The best team in baseball meets the squad that does even years better than anyone. Geronimo Allison Super Bowl Jersey . Who has the edge as Jon Lester and the Cubs host Johnny Cueto and the Giants in Game 1?Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Fridays game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen?Cueto is on the mound:??Few pitchers are as fun to watch as Cueto, with the twists and turns in his delivery and his five-pitch arsenal. One of the few big-ticket free agents from last winter who delivered on his contract, Cueto went 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA and ranked third in the NL in innings pitched.Of his pitches -- four-seamer, two-seamer, changeup, cutter, slider -- the changeup is the one that rates as a big strikeout pitch, with a 35 percent K rate. He throws it only 23 percent of the time with two strikes, however, while throwing one of his fastballs 50 percent. He does get a high rate of grounders with both his four-seamer and two-seamer, preferring to throw inside to righties while painting the outside corner against lefties. With all the Cubs left-handed and switch-hitters, I wonder if well see the changeup a little more often, especially deep in the count -- and the Cubs love to work deep counts.Another key pitch has been his cutter, a pitch that Cueto seemed to lose the feel for when he struggled with the Royals last season. He throws it over 20 percent of the time and while it doesnt have a lot of movement, it has late movement, making it more of a weak contact pitch than a swing-and-miss offering. -- David SchoenfieldWhen?Lester is on the mound: Lesters late surge made him a strong Cy Young contender, as he went 9-1 with 1.46 ERA over his final 12 starts. He gave up two runs or fewer in 24 of his 32 starts, although one of his bad outings came against the Giants in May when he gave up five runs in 2.2 innings.Lester has made a notable change in his approach, throwing his fastball more than ever. He threw it 60 percent of the time, when he was under 50 percent two years ago. Lester has maintained his velocity pretty well through the year and at 32 still averaged 92 mph with his fastball, still above-average for a left-hander. The feeling was Lester had fallen in love too much with his cutter, although it has remained an effective pitch as batters hit just .212/.268/.302 against it. He still throws it about 20 percent of the time.His curveball has become a two-strikeout wipeout pitch, with a K rate above 50 percent, and batters hit .092 against it in 96 plate appearances ending with the pitch. He doesnt throw it a lot -- about 10 per game -- but look for him to use it with two strikes against right-handers. Like all Cubs pitchers, Lester certainly benefited from the teams excellent defense. He also led all qualified starters in strand rate at 84.9 percent as batters hit .173 against him with RISP. He allowed 28 stolen bases but had 13 caught stealings, a negligible rate for baserunners. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightKris Bryant. The likely NL MVP after hitting .292/.385/.554 with 39 home runs 102 RBIs and a league-leading 121 runs, Bryant has settled nicely into the No. 2 spot in the order in front of Anthony Rizzo. Bryant hit two home runs in last years playoffs but also hit .179 with 12 strikeouts in nine games. He needs to get on base in front of Rizzo if hes not mashing it over the fence.?-- SchoenfieldWhat will decide tonights gameBatters have just a .554 OPS against Cuetos changeup this season, which is third-best among NL pitchers with at least 500 thrown. Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo could challenge Cueto on that pitch. He hit .367 on changeups this season, the third-best batting average against the pitch in the NL. His 1.065 OPS also ranked third in the NL. Rizzo was 1-for-3 against Cueto this season, with that only hit coming on one of two changeups he saw from Cueto (the other was the first pitch of that same plate appearance).?--?ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?Even though Jon Lester has averaged more pitches per start in September than Giants starter Johnny Cueto, theres little debate he has thrown less stressful pitches. The Giants used every ounce of energy just to make it to Chicago, but that balloon will burst Friday, at least for one night. Lester will repeat the success from his early September performance against the Giants where he no-hit them into the seventh inning while the Cubs squeak one more run across than their opponents for a close victory. -- Jesse RogersIt really hasnt been that long since the Cubs have played meaningful baseball, but it sure feels like a long time. The Cubs have to slam the accelerator from the first pitch because with Madison Bumgarner looming in Game 3, there can be no re-acclimation period. But in Jon Lester, theyve got the right postseason veteran on the mound. There will be some tenuous moments but the Cubs will take Game 1. -- Bradford DoolittleThe Cubs real advantage in pitching wont start to emerge until we get to Game 2, because Johnny Cueto has the credentials to neutralize Jon Lester. He might not have the deep history of success in October that Lester or Madison Bumgarner do, but he dominated the New York Mets in Game 2 of the last World Series, so hell have that to draw on. Plus, the Cubs have been sitting idle while the Giants will come in with momentum and, as tough as Lester is, his stuff will look pedestrian compared to the 99-mph fastballs they faced from Noah Syndergaard. The Giants will grab this one and put mega-pressure on the Cubs.?