??Their minds still racing with childlike exuberance over the stunning last-snap victory that sent them to the NFC championship
game
Authentic Baker Mayfield Jersey , many of the Minnesota Vikings remained awake several hours past midnight.Cornerback Xavier Rhodes replayed the video
clip of the winning touchdown “about a thousand times” at home, searing the
image of Stefon Diggs leaping to catch the pass from Case Keenum and sprinting
for the end zone into his memory forever so the details of the sequence that
beat New Orleans were no longer foggy.Ten seconds left.Trailing by one
point.Sixty-one yards to go. The outcome that produced the 29-24 victory was so
improbable that the Vikings were predictably continuing to process their status
as the first team in NFL history to score a winning touchdown on the final play
of regulation in a postseason game.“The Minneapolis Miracle”, as it was dubbed
in trending on social media, was as unfathomable as the name sounds.“We still
can’t believe it in the locker room,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said. “I woke
up this morning and made sure it wasn’t a dream.”The Vikings were about a
field-goal favorite on the early betting lines to beat the Eagles on Sunday and
become the first team to play a Super Bowl on home turf.“I believe anything is
possible at any moment, as you can see what happened yesterday,” Rhodes
said.Such an emotional ending carries the potential to distract from preparation
for and focus on the next game at Philadelphia, when the winner’s high will be
worn off and the Vikings will be in an unfriendly stadium without the advantages
and comforts of their own place.They wouldn’t have advanced this far without an
unassuming attitude, though, so they were quick on Monday to dismiss the danger
of savoring the moment too long.“I think it took a little bit longer yesterday
to probably get over it
Authentic Tyquan Lewis Jersey , but, no, today I think guys are ready,” Thielen said. “We know how tough this game’s going to be for us, and we know
that we still have a long ways to go.”For those anxiously and impatiently
long-waiting fans of one of the NFL’s most agonized franchises, the victory on
Sunday was evidence that whatever curse existed in their minds might no longer
be relevant.Sure, most of these players endured the missed 27-yard field-goal
try by Blair Walsh in the closing seconds of the wild-card round defeat two
years ago against Seattle.Defensive end Brian Robison, at least, was on the 2009
team that lost in overtime at New Orleans in the NFC championship game.Except
for Thielen and the handful of Minnesota natives on the roster,
though
Panthers DJ Moore Jersey , those crushing losses of the past that helped shape Vikings lore have not been a part of this team’s experience, let alone the
lives of most of the players.“We’re not playing to make up for anything,”
Thielen said. “We’re just playing to win football games.”To beat the Eagles, the
Vikings have some more work to do. They won’t have the crowd noise or the fast
surface, for one.They’ll have to face a defense just as strong if not stronger
than the Saints. That’s why coach Mike Zimmer, who let his guard down during an
uncharacteristically playful postgame news conference , was all business at the
podium inside the team’s practice facility on Monday.“We can’t make these
mistakes in playoff games or we’ll be going home,” Zimmer said. “There’s always
good and always bad in some of the games, but we made some critical errors in
that game that could have gotten us beat.”
NEW YORK — The Tampa Bay Rays have become one of baseball’s most pleasant surprises since implementing an unusual wrinkle into their starting rotation.
But possessing a true old-fashioned ace atop their rotation hasn’t stopped the
New York Mets from enduring one of the worst runs in their history.
Two teams heading in unexpectedly different directions will begin a rare three-game series Friday night when the Mets host the Rays at Citi Field.
It will be just the second time the Rays play the Mets at Citi Field since the stadium opened in 2009, though Tampa Bay played three “home games” against
the New York Yankees at Citi Field last September after Hurricane Irma hit the
gulf coast of Florida.
Right-hander Ryne Stanek (1-2
Phillip Gaines Jersey Elite , 1.98 ERA) is scheduled to serve as the “opener” for the Rays against Mets ace Jacob deGrom (5-4, 1.84).
Both teams were off Thursday after completing brief two-game interleague series on Wednesday when the Rays fell to the host Miami Marlins 3-0 and the
visiting Mets beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3.
Despite falling to .500 with the loss, the Rays (43-43) received what has become a standard strong pitching effort. Tampa Bay has the lowest ERA in the
majors (2.81) since May 19 when it began utilizing an “opener” instead of a
traditional starting pitcher in select games.
The Rays have allowed three runs or fewer 25 times in the subsequent 43 games, 23 of which have been started by relief pitchers typically pitching three
innings or fewer.
Stanek will make his 10th start, by far the most among openers. He has a 1.42 ERA as a starter and has pitched longer than 1 2/3 innings just once.
Stanek has also contributed as a late-inning reliever in the last six weeks, which means he’ll take the mound Friday fresh off three decidedly different
experiences.
After tossing a scoreless inning as a starter against the Houston Astros last Saturday, Stanek took the loss Monday when he allowed a run without getting an
out as the Rays fell to the Marlins 3-2 in the 10th inning before he tossed two
hitless innings in Tuesday’s 9-6, 16-inning win.
“Ryne’s thrown the ball so well for us in that opener role,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters after the loss Monday. “He’s done some good things in
the later innings.”
Nobody in baseball is doing a better job of things during traditional starter’s innings than deGrom, who leads the majors in ERA despite suffering
from almost inconceivable bad luck. DeGrom has a 1.42 ERA in his last 13
starts
Myles Garrett Jersey Elite , during which the Mets have gone 3-10 and deGrom is 3-4.
DeGrom’s misery is par for the course for the Mets (34-49), who have gone 7-22 since June 1 and are just 23-48 since an 11-1 start.
“I’m tired of losing to be honest — everybody else in here I’m sure is,” deGrom told reporters Saturday when he took the loss after allowing three runs
in six innings as the Mets fell to the Marlins 5-2. “That’s not what we want to
do. We came in here to win baseball games and we’re not doing that. We have to
find a way to do that.”
With the Mets buried in the postseason race, deGrom has been the subject of trade rumors, though SNY reported Thursday that it appears he will stay with the
team through at least the end of the season.
New York, which has a three-headed general manager setup after Sandy Alderson went on an indefinite leave of absence last week in order to battle a recurrence
of cancer, is expected to hire a new general manager in the offseason.
Stanek has never faced the Mets. DeGrom didn’t factor into the decision in his only previous career start against the Rays on Aug. 7, 2015, when he gave up
two runs in 6 1/3 innings in New York’s 4-3 victory.
.
