NEW YORK -- More wins like the ones the Colorado Rockies enjoyed over the last two days might vault them into the playoff race. More losses like the ones the New York Mets endured over the same time frame might knock them out of contention.Two teams with seemingly different goals for 2016 yet traveling in unexpected directions will meet Friday night when the Mets host the Rockies in the second contest of a four-game series at Citi Field.The Rockies won the opener in surprising fashion Thursday afternoon, when they scored twice off All-Star closer Jeurys Familia in the ninth inning of a 2-1 victory. It was the first time all season Colorado has won a game in which it trailed after eight innings (1-41).Familia is as good as there is in the game, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Their staff overall -- youre not going to come in here and put up big innings and big crooked numbers. Youve got to scratch and claw for everything.The Rockies might just be scratching and clawing their way into the wild card race. Colorado (50-52), which has endured five straight losing seasons, has gone 10-4 since the All-Star Break to move within five games of the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, who are tied for the National Leagues second wild card.The recent run for the Rockies has been fueled by -- of all things -- pitching. Colorado starters have produced 17 quality starts this month, the most by the staff since 18 quality starts were authored in August 2010.The fact (is) weve got to win games and stay in this thing, Weiss said.If the defending National League champion Mets are going to stay in the race, theyre going to have to start scoring some runs. New York ranks third in the majors in ERA (3.32) but last in batting average (.238).You have to come (Friday) ready to play, score some runs, help this pitching staff to win the game, Mets catcher Rene Rivera said. Thats the bottom line.The real culprit for the Mets has been a struggling lineup that has performed in stunningly abysmal fashion in the clutch.The Mets led 1-0 and had the bases loaded with nobody out in the seventh inning Thursday but could not add to the lead. Such woes are commonplace for New York, which is batting .205 with runners in scoring position this season -- last in baseball.Ive talked to some of the great RBI guys in the game -- the one thing they talk about is driving in runs is mental, Mets manager Terry Collins said. The approach you have at the plate, your mindset (is) alls youre trying to do is put the bat on the ball. Youre not looking for home runs. Youre not looking for anything. Just, hey, work the middle of the field. Thats been kind of the common denominator with those guys. And were just not doing it.Mets left-hander Steven Matz is scheduled to oppose Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood. Matz faces Colorado for the first time as a big leaguer while Chatwood is 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA in four career starts against New York. Christian Wilkins Womens Jersey . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Larry Csonka Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Nat-Moore-Jersey/ . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Christian Wilkins Jersey . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Cameron Wake Jersey . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Pokkén Tournament made its Evolution Championship Series (Evo) tournament debut as one of the featured games in the main lineup. After two arduous days of pools and qualifiers, the quest to crown the Evo Pokémon Master came to an epic conclusion.The Japanese players came prepared to dominate. They showed up in large numbers with the sole goal of taking the title. Led by Kazunori Buntan Ageta and his Suicune play, it was hard to truly pick out a weak link. They powered through with four players in the top eight, including Buntan, H. Tonosama A., Kazuyiki KOG Koji and Masami Potetin Sato.Not to be outdone, the United States contingent more than proved that it belonged on the main stage. Four U.S. players were represented in the top eight: Willie Swillo Barr, Circa eSports Christian Suicune Master Patierno, RvLs James Bosshog Rosseel Jr. and Thomas Thulius McLaurin.And your Pokémon Master is: Tonosama!The runaway king was Tonosama, who had to run the gauntlet to take down the necessary players for his victory. His Braixen was the talk of the entire tournament. Between his patience and spectacular spacing, he ran circles around his opponents.Perhaps the most impressive fact about his win at Evo was his unwavering desire to play just his style of Pokkén and let his opponents frustrate themselves. He ran away from every undesirable situation and even collected a few timeouts for good measure. Tonosama reset the bracket in grand finals and ultimately made the rest of the real finals his own Pokémon stadium.His victory was a testament to how any style could potentially take the reins of a given tournament. Tonosama proved, as Braixens lone representative, that a character is always viable if the playyer and the mindset follow through.ddddddddddddPokkén Tournaments outlookIf Evo was any indication, this will not be the end of Pokkén Tournament. The turnout was impressive, with over 1,000 players in the competition and plenty of international representation. The sheer number of Japanese players that dedicated their time and efforts to be the very best was inspiring, to say the least. The number of entrants notwithstanding, Pokkén Tournament displayed strong depth as a fighting game, as well.There was a playstyle for every fan in the top eight. Whether it was KOGs defensive style with Charizard or the multiple ways that Mewtwo was played by Swillo, Potetin and Thulius, the tournament showed that player personality directly affects a characters game plan. Look no further than Suicune Masters tournament run; he played to maximize his opponents mistakes and lived off of whiff punishes and successful baits. Then there were players -- such as Swillo, who beat Suicune Master -- that never left the engine idle and pressured opponents into mistakes through sheer brute force.On the Japanese side, the aforementioned defensive style of KOG was offset by the offensive prowess and relentless pressure of Potetin (whether he used Mewtwo or Pikachu Libre) or just pure control like Buntan.Strategies and playstyles in new fighting games are generally far from static, and Pokkén Tournament follows this rule. While there was some lack of character variety in the top eight, the many different approaches to the game that were on display energized fans of the game with their dynamism. ' ' '