-- Mark SaxonWhere the series standsThe Cubs won 16 more games than the Giants. In the wild-card era, teams with 15 or more than wins than their opponent is 9-1 -- with only the 116-win Mariners of 2001 losing to the 95-win Yankees. The Cubs are the heavy World Series favorites, but if they split these first two games, Madison Bumgarner looms in the distance for Game 3. ?--?Schoenfield Rashan Gary Super Bowl Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Raven Greene Super Bowl Jersey . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. https://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Jamaal-Williams-Jersey/ . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. HOUSTON -- Colby Rasmus used his bat and his arm to make a big difference in his return to the lineup Tuesday night.Collin McHugh threw six scoreless innings, Rasmus and Evan Gattis homered and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1.Rasmus put Houston up 1-0 with a homer in the second inning in his first at-bat since returning from the 15-day disabled list.Its about as good a feeling as you can have being a baseball player, Rasmus said. I was just glad to be able to get out there and contribute and do some good for the team in a time where we needed a little spark.Rasmus went on the DL on Aug. 5 with a cyst in his right ear. He has a scar behind his upper right ear.We all said welcome back to him, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. That was a nice way to get back on the active club. Thats exactly why you want him in the lineup.In the second, Oakland put runners on the corners with one out, but Rasmus caught Max Muncys flyout and threw home in time to get Ryon Healy and end the inning.That was a really big hit tonight for the team, but also for him to be able jump back in and pick up right where he left off was huge, McHugh said. Hats off to him. Then he made that great play in the field. I think he made that either right before or right after that, so that was in my opinion, the play of the game. It was his game.Gattis hit a solo homer in the seventh to make it 3-0.McHugh (9-10) allowed four hits and struck out five. He had allowed at least three runs in each of his previous six starts.It feels good to have a good outing to help the team, McHugh said. Especially in a game where their guy was throwing good, too. It was a tight game. Our guys put us on the board early, and to be able to hold steady was huge.Houston remained two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.Alex Bregman had an RBI single in the third for Houston.Will Harris threw a perfect seventh, and Luke Gregerson allowed an unearned run in the eighth before Ken Giles pitched the ninth foor his sixth save. Tony Brown Super Bowl Jersey. Marcus Semien cut the lead to 3-1 with an RBI groundout to short in the eighth.Kendall Graveman (10-9) allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings. Graveman had allowed one run in his previous two starts.He was great, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. Up until the second home run, they hit three balls hard the whole game off of him. We just didnt do enough offensively to give him support. Well take that stuff every night.AS DEAL CRISPOakland is nearing a deal to trade outfielder Coco Crisp to the Cleveland Indians, according to a person familiar with the trade. The exchange has been agreed to by both teams, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has to be approved by Major League Baseball.The trade would have to be official by Wednesday for Crisp to be eligible for the postseason.The 36-year-old Crisp is batting .234 with 11 homers and 47 RBI in 102 games this season.FRONT OFFICE PROMOTIONSThe Astros promoted Mike Elias to assistant general manager, scouting and player development. Elias had been the director of amateur scouting. In addition to Elias promotion, the Astros promoted Pete Putila to director of player development and Armando Velasco to assistant director of player development.TRAINING ROOMAthletics: LHP Sean Manaea (left rhomboid strain) will likely miss his next start, Melvin said.Astros: The Astros optioned RHP Brad Peacock to Triple-A Fresno to make room on the roster for Rasmus.UP NEXTAthletics: LHP Ross Detwiler (1-3, 5.74) takes the mound Wednesday in the finale of the three-game series. Detwiler has allowed 14 runs in his last three starts, covering 14 innings.Astros: RHP Mike Fiers (9-6, 4.40) makes his 25th start of the season Wednesday. Fiers pitched into the seventh in his last outing Friday against Tampa Bay, allowing three runs. ' ' '