blacks in Dublin showed Joe Schmidt enough to select him against the Wallabies. He didnt disappoint. He scored a try and put in some big hits on?Tevita Kuridrani, Henry Speight and a try-saving tackle on Israel Folau.11 Keith EarlsIt was a huge game from Earls against the Wallabies, making just one tackle fewer than Josh van der Flier in defence and made two clean breaks in attack. It helped that he scored the match-winning try as Ireland fought their way back to win. After not being involved in either game against the All Blacks, it was an impressive performance.10 Dan BiggarBiggar was instrumental in Wales win over the Boks, and his break, kick and regather led to Fef de Klerk being yellow carded for a deliberate knock on. If Wales become a force in next years Six Nations, Biggar will be the one to get the back-line flowing.?9 Conor MurrayMurray has stamped his claim to be one of the top scrum-halves during this November series and was once more on song as he helped Ireland to victory. He once again showed hes much more than a box kicker, and his quick ball to the back-line was always a threat.?FORWARDS1 Gethin JenkinsGiven the captaincy in the absence of Sam Warburton, he led from the front and put in six tackles as part of a good defensive effort. A Lions tour would cap off a superb career for the 36-year-old.2 Ross FordAfter Ryan Wilson, Ford was the biggest forward carrier for Scotland and matched Stuart Hogg by beating five defenders and was part of a pretty solid pack at set piece.?3 Tadhg FurlongHe may be embarrassed by talk of a spot on the Lions tour, but should he continue next year as he finished this year, it will be difficult to overlook the Leinster front-row. He carried well in attack against the Wallabies, has a burst of speed and is ruthless in defence. Hes only started four games to date, all against southern hemisphere opposition, in New Zealand (twice), Australia and South Africa.4 Iain HendersonHenderson had to battle back from injury to get ready for Irelands clash with Australia and put in an incredible performance, including a first-half try. His ball carrying ability, strength at the breakdown and the option he provides at the lineout was crucial.?5 George KruisAfter Joe Launchbury was ruled out through suspension, Kruis did well on his return from injury to the England setup, a reliable go-to man at the lineout and put in 12 tackles in defence.6 Chris RobshawRobshaw had to put in an immense shift with England down to 14 men. His work-rate secured him the man-of-the-match performance. His ball carrying and fierce tackling was crucial as Argentina threatened to fightback.7 Josh Van der FlierAfter being drafted in at the last minute when Sean OBrien was ruled out, he put in a man-of-the-match performance to prove his ability once again. He led the Irish in tackles in defence, beat two Australian defenders in attack and was everywhere.?8 Justin TipuricSomewhat shoe-horned into our team, Tipuric put in a man of the match performance which put him back in contention for a Lions spot. He was everywhere. He blocked a clearance from Elton Jantjies, carried superbly and rounded off his display with a great try, stepping inside Johan Goosen to score, after bursting onto a Faletau pass.Nik Stauskas Jersey . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. Rodney Hood Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. https://www.blazerslockerroom.com/Damian-Lillard-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Georgios Papagiannis Blazers Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Anfernee Simons Jersey . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter.Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Wednesday nights showdown?between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the World Series, and then vote on which team will win at the bottom of the page. The series is tied 3-3.How we got hereAddison Russell belted a grand slam, Kris Bryant went 4-for-5 with a home run, Anthony Rizzo went 3-for-5 with a home run, Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall botched a fly ball that cost the Indians two runs, and everyone complained when Joe Maddon brought in?Aroldis Chapman?with a 7-2 lead in the seventh inning. The Cubs won 9-3 and will attempt to become the first road team to win Games 6 and 7 since the 1979 Pirates.?-- David SchoenfieldInside the pitching matchupWhen Kyle Hendricks is on the mound: The NLs ERA leader rarely hits 90 mph with his fastball and even has an above-average strikeout rate, but what made him so special in 2016 was his ability to limit hard contact. He led all starters in lowest well-hit average as batters hit only .207 against him overall and in the postseason theyre hitting .211/.278/.282. Maddon did pull him in Game 3 after 4? innings even though he hadnt given up a run.Hendricks relies on movement and command, as his average fastball velocity was 99th out of 104 right-handed starters, just below that of Indians Game 6 starter Josh Tomlin. No starter had a higher rate of first-pitch strikes and he pounds the corners while expertly changing speeds with a sinker, curveball, cutter and changeup. 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.In his Game 3 start, he continued his postseason trend of throwing fewer sinkers and more cutters. In the regular season, he threw that two-seamer nearly 50 percent of the time but has been below 40 percent in each of his four playoff starts, including 31 percent in Game 3. Some of that is simply the result of facing more left-handed batters -- they hit .341 off his fastball but just .222 against the cutter -- so look for a lot of cutters again with the Indians running out at least six lefties and switch-hitters.?