was just a showcase for Peppers in his home state, he is

A look at the National League wild-card playoff between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets:---Schedule: Wednesday, at New York, 8:09 p.m. EDT (ESPN).---Season Series: Mets beat Giants 4-3.---Projected Lineups:Giants: CF Denard Span (.266, 11 HRs, 52 RBI, 12 SBs), 1B Brandon Belt (.275, 17, 82, 41 2Bs, 104 BBs), C Buster Posey (.288, 14, 80, 33 2Bs), RF Hunter Pence (.289, 13, 57), SS Brandon Crawford (.275, 12, 84), LF Angel Pagan (.277, 12, 55, 15 SBs), 2B Joe Panik (.239, 10, 62), 3B Conor Gillaspie (.262, 6, 25).Mets: 3B Jose Reyes (.267, 8, 24, 9 SBs in 60 games), SS Asdrubal Cabrera (.280, 23, 62), LF Yoenis Cespedes (.280, 31, 86), CF Curtis Granderson (.237, 30, 59), RF Jay Bruce (.250, 33, 99 with Reds and Mets; .219, 8, 19 in 50 games with Mets), 2B T.J. Rivera (.333, 3, 16 in 105 at-bats), 1B James Loney (.265, 9, 34 in 100 games) or Lucas Duda (.229, 7, 23 in 47 games), C Rene Rivera (.222, 6, 26 in 65 games).---Starting Pitchers:Giants: LH Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74 ERA, 251 Ks).Mets: RH Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60, 218 Ks in 183 2/3 IP).---Relievers:Giants: RH Sergio Romo (1-0, 2.64, 4/4 saves), RH Derek Law (4-2, 2.13, 1 save), LH Javier Lopez (1-3, 4.05, 1 save, .211 BA vs LH hitters), RH Hunter Strickland (3-3, 3.10, 3 saves), RH Santiago Casilla (2-5, 3.57, 31/40 saves), RH George Kontos (3-2, 2.53), LH Will Smith (2-4, 3.35 with Giants and Brewers).Mets: RH Jeurys Familia (3-4, 2.55, MLB-high 51/56 saves in 78 games), RH Addison Reed (4-2, 1.97, 1 save in 80 games), RH Fernando Salas (3-7, 3.91, 6 saves in 75 games with Angels and Mets; 0-1, 2.08, 19 Ks, no walks in 17 games with Mets), LH Jerry Blevins (4-2, 2.79, 2 saves in 73 games, 42 IP), RH Hansel Robles (6-4, 3.48, 1 save), LH Josh Smoker (3-0, 4.70, 25 Ks in 15 1/3 innings), RH Bartolo Colon (15-8, 3.43 in 34 games, 33 starts, team-high 191 2/3 IP), RH Seth Lugo (5-2, 2.67 in 17 games, 8 starts), RH Robert Gsellman (4-2, 2.42 in 8 games, 7 starts), RH Jim Henderson (2-2, 4.37) or RH Erik Goeddel (2-2, 4.54).---Matchups:This is the second postseason meeting between the teams. New York beat the Giants in four games during their 2000 NL Division Series. ... Both clubs finished 87-75, and the Mets earned home-field advantage for this game by winning the season series. New York took two of three at home early in the season before the teams split a four-game series at San Francisco in August. Bumgarner had two of the Giants three wins and is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. He allowed four runs over five innings in a 10-7 victory Aug. 18. He had allowed four runs in his first 35 innings against New York, including six scoreless innings to outpitch Syndergaard on May 1. ... Posey is a .336 career hitter against the Mets. ... New York set a franchise record with 218 home runs, which ranked second in the NL and fifth in the majors. The Mets went 77-40 when they homered. ... New York also clocked a club-record 13 pinch-hit homers this season. Only the Cardinals (17) had more. ... In addition to his quality stuff and sensational postseason resume, Bumgarner could present a matchup problem for the middle of New Yorks lineup simply because hes a lefty. Granderson, Bruce, Loney and Duda all bat left-handed. Reyes and Cabrera are switch-hitters, but injured infielder Wilmer Flores (wrist) will be missed. Flores hit .340 with 11 homers in 100 at-bats vs. left-handers this season, including .393 with 25 RBI in his last 61 at-bats. He had a whopping .710 slugging percentage against southpaws. Flores had been subbing at second base for injured Neil Walker (23 HRs). That role now belongs to T.J. Rivera, an undrafted rookie from New York City who won the Pacific Coast League batting crown. Hes done an excellent job filling in. ... The winner heads for Chicago to play the NL Central champion Cubs in a best-of-five Division Series beginning Friday. New York swept the Cubs in last years NL Championship Series and went 5-2 against them this season, including a four-game sweep at Citi Field.