Dein erstes Forum » very focused on winning for sure t

NEW YORK -- The final 10-game dash for a wild-card spot began in, well, wild fashion on Thursday night for the New York Mets. Now the Mets hope the baseball player equivalent of a wild card can get them another step closer to the playoffs on Friday.Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa will become the second consecutive rookie starter for the Mets when he takes the mound in the second game of a four-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.The Mets won the series opener in frantic fashion Thursday night, when Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th to give New York a 9-8 win. Jose Reyes hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings before closer Jeurys Familia was charged with two runs in the top of the 11th.The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Mets (81-72), who remained tied for the top National League wild-card spot with the San Francisco Giants, who beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1. The Mets and Giants are a half-game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals, who were idle on Thursday.We had a little get-together (before the game), talked about, hey, its a 10-day season right now, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Best team gets in. So they went out tonight and as they showed, they were bound and determined to win the game.Ynoa, who is starting in place of injured left-hander Steven Matz, will look to author his second straight solid start. The 23-year-old allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings in his first major league start last Sunday, when the Mets beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2.This will be the eighth big league appearance for Ynoa, who made 134 minor league appearances dating back to 2010 before he was promoted to the Mets on DATE HERE. Ynoa went 12-5 with a 3.97 ERA this season for Triple-A Las Vegas in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.Its a little different approach up here -- if you throw strikes with your pitches, I think you (can have) success, Collins said. If youve got a 4.50 ERA in the Coast League, youre pitching pretty good.The Phillies will counter with right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who is coming off the finest effort of his career, a three-hit shutout last Saturday night in an 8-0 win over the Miami Marlins.Despite being just 29 years old, Hellickson has served as a mentor in a rotation whose other four members are all rookies or second-year players. Hellicksons leadership could come in especially handy on Friday after the Phillies blew three leads in Thursdays loss.At this level, against a team like this or any major league team you cant make mistakes, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Youve got to throw quality pitches. And if you do, youre going to be successful. If you dont, youre going to get hurt. Theres your learning experience.Ynoa has never faced the Phillies while Hellickson is 2/3 with a 7.58 ERA against the Mets. That is his highest ERA for any team hes faced more than twice.Phoenix Suns Jerseys ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Mikal Bridges Suns Jersey .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/dan-majerle-suns-jersey/ . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Leandro Barbosa Jersey . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Devin Booker Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse.LONDON -- Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke signaled a desire to convince Arsene Wenger to stay on as manager by telling The Associated Press on Monday that the club remains very high on the Frenchman and he would be very hard to replace.Wenger this month celebrated 20 years in charge of Arsenal and has offered no indication whether he wants to sign a new deal, with his current contract running to the end of the seasonThe 67-year-old Frenchman became the Premier Leagues longest serving manager when Alex Ferguson retired from Manchester United in 2013. United is now on its third manager in three years and has not competed for the Premier League title since Fergusons departure.In a rare interview about Arsenal, Kroenke noted the tricky post-Ferguson succession at United while discussing the challenge of eventually replacing Wenger.You see it (at United), Kroenke told the AP after Arsenals annual general meeting. Its very hard. Hes a great manager.Wenger signed his last three-year contract extension in 2014.We will sit down and discuss the future at the appropriate time, Arsenal chairman Chips Keswick told shareholders at a meeting attended by Wenger.Although Wenger has won the Premier League three times, the last success came in 2004 -- a drought which frustrates fans.Hes been a wonderful influence on the club, Kroenke said. We are all very high on Arsene. We are (joint) top of the table right now.Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are only separated on goal difference at the summit. Despite Wenger only winning the FA Cup twice sinnce the 2004-05 season, Arsenal is in the lucrative Champions League for the 19th successive year thanks to its runner-up finish last season.dddddddddddd Wenger is yet to win European footballs top prize.I know a number of (sports team) owners that are very successful that say the same thing -- the hardest thing to do is be consistently competitive at the top of the league, said Kroenke, who also owns the NFLs Los Angeles Rams. Arsene has always done that and Arsenal has always been in that position. We have always been competitive.We may not always win the things we want to win. We are very focused on winning for sure the league. Arsenes been consistently at the top and I will tell you -- its very, very hard to do if you look around sports.Earlier, Wenger did not address his future in what could be his final speech to shareholders if he doesnt extend his Arsenal contract.I would like to apologize for every minute I made you suffer in these 20 years, Wenger quipped. But you dont look too bad for people who have suffered for 20 years.I am sorry for the boy who was born 20 years ago and has only known one manager. I would like to reassure him that when he is 40 he will know a few more.Wenger assured shareholders that Arsenal is in a much more competitive position to fight for the championship than five or six years ago.---Rob Harris is at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports ' ' '