Allgemeines » s NL Division Series opene

WASHINGTON - The San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals both missed the post-season last year. Thats pretty much where the similarities end heading into Fridays NL Division Series opener.Bruce Bochy has managed the Giants to two of the past four World Series championships. Nationals skipper Matt Williams is about to lead a team in the playoffs for the first time.The Giants have won eight consecutive post-season games, including an 8-0 wild-card victory at Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.The NL East champion Nationals, most of whom have never won a playoff series, spent Wednesday at their home ballpark playing an intrasquad scrimmage between groups they dubbed The Face-Eaters a€” a reference to Jayson Werths 2013 comment about showing up for a game ready to eat somebodys face a€” and Team Alpha.It was dressed up to look and sound like the real thing: Fake crowd noise was piped in; videos were shown on the scoreboard; the game-day PA announcer introduced players; rookie reliever Aaron Barrett even sang the national anthem.All in all, it was good camaraderie and good competition and got the juices flowing a little bit, which is what was needed, reliever Tyler Clippard said, referring to the four-day break the Nationals will have had between Sundays regular-season finale and the series start. It was a game situation. We in this clubhouse are very competitive people, and want to beat each other just as bad as we want to beat everybody else.First baseman Adam LaRoche joked the Giants confidence is up because of their win against the Pirates, but we just had a big intrasquad yesterday, so our confidence is up, too.Both teams worked out at Nationals Park on Thursday, and both managers announced their starting pitchers for Games 1-3.Fridays matchup between Washingtons Stephen Strasburg and San Franciscos Jake Peavy a€” pals who sometimes work out together in San Diego a€” gives one indication of the gap in experience the series represents. Strasburg, held out of the 2012 post-season to protect his surgically repaired elbow, will be making his playoff debut; Peavy will be making his sixth October start, including as a member of last seasons World Series champion Boston Red Sox.Their catchers are also illustrate the difference between the teams: Strasburg will be throwing to Wilson Ramos, who was injured in 2012 and never has participated in a playoff game; Peavy will work with Buster Posey, a member of the Giants 2010 and 2012 title teams, along with the 2012 NL MVP winner.Game 2 will feature Jordan Zimmermann against Tim Hudson, and Game 3 will have Doug Fister against Madison Bumgarner, who threw a four-hit shutout against Pittsburgh in San Franciscos seventh consecutive victory in an elimination game.Once we get to the post-season, its like a new season for us, said Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, who hit a grand slam Wednesday. We have plenty of ups and downs during the regular season, but now its kind of a new slate for us.The Giants finished second in the NL West at 88-74 after going only 41-40 in the second half. Washington went 53-28 in that span, and a majors-best 21-9 in its last 30, to finish 96-66, the NLs best record.We may not match up with a lot of people on paper, Hudson said. But I think once you get out there and play, the guts and the heart that this team has ... gets this team over the hump a lot of times.What the Nationals insisted Thursday is that their trip to the playoffs in 2012 a€” which ended with a gut-punch loss in Game 5 of their NLDS against St. Louis a€” provided plenty of know-how.We kind of know what to expect a little bit more now, said Ryan Zimmerman, whose injured right leg seemed fine Thursday as he put in work in left field. We went into 12 not really knowing what to expect and thinking that everything would be the same. And its not the same. ... Every pitch is so much more intense. Its just a different feel.Something the Giants know well.They have a similar-type club that we have. ... Guys not necessarily that are the best players, but they play well together, which is good. We do the same exact thing, Clippard said, and I think, you know, were the better club.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Cheap Detroit Pistons Jerseys . He was still a kid, going into his senior year of high school. Thursday, the point guard stood in front of a couple dozen members of the media and spoke with poise about how much hed grown since then, and how hes ready for the next level. Zaza Pachulia Jersey . A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for. http://www.cheappistonsjerseys.com/ . As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe loop that was the second jump in his combination. Ben Wallace Jersey . He made another correct read. The Browns, who have been shuttling quarterbacks on and off the field all season, finally got some good news on that front: Campbells ribs are only bruised. Mateen Cleaves Jersey . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George put an emphatic 360-degree twist on the Pacers latest blowout. Lob Citys stars just watched in amazement. George scored 36 points, the last two on a reverse windmill dunk that brought fans to their feet and the Clippers to their knees in Indianas 106-92 rout Saturday night. "It was just instinctive," George said after helping to end the Clippers five-game winning streak. "I wanted to put on a show for the fans." The entire season has been a showcase for the Pacers (32-7), who have the NBAs best record, the leagues best home record at 21-1 and a 3 1/2-game lead in the Eastern Conference over two-time defending champion Miami. Georges highlight-reel dunks and Lance Stephensons increasingly commonplace poses are all becoming part of Indianas normal routine. George, last years Most Improved Player, has six 30-point games and 27 20-point games this season. The 23-year-old emerging star is ranked among the league leaders in scoring, free throw percentage and steals, and he might be higher in rebounds and assists if the Pacers werent blowing teams out with regularity. Critics might contend the only real thing missing from his resume is pizazz. Those complaints disappeared with one dunk contest move that George saved for game time. Armed with a 20-point lead and a clear path to the basket, he leapt in the air, spun around, slammed the ball with one hand, stuck the landing and ran back to play defence. Fans and most of his teammates immediately jumped to their feet. "I just wanted to celebrate," Stephenson said. "I didnt want to get back on defence. Ive not seen one like that in a game Ive been in." Indiana fans havent seen anything quite like this season, either, not even when Reggie Miller was running the show. The Pacers have now won four straight, all by at least 14 points, and fell just short of winning four in a row by 20 or more points for the first time in franchise history. All this came on a night Indiana wasnt even at full strength in the second half. Power forward David West was ejected at halftime after the officials gave him a flagrant 2 foul after a replay review. All-Star centre Roy Hibbert and Wests backup, Luis Scola, started the fourth quarter on the bench in foul trouble and wound up taking the rest of the night off.dddddddddddd Indiana didnt even need them. George barely missed, going 12 of 17 from the field, 5 of 6 on 3-pointers and 7 of 7 from the free throw line. He had six points and three steals, too. Stephenson, who leads the NBA with three triple-doubles, settled for 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Indianas bench pitched in, too. Danny Granger added 12 points and now has nine double-figure games in 14 appearances this season, while C.J. Watson had 11 points. The Clippers bigger problem was Indianas stout defence. Indiana had a 48-39 rebounding edge, a 42-32 edge on points in the paints and limited the high-scoring Clippers to 39.8 per cent from the field and six fast-break points. Jamal Crawford finished with 22 points off the bench, while Blake Griffin had 19 points and rebounds and DeAndre Jordan finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds to lead Los Angeles (28-14). That wasnt nearly enough to keep up with the Pacers, who ended the Clippers run of four consecutive 109-point games. "We didnt play well at all," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought their defence really rushed us. We talked about how they tried to channel you into their bigs and we kept falling for it over and over again. We just didnt execute offensively." Indiana led 28-18 after one, 45-27 midway through the second and by as much as 20 in the third quarter before the Clippers showed any indication they may rally. Crawford spurred a 9-3 run to end the third quarter and got the Clippers within 81-72 early in the fourth. But a layup from Stephenson started a 17-4 run, capped by Georges incredible dunk that gave the Pacers lots of momentum heading into a five-game West Coast swing that begins Monday at Golden State. "Its just guys rising up to the occasion and stepping up," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Lance and Paul, they can do a lot of things." Notes: Indiana completed its first season sweep of the Clippers since 2005-06. ... The Clippers five-game winning streak matched a season best. ... Hibbert finished with five blocks, all in the first quarter. ... Indiana has won 20 games this season by 10 or more points. 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