---Big Picture:Giants: After leading the majors with a 57-33 record at the All-Star break, San Francisco stumbled to the finish and nearly missed out entirely on the postseason. The Giants ended the regular season with their first four-game winning streak of the second half to beat out St. Louis by one game for the second NL wild card. Now that San Francisco is in, manager Bruce Bochys team hopes to extend the even-year karma that led to World Series titles in 2010, `12 and `14. ... San Francisco set up its rotation with the right man on the mound for this one in Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP. He is 7-3 with a 2.14 ERA in 14 career postseason appearances, and 5-1 with a 0.99 ERA in his last seven postseason starts. ... The bullpen was the biggest issue in the second half, with the team setting a franchise record by losing nine games it led after eight innings, including five in September. ... Posey hit just three HRs in his last 63 games but picked up his performance late with 12 RBI in the final nine games. ... Pence, who missed 48 games with a hamstring injury, had a strong finish, batting .340 over his final 24 games. ... San Francisco committed a major league-low 72 errors, with Crawford playing mistake-free defense in his final 43 games at shortstop. ... With 3B Eduardo Nunez not expected to play because of a hamstring injury, Gillaspie will get the nod. He is 7 for 14 with five RBI in the past five games.Mets: Following last years World Series loss to Kansas City, the well-stocked Mets began the season with big expectations and legitimate aspirations of winning their first championship since 1986. Then the aches and pains started piling up. Every established regular besides Granderson spent time on the disabled list, in addition to handy part-time players Flores (16 HRs, 49 RBI) and Juan Lagares. Duda (back) missed four months, and captain David Wright (neck surgery) has been out since late May. By early September, the imposing young rotation had been decimated by season-ending injuries to Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz. Zack Wheeler never made it back from March 2015 Tommy John surgery, further testing New Yorks pitching depth. The trade-deadline deal for Bruce looked like a bust before he finally went on a timely tear during the last week of the season. But when the resilient Mets reached down to the farm, several marginal prospects delivered under pressure. Lugo and Gsellman saved the rotation down the stretch, while the 43-year-old Colon was a rock throughout -- even becoming the oldest major leaguer to hit his first career home run. Loney and Rene Rivera, steady veterans dumped by Tampa Bay just before the season started, arrived from the minors and provided important contributions. Reyes, released by Colorado after serving a domestic-violence suspension, rejoined his original team at a new position July 5 and combined with Cabrera to energize a sagging offense. Both dyed their hair bright, too, and manager Terry Collins persistent team finally took off. New York was 60-62 after losing at San Francisco on Aug. 19, the day Cespedes and Cabrera came off the DL. Then the Mets went an MLB-best 27-13 the rest of the way and jumped over four teams in the pennant race. They secured the top wild card on the penultimate day of the regular season, reaching the playoffs in consecutive years for the second time in franchise history (1999-2000). That allowed them to hold back Syndergaard for this game. Now, the Mets will try to make another October run with Cespedes. The star slugger can opt out of his contract and become a free agent again this fall.---Watch For:- Closing Time. The bullpen that played such a key role in San Franciscos recent World Series championships melted down in the second half. Casilla tied for the most blown saves in the majors with nine and lost his job. After struggling to find a replacement, Bochy went to Romo, the closer during the 2012 title run. He successfully converted all four save opportunities in the final two weeks. Meanwhile, the Mets have a reliable formula at the back end in Salas, Reed and Familia.- Running Wild. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Syndergaard has trouble holding runners and is often slow to the plate. He allowed 48 stolen bases this season, 18 more than any other major league pitcher. Its a big reason why strong-armed Rene Rivera has become his regular catcher. San Francisco probably will try to take advantage. The Giants ranked eighth in the NL with 79 steals but were caught 36 times for a success rate of 69 percent.- Power Outage. While the bullpen woes got the most attention, the Giants bats also struggled in the second half. The team went from scoring 4.7 runs per game before the All-Star break to 4.0 afterward, with Posey, Crawford and Belt all struggling to hit for power.