Begrüßungen » th in the North American LCS regular seas

ST. LOUIS -- Jon Lester gave the Chicago Cubs a much-needed boost.Anthony Rizzo hit a pair of home runs and Lester pitched eight dominant innings as the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 on Wednesday to clinch a playoff berth.The Cubs improved their major league-best record to 93-52, and their magic number is one to clinch their first NL Central title since 2008. They can wrap up the division crown Thursday night with a win at home over Milwaukee or a St. Louis loss in San Francisco.Chicago secured at least a wild card because the four-game series between the Cardinals and Giants makes it impossible for both to catch the Cubs in the standings.Ill tell you, if you were in that dugout at the beginning of the game, the guys were dead on their feet, Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. To play the kind of game we did today -- really hot, last game of a long road trip -- I give them a ton of credit. (Lester) really played into all that.The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the New York Mets and one game behind the Giants for the two NL wild cards.Lester (17-4) allowed four baserunners, none of which got past first. Cubs catcher David Ross threw out two Cardinals trying to steal second and Lester faced just two batters over the minimum.Cardinals outfielder Brandon Moss called Lester one of the best in the game.Today was one of those days were he had both working and he wasnt missing over the middle and he was even throwing some curveballs and change-ups to keep you off of everything, Moss said.Lester improved to 7-0 with a 1.02 ERA in his last nine starts. He also helped his cause at the plate with an RBI single in the third.Im just trying to give a good at-bat, Lester said. He elevated a changeup for me and I got it far enough out there to give us a run.Rizzos two-run homer in the ninth gave him 31 homers and 101 RBI on the season. He is the second Cubs left-handed hitter in franchise history to post multiple 30 home run and 100 RBI seasons (Billy Williams did it in 1965, 1970 and 1972).Billy Williams, his numbers speak for himself and hes done it so many years, so its a really good feeling, Rizzo said.Ross two-run homer in the fifth snapped a 0-for-8 streak and it was his first home run since Aug. 17.St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez (14-8) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings.Martinez started off strong, striking out the side in the first and four of the first six batters he faced. Five of his nine strikeouts came on called third strikes. He entered the game having allowed just 12 homers this season and his home run per nine innings average of 0.63 was second in the National League to the Mets Noah Syndergaard (0.52).Ross home run was just third by a right-handed batter against Martinez, who had his four winning decisions streak snapped.The loss dropped the Cardinals home record to 33-41, assuring St. Louis of its first losing record at home since 1999 when it played in Busch Stadium II.While clinching at least a wild card spot is nice, the Cubs look forward to wrapping up the division at home this weekend, preferably tomorrow.Lets do it, Maddon said. The sooner, the better. Then we can make our appropriate plans going forward and really set things up to make our best push.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder inflammation) was activated from the disabled list and will pitch out of the bullpen ... OF Matt Holliday (fractured right thumb) is expected to take live batting practice later this week. . RHP Trevor Rosenthal (right shoulder inflammation) could be activated from the DL tomorrow.UP NEXTCubs: LHP Mike Montgomery (1-1, 3.67 ERA) will kick off a four-game series as Chicago hosts Milwaukee on Thursday. The Brewers counter with RHP Jimmy Nelson (14-7, 4.42 ERA)Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (11-8, 4.45) will look to build on a one run, eight inning performance in his last start as St. Louis travels to San Francisco for a four-game series Thursday. RHP Johnny Cueto (15-5, 2.90) will start for the Giants. Devante Bond Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. http://www.custombearsjersey.com/custom-roy-robertson-harris-jersey-large-3046t.html . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Anthony Miller Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Bulldog Turner Jersey . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Former NBA champion Rick Foxs and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille ONeals League of Legends teams will face off on Sunday, August 7 at 12 p.m. PDT to determine who advances to the next season of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS).ONeals team NRG eSports and Foxs team Echo Fox placed ninth and tenth in the North American LCS regular season, respectively, and as a result are fighting for their LCS lives in the post-season promotion tournament. The loser will be eliminated from the LCS and will not be able to qualify again until next seasons promotion tournament.The promotion tournament features the bottom three NA LCS teams and the top two teams from the Challenger Series, League of Legends official amateur league, as of the end of the regular season. While Echo Fox won its first match aagainst Challenger squad Team Liquid Academy, it lost to eighth place LCS team Phoenix1; meanwhile, NRG eSports lost to Cloud9 Challenger.dddddddddddd In the tournament, the losers of both of the latter matches play each other for the final LCS spot of spring 2017.ONeal, Alex Rodriguez, and Jimmy Rollins invested in NRG eSports this past March, with ONeal enthusiastically endorsing the team on Twitter and even reaching out recently to an Overwatch team to recruit them to the NRG banner. Rick Fox purchased Gravity Gamings LCS slot late last year for a reported $1 million and renamed the team Echo Fox. Both teams have competed in the 2016 LCS spring and summer splits. ' ' '