Dein erstes Forum » trouble in the fourth when No. 9 batter Robe

In my weekend post-qualifying preview for New Hampshire last week, I laid out a pretty compelling argument for why Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing were outperforming all other teams.Then I went and made Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick my top high-value picks.They all drive for other teams, and while they all had pleasant days and avoided poor finishes, they didnt put up the huge points that I crave.Instead, the top three -- which I shouldve seen coming -- were Matt Kenseth (100.5), Kyle Busch (89.75) and Martin Truex Jr. (66.75), all of whom drive for JGR or FRR.But I hope you did follow my advice when it came to mid-value and low-cost drivers.My mid-value picks of Ryan Newman (finished seventh for 55 points) and Jamie McMurray (finished sixth for 51 points) both were the best in that salary class. Ditto Greg Biffle, who put up 62 points, fourth best in the entire field, and easily the best among drivers costing under $7,000.Lets now look forward to the future, a once-a-year visit to Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400. If you thought passing was tough at New Hampshire, expect it to be even more so at Indianapolis, a flat 2.5-mile track laid out for open-wheel cars. The corners are tight and its hard to pull alongside another car.Horsepower will rule the day, so keep an eye on those practice times to see whos running the high speeds early.If youre looking for a track comparison, theres no track on the circuit that looks much like Indianapolis. But one of the three turns at Pocono is modeled after Indy, and like the Brickyard, its about turning those high speeds down the straightaways and being able to accelerate off the corners. So Ill look at a bit at results from Pocono, too.Who am I looking at for Indianapolis? Here are my early picks, but check back after Saturday qualifying to get my final picks and fades for the week.Plus, keep an eye on the situation with Dale Earnhardt Jr. If he cant go, Jeff Gordon will drive the No. 88 this week. No word on his DraftKings availability.Im starting my team withKyle Busch doesnt have the gaudy laps led numbers here, but consistently finds himself up front at Indianapolis, culminating with a win last year for 76.75 DraftKings points. It was the third time in the past four years he finished in the top two in the race, and a sixth straight top-10 finish.That gives Busch the best four- and six-year scoring average at the track. Plus, hes coming off a strong run last week at New Hampshire. While New Hampshire doesnt have the high speeds of Indianapolis, it is another flat track with tight cornering and tough passing, which bodes well for Busch.Keep an eye on these fourMatt Kenseth: Brad Keselowski just won back-to-back races, so why couldnt Kenseth? Kenseth has only three top-five finishes this season (two of them are wins), but that doesnt mean hes not running well. And Indy seems like another opportunity for him. In his first three Indianapolis races since joining Joe Gibbs Racing, hes finished seventh or better, despite not starting better than 13th in any race (50.8 fantasy points per race).Chase Elliott: Elliott is running his second Brickyard 400. Last year, he finished 18th, but it was a 10-spot improvement from his starting position. What Im more interested in is what he did at Pocono last month. He led 51 laps (most of any driver in the field) and had 17 fastest laps, just five off leading the field, for 70.25 points, which also led the field.Ryan Newman: Newman was a solid points earner at New Hampshire, and hes on an eight-year streak of finishing 17th or better at Indianapolis, including a 2013 win and a 2015 race that saw him finish 11th after starting 43rd. While he has only three laps led and 19 fastest laps all season, Newman has been putting up consistent finishes -- nine in a row of 18th or better, with three in the top eight in the past four races.Ryan Blaney: Blaney ran at Indianapolis last year in a warm-up to his rookie season. He started 30th and finished 12th for 50 points. Earlier this season at Pocono, he finished in the top 10 for 38.5 points. Blaney had a great recovery at New Hampshire following a pit road penalty, and his Penske-powered car gives him essentially the same equipment as Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses Online . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. Cheap Wholesale Ray Ban Sunglasses . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. http://www.cheapraybansale.com/ . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Ray Ban Wholesale China . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Wholesale Ray Bans Real . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). CLEVELAND -- The Chicago Cubs lavished Jon Lester with a $155 million contract in the winter of 2014 precisely for moments like the one he faced Tuesday night.On the road. Under the lights. In Game 1 of the World Series, with a chance to take a big step toward ending 108 years of franchise futility.And for the first time on baseballs biggest stage, Lester faltered. While his performance in Chicagos 6-0 loss to the Indians was hardly a meltdown, the left-hander managed just 5 2/3 ordinary innings when something significantly more was required to keep up with Cleveland ace Corey Kluber.Jonny pitched -- wasnt on top of his game, but really gave us a chance to win, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.The Indians didnt so much knock Lester around while sending him to his first World Series setback in four starts so much as they took advantage of the limited opportunities he gave them during a shaky first inning. Cleveland opened a two-run lead that felt considerably larger the way Kluber was dealing.When youre going against a guy like Kluber whos locked in from pitch one, to give up two in the first, its tough, Lester said.Lester took the mound having allowed just one run in 21 innings in the World Series during a career that includes a pair of championship rings he earned with the Boston Red Sox. By the time he got the final out of the first, Cleveland had doubled that total.Things began innocently enough. He struck out Rajai Davis and Jason Kipnis before Lesters postseason dominance briefly vanished.Francisco Lindor singled and took a massive lead off first, knowing all about Lesters inability to hold runners due to a tic that prevents him from making pickoff attempts with any kind of consistency or accuracy. At one point, Lester stepped off and Lindor found himself a good 25 feet off the bag. Yet rather than throw over, Lester stood and watched as Lindor scampered back to safety.Itt was hardly the first time opposing runners have toyed with Lester.dddddddddddd Yet it seemed to be one of the rare occasions when it rattled him. He had trouble working out of the stretch and walked Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana to load the bases. Jose Ramirezs swinging bunt then brought Lindor home to stoke an already electrified crowd. When a 1-1 pitch hit Brandon Guyer on the leg, Chicago trailed 2-0.The first inning was tonights game, Lester said.Though he settled down -- thanks in part to catcher David Ross throwing out Lindor trying to steal in the third -- Lester again ran into trouble in the fourth when No. 9 batter Roberto Perez lined a solo shot that clanged off the railing above the wall in left field for the first of his two home runs.Yet its not the home run but the walks that are going to stick with Lester regardless of how comfortable -- or uncomfortable -- he felt when pitching with runners on base.I just didnt execute some things out there tonight, he said. Maybe if they get out of the first with nothing, maybe things are different.Lester, who came in 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA during the 2016 playoffs, handed the ball to manager Joe Maddon with two outs in the sixth and trudged to the dugout after giving up three runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.And when Perez clocked a three-run shot off reliever Hector Rondon in the eighth, the Cubs found themselves turning to Jake Arrieta for Game 2 on Wednesday night hoping to avoid heading back to Wrigley Field down 2-0 following a rare stumble by their ace who typically oozes October cool.Tomorrow we can get right back in it, Lester said. Everybody counted us out after Game 3 (of the NLCS) and called us the worst best team in baseball. ... Ill look to Jake to pick us up. ' ' '