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Oct 31 '17
PITTSBURGH -- John Lackey fielded phone calls from plenty of interested teams in the offseason. Vikings Stitched Jerseys . Yet the veteran pitcher opted for the Chicago Cubs.Sure, the money was good. The opportunity was even better.I had some pretty good offers from other people and I chose this one for a reason, Lackey said. Its all here.Looks like it.Lackey worked through five innings, Chris Coghlan hit a three-run triple and the Cubs held off the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 on Tuesday night. Coghlans second-inning drive off the wall in right-center against Ryan Vogelsong (3-7) gave the NL Central champions all the offense they would need to win for the seventh time in their last eight games. Chicago improved to 101-56, the clubs highest victory total since it won 104 games in 1910.Pittsburgh was eliminated from postseason contention when San Francisco won later Tuesday, ending a run of three-straight playoff appearances.Dexter Fowler added an RBI double for the Cubs. Lackey (11-8) worked around five hits and three walks to win his last regular season start. The 37-year-old finished his 14th season 11-8 with a 3.35 ERA and has looked fresh since a stint on the disabled list to rest his right shoulder. Lackey is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA since coming off the DL earlier this month.The rest was good for him, manager Joe Maddon said. Hes going into the postseason well rested. Just got to keep these guys sharp.Lackeys next start will be in the playoffs, a time of year the two-time World Series champion knows well. Hes 8-5 with a 3.11 ERA in the postseason and doesnt think Maddon will need to do anything too extravagant to keep him engaged during the lengthy downtime.I dont know about (simulation) games, Lackey said. I can throw a bullpen and be just fine. I dont need to see somebody up there. I know how to throw the ball over the plate.Felix Pena recorded the final two outs for his first career save after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run single off Justin Grimm to get the Pirates within two. Pena struck out Sean Rodriguez with the bases loaded to end it.Overall we did play pretty well, Maddon said. We got everybody involved, which is good. Theres a lot to be happy with.Vogelsong allowed four runs in five innings and fell to 0-3 with a 9.55 ERA in September. The 39-year-old managed to get out of a two-on situation in the first but couldnt in the second. A hit batter and two walks loaded the bases for Coghlan. The outfielder narrowly missed his first career grand slam when the ball landed just below the top of the fence. He sped to third for his second triple since rejoining Chicago in a trade with Oakland in June.Just an unacceptable start, Vogelsong said. No excuses. Just unacceptable.Lackey made sure it stood, though not without some shaky moments. He needed a double play to thwart a potentially big inning in the second and his defense bailed him out when Jordy Mercers line drive with the bases loaded in the fourth went straight to second baseman Munenori Kawasaki, who flipped to second to double off Rodriguez.The Pirates went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position -- both hits coming in the ninth -- and left 11 men on base.STREAK ENDSPittsburgh reliever Juan Nicasio gave up two runs in the ninth and failed to record a strikeout for the first time in 34 appearances, ending his club-record streak.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: OF Jorge Soler remained in Chicago while dealing with tightness in his side but could rejoin the team in Cincinnati on Friday. Maddon said an MRI on Soler came back negative, but with the division already clinched theres no rush to get Soler back on the field. Side bothers him, nothing horrible, nothing to be highly concerned about, Maddon said. I dont know what we think right now, except that it wasnt bad.Pirates: LF Starling Marte remained out of the starting lineup with back stiffness and grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. The All-Star has just three plate appearances -- all as a pinch hitter -- since Sept. 5. My brothers are out there battling and I wish I could get out there with them, Marte said.UP NEXT:Cubs: Jake Arrieta (18-7, 2.85 ERA) makes his final start of the regular season. The 2015 Cy Young Award winner is 9-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 career starts against the Pirates.Pirates: Rookie Jameson Taillon (4-4, 3.49) faces the Cubs for the second time this season. Chicago touched him for four runs in four innings of a 10-5 loss on June 19. Wholesale Vikings Jerseys . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Vikings Jerseys Store . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.authenticvikingsshopnfl.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook releases updated futures odds across major sports every week. ESPN Stats & Info Senior Researcher Matt Willis breaks down the biggest changes within the marketplace, including who is moving up or falling back among odds to win championships and major awards.College football: Contenders down, but not outComing off a wild week in college football that featured the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams all going down, there was bound to be some shuffling in the odds.Clemson (7-1 to 12-1), Michigan (5-1 to 15-1) and Washington (6-1 to 20-1) all took a fall. Despite also being one-loss teams, Ohio State (now 2-1) and Louisville (now 6-1) are now the second and third favorites to win the College Football Playoff Championship.But the upsets breathed new life into some two-loss teams that looked to be cast aside early: Penn State and Washington State. Penn State now needs only to win out (over Rutgers and Michigan State), while having Ohio State beat Michigan at home to go to the Big Ten Championship. Washington State could play for the Pac-12 title with two more wins.Both of those teams at one point this season were 9,999-1 to win it all. Theyre both now 50-1 to win the championship, tied for the ninth-best odds.NFL: Lions win by not playingAfter a 1-3 start, the Detroit Lions have won four of their past five games. A 5-4 record might not seem impressive, but its starting to look better and better in the NFC North.In Week 10, the Minnesota Vikings lost their fourth straight game and the Green Bay Packers lost their third straight. Vikings Youth Jerseys. The Lions were off last week but still moved into a tie atop the division.After Week 4, when the Lions sat at 1-3, they were 35-1 to win the division, while the Packers were 5-7 and the Vikings 11-10. Even after the Lions win last week, they were still only the third favorites in the division. But after the Vikings and Packers lost in Week 10, they both dropped to 7-4, while the Lions are now narrowly the division favorites at 8-5.Detroit is now 40-1 to win the Super Bowl after being 100-1 just two weeks ago. By comparison, the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers are at 60-1.Soccer: No Leicester City this year?You might remember last season when Leicester City, which opened at 2,500-1 at Westgate and as low as 5,000-1 in some books, pulled off a Cinderella story to win the English Premier League title.Early-season flyers on Crystal Palace (opened at 500-1) and Middlesbrough (opened at 1,000-1) might have looked like sound investments, as both were at 100-1 at this point last week.However, recent results have turned both to long shots once again, as they sit back at 1,000-1 and closer to the bottom half of the table.The big mover has been Liverpool, which opened at 8-1, dropped as low as 12-1, but now is the second-favorite at 5-2, behind only Manchester City (2-1). Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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