Wartezimmer » It takes a lot of pressure off what you can do because you h

MIAMI -- The New York Mets have tightened up the playoff battle after beating the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Friday night.The Mets trail the Marlins by a half-game in the race for the second and final National League wild-card spot.Miami, however, has an ace in the hole Saturday night -- ace pitcher Jose Fernandez, who has been nearly unstoppable at Marlins Park with a 25-1 career record and a 1.43 ERA.Against the Mets, Fernandez is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA in six career starts.Fernandez will face 2015 All-Star Jacob deGrom, who is 6-4 with a 2.38 ERA this season.Lately, deGrom has been even better -- 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in his past four starts.If you are going to have a guy on our staff to match up with Fernandez, it would be Jacob deGrom, Mets manager Terry Collins said. (deGrom) has pitched in his past few starts as good as anybody.Again, if you are a baseball fan -- if you love the game -- (Saturday night) is the game you want to come to see.Besides the great pitching matchup and the wild-card playoff race, the other bit of intrigue regarding Saturdays game revolves around Marlins backup outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who is four hits shy of 3,000.Suzuki, who struck out as a pinch-hitter Saturday, could get a start on Saturday against deGrom, a right-hander, as opposed to waiting until Sunday, when Miami faces lefty Steven Matz.Certainly, the Fernandez-deGrom matchup will captivate baseball, and a Suzuki start would only add to the marquee value of the game.Otherwise, here are some other story lines to watch on Saturday:--Marlins closer A.J. Ramos has 31 saves. With one more, he ties his career high, which was set last year.--Mets closer Jeurys Familia has converted 50 consecutive save opportunities, the longest active streak in the majors and fourth-longest in baseball history. Eric Gagne has the record with 84, followed by Tom Gordon (54) and Jose Valverde (51).--The Marlins are 11-6 in July and have not lost consecutive games this month. The Marlins are 23-13 in their past 36 games at home. They started the season 1-7 at home.--Mets infielder Wilmer Flores has seven homers this month, tied for the major league lead.--The Mets are sixth in the majors with 129 homers. They have 31 this month, tops in the majors.--The Mets have a 3.41 road ERA, best in the majors.--The Mets are 19-11 in one-run games.--Mets left fielder Yoenis Cespedes is tied for eighth in the NL with 21 homers.--The Mets bullpen ranks second in the majors with a 1.74 ERA for the month of July. Buy Shoes Black Friday .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Discount Shoes Black Friday . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Fake Shoes Black Friday . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Tyler Eifert lined up here, there and just about everywhere during his first practice with the Cincinnati Bengals. Felt like old times. The Bengals got started on their new tight end-heavy passing game Friday at the start of a weekend rookie minicamp. A lot of the focus was on Eifert, chosen in the first round to give quarterback Andy Dalton another target. Eifert lined up in a lot of different spots at Notre Dame. Judging by the first day of practice in Cincinnati, hes going to be doing the same thing in the NFL. "A lot of the things Im learning are a lot of the same plays we had in with two tight ends -- move me around in different positions," Eifert said. "Today I was out in the slot quite a bit. I think Im picking it up pretty fast." With Dalton watching from the sideline, Eifert made a nice one-hand catch during the morning workout, a preview of what he can bring to an offence thats been overly dependent upon receiver A.J. Green. The Bengals havent added another proven receiver in the off-season. Rather, they took Eifert with the 21st overall pick, figuring his ability to catch the ball in a crowd -- he set a Notre Dame recover for catches by a tight end -- will give them some versatility and force defences to worry about someone other than Green. Eifert lined up as a tight end on either side and also as a slot receiver during practice. The biggest challenge was learning the Bengals language for each play and the pass protections. "I think I picked it up better than I thought I would at first," Eifert said. "Its not a whole lot, but its definitely something new for me. Im catching on pretty quickly and moving around quite a bit." The Bengals would like to use him along with tight end Jermaine Gresham, their first overall pick in 2010. The New England Patriots have shown that a two-tight end approach can keep defences off balance, provided that both can catch the ball. Neww Englands Tom Brady set career highs in yards passing and touchdowns in 2011, using his tight ends generously.ddddddddddddDefences had trouble handling both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in the two-tight end approach. Gronkowski had 90 catches for 1,327 yards that season. Hernandez had 79 for 910. "You look at that year, and a lot of people dont realize that Tom had his best statistical season ever in history," said running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who was with New England then. "We threw the ball numerous times. We ran the ball three to five times a game. "Of course, thats not what you want to do when youre a running back. But we were winning games. It was a shock to the league that year. It can actually be a great thing when you have two guys who can catch the ball. It takes a lot of pressure off what you can do because you had to prepare for all those guys." Dalton thinks that having two tight ends who can catch the ball will make defences vulnerable somewhere. Dalton wasnt allowed to work out with the rookies during minicamp. He left the field as the morning workout was wrapping up. "You get the matchup of the tight ends on the linebackers and safeties," Dalton said recently. "So I think hes going to be a great addition. Hes going to make Jermaine a better player. Im excited to get him in here and get working with him." ------ NOTES: The Bengals signed seventh-round picks OT Reid Fragel from Ohio State and centre T.J. Johnson from South Carolina, the first of their draft picks to agree to contracts. ... LB J.K. Schaffer, who was signed to the practice squad last season, participated in the workouts. "I was on the practice squad last year and I just never got that many quality reps with the actual calls and making adjustments," Schaffer said. "I think its a real good opportunity for me to get back myself rolling and get back into some football." ' ' '