about closing the gap to Verstappen, and with seven laps remaining he

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.It was hardly the first time opposing runners have toyed with Lester. 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. Cheap Nike Air Max Uk Store .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Nike Air Max Clearance Uk .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. http://www.wholesaleukairmax.com/ . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Cheap Nike Air Max Uk . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Nike Air Max Cheap Uk Online . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. SUZUKA, Japan -- Nico Rosberg extended his lead in the drivers championship to 33 points with an assured victory at the Japanese Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton had to go on a recovery drive to third after a poor start.Rosberg and Hamilton started the race side by side on the front row of the grid, but Hamilton suffered wheelspin as the lights went out, dropping him to eighth place as he exited the first corner. From that point onwards Rosberg faced no real opposition for the win, while Hamilton was tasked with a battle through the field over the remaining 53 laps.A mixture of strategy, quick laps around pit stops and overtaking moved Hamilton up to third at the end of the race, but he could not find a way past Max Verstappen, who withstood pressure from the Mercedes in the final seven laps to take second place for Red Bull. Hamilton had an opportunity at the final chicane on the penultimate lap, but an aggressive defence from Verstappen forced the world champion to take to the exit road to avoid a collision.The result gives Rosberg a significant advantage in the championship and means he can finish second to Hamilton in the remaining four races (even affording one third place finish) and still win the title. The result also secured Mercedes its third consecutive constructors championship.Sebastian Vettel took fourth for Ferrari after losing third to Hamilton in the final round of pit stops, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen recovering from a five-place grid penalty to finish fifth. Malaysias race winner Daniel Ricciardo struggled throughout the race to finish sixth and lost a lot of time at his second pit stop. Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh and eighth for Force India, with another victory over rivals Williams, which finished ninth and tenth with both drivers on a one-stop strategy.The story of the raceHamiltons poor start was his fourth of the season, following similarly slow getaways at the Australian, Bahrain and Italian Grands Prix this year. Much like his start in Monza, Hamilton appeared to suffer wheelspin as he released the clutch and it left him powerless to prevent the flood of rival cars passing on his left-hand side. A lap later he apologised to the team over the radio and following the race he admitted he made a mmistake.ddddddddddddHamiltons recovery drive kicked into gear on lap seven as he thought better of a move on Nico Hulkenberg at 130R in order to complete a move on the inside of Turn 1 to take seventh place. He made his first pit stop on lap 14, which moved him ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez, who made early stops but got caught in traffic on their outlaps and lost time.On his outlap, Hamilton managed to get a better exit than Ricciardo out of Spoon corner in order to complete a passing move into 130R and gain another place.Next up was Vettel and Hamilton managed to close a 14 second gap to the Ferrari in the run up to his second pit stop. Hamilton pitted before the Ferrari and used his pace in clear air to make sure he was ahead when Vettel emerged from his own stop. Vettel opted to take on soft tyres in an attempt to reclaim the position on track, but despite sitting on the tail of the Mercedes for three laps, he was unable to make a move stick.Over the remainder of the race Hamilton set about closing the gap to Verstappen, and with seven laps remaining he was within DRS range. Verstappen ensured he got a better exit from the final chicane lap after lap to stop Hamilton attempting a move into Turn 1, but the Mercedes driver had something different in mind.In the knowledge he could carry more speed out of Spoon corner, Hamilton attempted to line up the Red Bull on the long back straight and through 130R in order to make a move on the entrance to the chicane. On the penultimate lap he got the first two parts right, but Verstappen was wise to the move and blocked the inside line as Hamilton made his lunge under braking. With the door well and truly closed, Hamilton had to take to the run off and with it his chances of securing a crucial extra three points for second place were gone.But Hamiltons fightback should not overshadow another mature and assured performance from Rosberg, who is increasingly in command in the driverss standings. With the constructors title wrapped up for another year, all eyes will be on the Mercedes drivers over the remaining four rounds as they battle it out for the 2016 title. ' ' '