SAN FRANCISCO -- St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Mike Leake will duel the guy the San Francisco Giants chose to replace him during the winter when he opposes Jeff Samardzija on Saturday night in a key matchup in the National League wild-card race.Leake was acquired by the Giants from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline.San Francisco paid a hefty price -- outfielder Adam Duvall has turned into a 30-homer player -- but the defending champs were trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West at the time and thought they needed to do something.It didnt work. Leake went just 2-5 with a 4.07 ERA in nine starts and the Giants, who trailed LA by a half-game on the day of the trade, wound up eight back.Leake, a free agent at seasons end, wasnt invited back. He went to the Cardinals on a five-year, $80 million deal.The Giants then turned around and invested $10 million more in Samardzija on a five-year agreement.Neither high-priced acquisition has impressed, and thats one reason both teams find themselves battling for wild-card playoff spots rather than division titles.Samardzija has gone 11-10 with a 4.07 ERA in 29 starts for the Giants (79-68), who trail the Dodgers (83-64) by four game atop the West with 15 to play.Perhaps more important, the Giants have used two series-opening wins to open a three-game lead over the Cardinals (76-71) in the NL wild-card race.Leake, meanwhile, is 9-10 with a 4.60 ERA in 27 starts for the Cardinals, who have fallen two games behind the New York Mets (78-69) in the race for the second wild-card spot.We just have to play better, thats all there is to it, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. The standings are the standings, and we know what they are. You cant run from them. The standings say were right there, so just keep playing the game.The pitching head-to-head is critical to each pitcher because both seem to be getting worse as the games get more important.Samardzija is just 3-6 with a 5.09 ERA in his last 15 starts, with the Giants losing 10 of the 15 games.Leake has gone 2/3 with a 6.15 ERA in his last eight outings, with the Cardinals losing five of the eight.If Leake is out for revenge, he should be comforted in the surroundings. Hes 6-1 with a 3.07 ERA in nine outings (eight starts) at AT&T Park in San Francisco and 5-2 overall against the Giants with a 5.02 ERA in nine games (eight starts).He has not faced the Giants this season.Leake must hope for better support than Fridays Cardinals starter, Luke Weaver, who was pulled before the end of a six-run third inning during which a key error by catcher Yadier Molina made all the runs unearned.Thats what you want to do, Giants first baseman Brandon Belt said after the win, take advantage of mistakes.Samardzija pitched June 4 at St. Louis and was the losing pitcher in a 7-4 defeat. Four Cardinals -- Brandon Moss, Aledmys Diaz, Stephen Piscotty and Matt Adams -- homered off him in his five innings.The ex-Cub is 4-4 with a 4.61 ERA in 20 career games (nine starts) against the Cardinals. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Alfred-Blue-Jersey/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Andre-Hal-Jersey/ . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Cj-Fiedorowicz-Jersey/ . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Hats/ . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Hoodie/ . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. DOHA, Qatar -- IOC President Thomas Bach defended his handling of the Russian doping scandal, attacked critics of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and claimed no cities would have bid for the 2024 Games without his Agenda 2020 reform program.In a speech to the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees on Tuesday, Bach appeared determined to counter the negative public perception surrounding the Olympic movement following a turbulent year of doping crises, the troubled buildup to Rio and continuing concerns over the costs of hosting the games.Bach cited media headlines in the months ahead of the Rio Games about security, water quality, the Zika virus and allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia. Citing Donald Trumps victory in the U.S. presidential election last week, Bach said the Rio Games were a case study in the difference between published opinion and public opinion and between perception and reality.Bach said the Rio Games were a great success, citing record global television viewership and social media interest, though he made no mention of the empty seats and organizational glitches that also affected the event. Bach said the success of the games was a miracle in light of the severe recession and political turmoil that Brazil has been going through.He also went to great lengths to defend the International Olympic Committees decision not to impose a total ban on Russia from the games, saying he has received support from dozens of world leaders on the issue.The World Anti-Doping Agency had called for the complete ban following a report by investigator Richard McLaren that detailed systematic, state-assisted doping in Russia. The IOC instead allowed international sports federations to decide which Russian athletes could compete.Bach said he has met with many heads of state and government since the games and all backed the IOCs position.They appreciated and acknowledged we did not take a political decision but we took a decision that took in the interest of sport and respected justice for clean athletes and protecting the clean athletes worldwide, he said. To see this acknowledgement and this appreciation by so many political leaders was a confirmation of our decision and is a great encouragement for all of us.McLarens finaal report is due out next month and will focus on allegations of Russian doping and manipulation of samples at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.dddddddddddd Two IOC commissions are also looking into the allegations, which could lead to calls for sanctions on Russia for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.Bach said once the investigations and hearings are completed, the IOC will take the necessary measures and all the sanctions because if only part of this would be true, it would be an unprecedented attack on the integrity on the Olympic Games and on the Olympic competitions.On a separate issue, Bach said no cities would have come forward as candidates to host the 2024 Summer Games had the IOC not passed his Olympic Agenda 2020 project, which aims to reduce the cost of hosting the games and insists on maximum use of existing and temporary facilities.Several cities pulled out of bidding for the 2022 Winter Games over financial and political concerns. Last month, Rome withdrew from the 2024 race because of opposition from the citys new mayor. That decision leaves Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, as candidates.Without `Olympic Agenda 2020, we would have had zero candidates, Bach said. There would have been none. All of the candidates who you will see now and the others who were in the race or considering in the race, they can confirm this to you. They told us this.Bach also said that high-ranking Olympic official Patrick Hickey, who was arrested during the Rio Games on ticket scalping charges, deserves the presumption of innocence pending the resolution of his case. Hickey, who is not permitted to leave Brazil, has temporarily stepped down as a member of the IOC executive board and president of the European Olympic Committees.Bach said Hickeys arrest shows Olympic officials are not immune and must obey the laws and rules in other countries.What was in the past something that just concerned us in an organization is now concerning the rules and the laws of a country, Bach said. These laws of the country we have to respect, and each and every one of you has to take them into consideration when acting accordingly. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '