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Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Sunday nights showdown between the Cubs and Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS. Stitched Jerseys UK . What we learned in Game 1Oh, not much. Javier Baez stole home. Dexter Fowler played center field like Willie Mays. Joe Maddon was criticized for taking Jon Lester?out too soon. Aroldis Chapman blew a save in the eighth inning. Dave Roberts issued an intentional walk with runners on first and second. Miguel Montero hit the third pinch-hit grand slam in postseason history to break a 3-3 tie and almost break Wrigley Field in the process. Thats all. -- David SchoenfieldInside the pitching matchupWhen Clayton Kershaw is on the mound: The games best pitcher returns to the mound just three days after throwing seven pitches to get the save in Game 5 of the division series. Two days before that, he started Game 4 and threw 110 pitches on short rest. Factor in Kershaws history in postseason games of hitting a wall in the seventh inning, and the Dodgers may only look for six innings here unless hes particularly efficient.Anyway, despite missing two-plus months with a herniated disk, Kershaw was so dominant this year, some believe he deserves Cy Young consideration. In 21 starts in the regular season, he allowed 31 runs. He walked just 11 batters, and one of those was intentional. He struck out 172 batters in 149 innings and the opposition hit just .184 against him.Kershaw continues to evolve as a pitcher. He now throws his slider more than ever (33 percent of the time), as his fastball rate has dropped from 62 percent in 2012 to 50.6 percent. What makes his slider so tough is that unlike a lot of sliders, his actually ends up in the zone over 50 percent of the time, making it a pitch he can throw in any count, not just as a two-strike sit-em-down offering. Batters hit .138 against it. In his two playoff starts against the Nationals, however, he did go more to his fastball, in part because he was having problems commanding the slider on the inside part of the plate.Kershaw wasnt quite as dominant away from Dodger Stadium, as his ERA rose all the way to 2.31 ERA on the road, where he did allow seven of his eight home runs. He completely shut down left-handed batters (.138, no home runs in 138 at-bats), so look for the Cubs to sit Jason Heyward and load up with all right-handed or switch-hitters (with the exception of lefty?Anthony Rizzo, who will probably remain in the lineup). The Nationals took a patient approach, hoping to run up Kershaws pitch count; I would expect the Cubs to do the same thing. -- SchoenfieldWhen Kyle Hendricks is on the mound: Speaking of command, no starter had a higher rate of first-pitch strikes this season than Hendricks, who tied with Johnny Cueto at 68.4 percent. That goes a long way toward 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 third of the strike zone than Hendricks (62 percent).Hendricks throws his fastball about half the time, as he increased 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 qualified starters in the majors this season. As good as Hendricks was, Maddon may not ask him to go all that deep considering the Dodgers weaknesses against southpaws and the four lefties the Cubs are carrying in the bullpen. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightAnthony Rizzo. He went 0-for-5 in Game 1 and is now 1-for-20 in the postseason. He had two stretches like this in the regular season (1-for-22 from April 8-14 and 1-for-25 from May 15-22) so he has gone through a slump like this before. -- SchoenfieldDid you know ...There are 137 players with at least 15 at-bats against Kershaw, and Dexter Fowlers .409 batting average (hes 18-for-44) ranks second among that group, trailing only Pirates catcher Chris Stewart (.529). -- ESPN Stats & InfoWhat will decide Sunday nights gameKershaws slider. During the regular season, Kershaw recorded 44 percent of his strikeouts with his slider. But in a small sample size, he has thrown that pitch a lot less in the postseason, and he hasnt had good results. While opponents OPS against his slider was .343 during the regular season, theyve generated a .955 OPS against it during the postseason, and he has gone from using it 33 percent of the time during the regular season to 26 percent during the NL Division Series. -- ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?The Cubs Kyle Hendricks cant buy a break in the postseason. He struggled last year, got pinged by a ground ball in his first outing this year, and now in Game 2 he faces the one pitcher in the majors who had a better ERA than he did. Maybe its time for his luck to turn? Clayton Kershaw is working at the end of an unusual string of usage, and Hendricks doesnt lose at home. I do worry about the wind -- with all of the Dodgers lefty power bats, it would be better for Hendricks if the breeze was off the lake. It should be another low-scoring one, and since its at Wrigley, Im going with the Cubs.?