- Tried and Tested. The Mets havent played a team that finished with a winning record since Sept. 14 at Washington. Meanwhile, the Giants are coming off a three-game sweep of the NL West champion Dodgers. Irving Fryar Youth Jersey . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Sony Michel Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. https://www.patriotssportsgoods.com/Womens-Kevin-Faulk-Inverted-Jersey/ . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Rob Gronkowski Patriots Jersey . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Irving Fryar Jersey . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. The challenge for Lamar Jackson as he chases the Heisman Trophy is to maintain front-runner status while playing games that will not be drawing a lot of attention.No. 7 Louisville and its star quarterback get back into action this week for the first of five straight games in which they will be big favorites. On one hand, Jackson and the No. 1 offense in the country have a chance to put up some big stats and lopsided victories. On the other hand, there will be few chances for those Heisman moments that usually come in marquee matchups -- such as the Cardinals last game at No. 3 Clemson.For now, Jackson is still the overwhelming leader in The Associated Press Heisman Watch, receiving the first-place votes from all seven AP sports writers polled. Only four players made each voters top three.The AP prohibits its journalists from voting for awards such as the Heisman so none of those polled are actual Heisman voters. Three points are given for a first-place vote, two for second and one for third.1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville (21 points)Last week: Off.Next: Duke, which ranks seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference in defense at 5.09 yards per play.2. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson (11 points)Last week: Watson threw four touchdown passes and no interceptions in a rout of Boston College. He already has seven picks so keeping that number down the rest of the way will be important. He ran for only 28 yards against the Eagles, mostly because he didnt have to do much running.Next: North Carolina State, which ranks fifth in the ACC in defense at 4.47 yards per play. Watson threw for 383 yards and five touchdowns and ran for a score against the Wolfpack last season.3. Jake Browning, QB, Washington (8 points)Last week: The sophomore made his Heisman statement, accounting for eight touchdowns in a blowout of Oregon. He leads the nation in touchdown passes (23) and efficiency rating (204.86). Could be the latest Pac-12 starr to test the East Coast bias theory in Heisman voting.ddddddddddddext: Oregon State, Oct. 22.4. Greg Ward Jr., QB, Houston (2 points)Last week: Ward threw two interceptions, including a pick six, in the Cougars first loss with him as a starting quarterback since 2014. He also had 359 yards passing, 94 rushing and was in on four touchdowns. Still, it will be hard for Ward to stay here as Houstons playoff hopes fade.Next: Tulsa, which ranks fifth in the American Athletic Conference in defense at 5.07 yards per play.FIVE MORE TO WATCH:- Jabrill Peppers, LB/RB/PR, Michigan. If the Wolverines continue using Peppers on offense the way they did against hapless Rutgers, he could make a serious run at Jackson. If that was just a showcase for Peppers in his home state, he is a fringe candidate.- J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State. Could get usurped by versatile teammate Curtis Samuel, who is pace to make a run at 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving.- Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State. The junior surged against Miami and still has potential marquee games left against No. 2 Clemson and No. 18 Florida.- Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State. The nations leading rusher probably needs to reach 2,000 yards to get an invite to New York.- Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech. The numbers are crazy (454 yards passing per game), but the Red Raiders defense is crazy bad and its hard to overcome the system-QB label on a mediocre team.---Poll panel: AP Heisman watch panel: National Writer Paul Newberry, Georgia; Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins, Texas; Sports Writer John Marshall, Arizona; Sports Writer Joedy McCreary, North Carolina; Sports Writer Eric Olson, Nebraska; Sports Writer Steve Megargee, Tennessee; College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo, New York.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '