It will also be an expected

NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t currently occupying a playoff spot Cole Beasley Jersey Womens , but manager Dave Roberts spoke confidently Wednesday about playing in the postseason. New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway, on the other hand, is beginning to sound like a skipper who knows his team will be long forgotten by October.
Two teams headed in opposite directions will square off for the first time this season Friday night when the Mets host the Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler (2-5, 4.82 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Mets against Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood (2-5, 4.22).
Both teams are coming off series-deciding losses. The Mets suffered their third straight defeat Thursday when they fell to the host Colorado Rockies 6-4 in the finale of a four-game set. The visiting Dodgers were off Thursday after losing to the Chicago Cubs 4-0 in the last game of a three-game series Wednesday afternoon.
The series loss was the first in 10 series for the Dodgers (38-35), who are 21-9 since dropping two of three to the Miami Marlins from May 15 to May 17. The hot streak vaulted them from fourth place in the National League West to second place during the surge and gained 5 1/2 games on the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks, who hold a 2 1/2 game lead heading into Friday’s action.
In addition, Los Angeles has moved two games behind the Washington Nationals in the race for the second NL wild card.
The Dodgers did all this despite getting little to no contributions from stars such as Justin Turner, Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill, all of whom have been on the disabled list for the last five weeks, and Cody Bellinger Authentic Ronald Jones II Jersey , who has struggled most of the season. No wonder Roberts sounded so confident after Wednesday’s loss.
“We’re going to be somewhere in October,” Roberts told reporters. “I can’t speak to the opponent, but we’re going to be somewhere.”
It will take a miracle for the Mets (31-41) to be anywhere but a golf course when the playoffs begin. New York, which has lost 40 of 60 since an 11-1 start, is 11 1/2 games out of first place in the NL East and 8 1/2 games back in the wild-card race.
The Mets’ slide has been marked by extreme highs and lows on both sides of the ball. They have scored 42 runs in the last six games, a span in which the pitching staff posted a 5.14 ERA.
New York scored just 42 runs in 17 games from May 28 through June 15, during which its pitchers posted a 4.13 ERA.
“There’s no magic pill or magic wand to make everything sync up at the same time,” Callaway told reporters Thursday afternoon. “I think that’s been the tale of our season so far. Even when we’re not winning games, we have a part of us that’s going good. We just have trouble getting (everything) to sync up at the same time so we can get on a good run again.”
Wheeler didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start on Sunday, when he gave up two runs in six innings as the Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3. Wood won the last time he took the mound last Saturday when he allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Wheeler lost his lone career start against the Dodgers on June 19, 2017 Mike Gesicki Color Rush Jersey , when he surrendered seven runs in two innings as the Mets fell 10-6. Wood is 0-3 with a 3.94 ERA in eight career starts against the Mets.
TAMPA, Fla. — A potential Stanley Cup Final preview will be on display Sunday as the league-leading Nashville Predators visit the Tampa Bay Lightning.
A late-season surge by the Predators has them in front in the chase for the Presidents’ Trophy. Tampa Bay occupied that spot for most of the season before a mini-slump late in the season and is three points back.
Nashville, coming off a 7-4 loss at home to the NHL-worst Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, continues to pace the league with 111 points, running off a 16-3-2 record since Feb. 19 to bypass the Lightning in the standings.
The Boston Bruins, who play at Philadelphia on Sunday, is two points behind the Predators and one ahead of Tampa Bay with a game in hand on both teams.
“That’s a huge game (Sunday) obviously,” Nashville center Austin Watson told The Tennessean. “Everybody knows that. It’s a great opportunity for us to bounce back. I don’t know how much we’ll look at this, or we’ll just look to Tampa. That’s up to the coaching staff. We’ll do what we’ve got to do to get our minds right.”
The Predators want to quickly put the loss to Buffalo behind them and avoid back-to-back regulation losses for the second time second time in the past 21 games.
“We have to get our stuff together, last four games we need to play hard, play much better than we showed Cheap Logan Woodside Jersey ,” Nashville center Mike Fisher told Predators’ television network following the loss to Buffalo. “Good thing is we have a big game (Sunday), and we have to get back at it and play our hockey. We still have a lot to play for, we have to show it.”
The Lightning, meanwhile, have not only dropped out of the top overall spot in the league standings, they now trail Boston for the top overall spot in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division standings with a 4-5-0 record in the past nine games.
While getting back on the right side of the ledger is something for Tampa Bay to focus on in the final four games, there are other areas the team is looking at as well.
“I think we are focusing on some little things here and there,” Lightning center Tyler Johnson said. “Obviously we are in a funk and in a little groove right now we are trying to get out of, but we will. I think once playoffs start it’s a completely different thing and it automatically elevates wherever you are, and I have a lot of faith in our team and our group, so I’m not too worried about there.”
Chasing down Boston is on the Lightning’s agenda heading down the final week of the season and is in the middle of a stretch of four emotionally charged games Youth Indianapolis Colts Jerseys , including the matchup with Nashville. Tampa Bay hosts Boston on Tuesday.
“We have gone in to a little bit of a lull since we clinched,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “I think these upcoming games, they bring the emotions out, especially with the distance in the standings between us and Boston and what it has been. You don’t know how these games are going to turn out but I would expect our guys to be fully invested for sure.”
It will also be an expected matchup between Vezina Trophy favorites with Nashville’s Pekka Rinne likely facing Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Rinne has jumped to the forefront as the favorite thanks to a 22-3-1 run in which he has posted a 2.02 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in his past 26 starts. He enters Sunday with an overall record of 41-11-4, a 2.25 GAA, .929 save percentage and league-leading eight shutouts, but was victimized for six goals by Buffalo.
Vasilevskiy was the runaway leader at the All-Star break and though he leads the league with 42 victories, which is a single-season franchise record, he has seen his GAA blow up to 2.60 after giving up three or more goals 15 times in 21 starts since the All-Star break.
.