-- Brad Doolittle?Its a question of sharpness. Kyle Hendricks has hardly pitched after leaving his lone postseason start with a forearm injury, while Clayton Kershaw has been pressed into extra duty so far. The results for both will be more runs given up than normal. The Cubs will prevail as theyve proved to be late-inning warriors.?-- Jesse Rogers?Kershaw is finally getting his October narrative under control, and that will continue in Game 2 of the NLCS. The left-hander had an unusual week with 110 pitches on short rest and a seven-pitch save two days later, but he appears poised and ready for his first NLCS start in three years. The Dodgers will steal one on the Cubs turf.?-- Doug PadillaWhere the series standsWell, it seems like the Dodgers need to win this game, no? Losing a Kershaw game and going back to Dodger Stadium down two games to none and having to face Jake Arrieta doesnt sound like much fun. Then throw in the fact that Rich Hill or Julio Urias arent likely to go deep into a start and the Cubs have all those lefty relievers to match up against you and ... good luck, big guy.?-- Schoenfield Cheap Jerseys UK Online . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Discount Jerseys UK . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticuk.com/ .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. FRANKFURT, Germany -- If Mats Hummels, Bayern Munichs experienced defender and World Cup winner, is to be believed, Bundesliga newcomer Leipzig could be a title contender.Bayern has won the last four championships and Leipzig is the promoted team playing in its debut Bundesliga season, but after 10 rounds, Leipzig is undefeated, even on points with Bayern and behind only on goal difference. The two teams are four points clear of the nearest competition, and Leipzig has earned more points away from home than Bayern.Leipzig is riding a five-match winning streak going into Fridays match against Bayer Leverkusen.If we drop points, Leipzig will be a candidate for the title, Hummels said recently. Everything Ive seen from Leipzig has been convincing. They play very attacking football, they defend as a team very well and they have the individual class you need.Hummels said Leipzig reminds him of Borussia Dortmund, which won Bundesliga titles under coach Juergen Klopp in 2011 and 2012 when the Germany central defender still played there.Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuettl doesnt really believe that his team can emulate the Kaiserslauterns run in 1998, when it swept to the title in its promotion season.In football, nothing is impossible, he said recently in a newspaper interview. You saw what happened in England with the championship for Leicester City. But It would be a miracle in Germany. I am not even thinking about it.Hasenhuettl said he still could not really tell where his team stood.Right now, I dont see a limit for us, and I dont know where it should be, he said. We are basically playing with a second-division squad, a team that finished second in the second division last season.Hasenhuettl left Bundesliga rival Ingolstadt before the season to replace Ralf Rangnick, who became the clubs sports director. Rangnick was the architect of Hoffenheims sensational run in 2008, when it led the championnship halfway into its rookie season. Cheap Jerseys UK Fast Shipping. Incidentally, Hoffenheim is also still undefeated and helped Leipzig pull even with Bayern by holding the champion to a draw before the international break.Leipzig is a project created by the Austrian energy-drink maker Red Bull and its billionaire founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who bought and rebranded a local fifth-tier club in 2009. The booming former East German city had a stadium rebuilt for the World Cup in 2006 but had no team in the major leagues.Rival fans strongly object to Leipzigs links to Red Bull and consider it a test-tube team. The team bus has been stoned and Leipzig players are routinely the subject of derogatory chants, and Earlier this month, a severed bulls head was thrown near the pitch during a match.Hummels is not the only one in Bayern to consider Leipzig a serious rival.Uli Hoeness, who is set to become Bayerns president again after serving a prison term for tax evasion, said in a recent television interview that he found Leipzig very strong.Of course, they have the advantage of being able to lie on the couch during the week while we have to play the Champions League, and if I know Mr. Mateschitz, hell lay out a couple of million more if necessary at Christmas, Hoeness said.Hasenhuettl responded by noting that Bayern was thinking about us.It seems that what weve played so far has been impressive, Hasenhuettl said.The two teams meet on Dec. 21 in the final round before the Christmas break.Leipzig uses a high-pressing style to win the ball and then attacks quickly, often leaving opponents outnumbered in defense.Central midfielder Naby Keita, who arrived from the sister club Red Bull Salzburg, is among Leipzigs key players, as are speedy forwards Timo Werner, Yussuf Poulsen and Emil Forsberg. 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