-- SchoenfieldWhen Corey Kluber is on the mound: How good is this matchup? As Rany Jazayerli pointed out on Twitter, this is only the third Game 7 of the live ball era that features two starters who had 5-plus WAR that season. The others were Roger Clemens versus Curt Schilling in 2001, and John Tudor versus Bret Saberhagen in 1985. Kluber also is trying to become the first pitcher to start and win three games in the World Series since Mickey Lolich in 1968 and the first to win five games as a starter in a single postseason (Randy Johnson won five in 2001, but one in relief, and Francisco Rodriguez won five in 2002, all in relief).Kluber is making his second straight start on three days rest. He has given up three runs in 30? innings, surrendered only one home run, held batters to a .200 average, and struck out 29 percent of the batters he has faced. Terry Francona limited him to six innings in Games 1 and 4 (and fewer than 90 pitches each game), and with Andrew Miller lurking probably wont ask for more than that. In Game 1, he had pinpoint command of his two-seam fastball, getting it to run on the inside corner to left-handed batters. He wasnt quite so dominant with that pitch in Game 4, but it has been the key to his playoff run:Regular season: .274/.350/.483 Postseason: .188/.291/.250He actually changed his approach a bit in Game 4, throwing his hard curveball/slider hybrid more often, 35 times compared to only 30 fastballs. Thats one of the most dominant pitches in baseball, as batters hit .115 against it. The Cubs right-handed batters can certainly expect to see it a lot. Of course, one reason Kluber is so good is that he doesnt fall into patterns. In Game 1, he often pitched backward, starting off with a breaking ball and then going to the fastball or cutter with two strikes.?-- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightAll of them! OK, how about Carlos Santana? In Clevelands three victories he has reached base seven times; in the three loses he has reached twice. Hell be in the leadoff spot and needs to get on base in front of Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor.?-- SchoenfieldDid you know ...The Cubs are the ninth team to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven World Series. Five of the previous eight went on to win the Series, including each of the last two (1979 Pirates, 1985 Royals). -- ESPN Stats & InformationWhat will decide the gameTeams are 5-0 this World Series when leading entering the sixth inning (Game 3 was tied 0-0). The Indians are 7-0 this postseason when leading entering the sixth inning, and the Cubs are 7-1.-- ESPN Stats & InfoThe man in blueSamm Holbrook ranks as a less-likely strike caller than many other umpires, though hes not to the extremes of Joe West and Larry Vanover.dddddddddddd Holbrook ranks as the 23rd least-likely out of 80 in terms of frequency of strike calling.Holbrooks tendencies for right-handed pitcherLeft-handed batter: He does not call the inside strike frequently at any height. He will call the low strike, particularly on, or just off, the outside corner -- which is very important for Hendricks and whoever is catching him. Holbrook does not call the high strike often relative to other umps.Right-handed batter: Holbrook will call the high strike, particularly the high-outside one (notable for the Kluber-Roberto Perez combo). He does not call the low strike often relative to other umps, except for a small patch at the knees on the inner half.Tendencies with a left-handed pitcherLeft-handed batter: He calls the pitches at the top and bottom borders of the strike zone often, relative to other umps. He does not call the high-and-inside or middle-away strike often, relative to others.Right-handed batter: He doesnt really have anywhere that he calls strikes a lot, but hes stingy with strike-calling at the bottom of the strike zone.Hendricks and Kluber both benefit from pitch framingThe two most notable things to be said on the Game 7 starters: During the regular season, Hendricks got more extra called strikes than any other pitcher in MLB. He got 65 more called strikes than what the average pitcher would have gotten on the same collection of pitches. Almost all of Hendricks extra strikes came from low pitches (as noted above, Holbrook has shown a willingness to call those against lefties).Once Kluber and Perez became a regular battery, Kluber began getting a lot of extra strikes. In fact, after the All-Star break he led AL pitchers in called strike rate above average.?-- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & InfoZiPS odds: Its a 50-50 gameThanks, ZiPS, for going out on a limb there on the projection. With a decimal point, ZiPS projects the game as 50.4 percent for Cleveland vs. 49.6 percent for Chicago, about as close to a coin flip as you can get. And isnt it fun to see a perfectly even matchup on the last day of the season for the World Series? Click here (Insider) for Dan Szymborskis full Game 7 preview.Who will win??Kluber has been Bob Gibsonesque, and if the Indians get an early lead, then their suddenly rested beast of a back-end bullpen comes into play and ... there still is no way Im picking against the Cubs. Hendricks will zoom in and keep the Indians to one or two or nothing for however long he goes, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta will beef up the relief corps. The Cubs will be getting Kluber on short rest for the second straight turn while seeing him for a third time in a compressed time frame. The way the middle of the Cubs order is clicking will come into play in a major way. Get ready to party, Chicago, the drought is about to end. -- Bradford Doolittle Theres no stopping the Cubs now. Theyll rely on a rested Hendricks to outduel an overused Kluber and win a tight affair. It might come down to Chapman -- or Lester -- versus Andrew Miller, but the Cubs wont relinquish the lead. Theyll break their 108-year championship drought with a dramatic one-run victory.?-- Jesse Rogers?I will take the Indians to win Game 7. Kluber needs to go only five or six innings and hand a lead to Miller and Cody Allen, which could lead to bedlam in Cleveland. The city really felt as if it overcame a hurdle when the Cavaliers won in June. A loss in Game 7 would be devastating to the city. -- Andrew Marchand Everything now points toward the Cubs winning it all and the Indians blowing a 3-1 World Series lead and losing in typically agonizing Cleveland fashion. But I picked the Tribe in seven games before it began, and I dont feel comfortable bailing on them now. If Kluber can match Hendricks for five or six innings, Cleveland will ride Miller and Allen all the way to the finish line. Call me crazy, but I think the Indians scratch out a couple of early runs and cap their improbable run with a celebration at Progressive Field. -- Jerry CrasnickWhere the Series standsIts tied up! It certainly looks like a low-scoring game is in order. It will be fascinating to watch how the managers handle the middle innings -- dont be surprised if Lester is the first guy out of the Chicago bullpen. I do wonder if it will come down to the two big trade-deadline acquisitions. A rested Miller hasnt pitched since Game 4; Chapman has thrown 62 pitches in Games 5 and 6. Of course, maybe it goes extra innings. Can Cubs and Indians fans survive that??-- Schoenfield ' ' '