NEW YORK -- When the San Francisco Giants got the slimmest of leads in the race for the National Leagues final wild-card spot about 10 days ago, it turned out to be a season-ending mistake by the team they were jostling with, the St. Louis Cardinals. It may also have unleashed something devastating on every other team still competing for a World Series ring.Its October and its an even year.The Giants got a little momentum going and weve seen them do that plenty of times, Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter said.The San Francisco Giants are at it again, trying to add a 2016 title to a 2014 title, a 2012 title and a 2010 title. Is there a pattern here? The latest wrinkle isnt even a new wrinkle. Once again, the Giants have to survive a winner-takes-all wild-card game, on the road, to get to their goal. Two Octobers ago, they went into an absolutely rollicking PNC Park in Pittsburgh and, behind Madison Bumgarners complete-game shutout, beat the Pirates 8-0.I remember just walking in from the bullpen in Pittsburgh and thinking and taking a second to look around, because even 10-15 minutes before the game, it was rocking, Buster Posey said. I expect it to be the same here tomorrow.New York Mets fans might want to consider trying something new to get Bumgarner a little rattled Wednesday in an 8 p.m. ET National League wild-card game on ESPN: eerie silence. Making a lot of noise and yelling nasty things at him doesnt seem to work. Bumgarner has a 0.60 ERA in postseason road games, the best mark of its kind in baseball history.Its not like hes bad at AT&T Park. Bumgarner is 7-3 with one save and a 2.14 ERA in 14 postseason games. Its almost as if October baseball games are his native habitat. He has been pitching in the World Series since a couple of months after he turned 21.I think, like a lot of great athletes and pitchers, he is just really good in the moment, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Theyre such good competitors. They dont let the game itself, the magnitude of the game, bother them.In the four years of the one-game wild-card format, the team that starts the more-experienced starting pitcher has won seven of the eight games. The lone exception was the Giants in 2014, when Bumgarner, in his fourth full season, easily out-pitched veteran Edinson Volquez. If the Mets are to buck that trend, theyll at least have Noah Syndergaards 2015 October experience in their corner. He made four postseason starts and had a 3.32 ERA, including a strong outing in Game 3 of the World Series.Mets manager Terry Collins was asked Tuesday what can be done to slow down the Bumgarner Express in October. The only thing he could grab onto was using Bumgarners aggressiveness against him, where thats possible.Like all great pitchers, he throws strikes, Collins said. So, the one thing youve got to go up with is a little bit of a plan. Try to get something you can handle and dont miss it. Dont foul it off. Put it in play.For much of August and September, the Giants seemed to be playing themselves out of postseason contention. But that doesnt just seem possible when the year in question is divisible by two. The Giants rallied late, winning six of their last eight games, including their last four, to keep the Cardinals at bay. Needless to say, the Giants dont have much to say about the even-year phenomenon.Doesnt matter what number they call the year, Hunter Pence said. Its right now and its a game between the Giants and Mets, playing what we love to do, playing for what we dream about.Whats to be made of the even-year pattern? A lot of theories have been floated for the Giants every-other-year dynasty. The most reasonable is that the extra innings burden on the pitchers tends to lead to a hangover effect the following season. In 2014, for example, the Giants piled 52? postseason innings on top of the 217? Bumgarner had already pitched in the regular season. Even that one is easily sliced and diced, though. Bumgarners 2015 season was almost identical to his 2014 season. He pitched just one more inning, in fact. He said he wishes he had an explanation for the teams back-and-forth fortunes.There is no sense in having to take a year off after youve had that long season, he drawled.Other than being able to throw one of the best pitchers in the game and one of the most ferocious competitors in sports at the other team, the Giants also present a few other matchup problems in October. They dont beat themselves, which sometimes feels like half the battle in loud, chaotic environments.The Giants are one of the best-fielding teams in baseball. Their 70 defensive runs saved (DRS) ranked third in baseball and their infielders ranked even higher. They dont strike out much. They had the second-best strikeout rate in the majors. Six of the past 10 teams to reach the World Series finished in the top five of the majors in strikeout rate.Its as if this team were designed by scientists somewhere to excel in the most pressure-packed games. Now it has been set loose on the world. Tanner Pearson Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Adrian Kempe Jersey .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. http://www.authentickingsshopnhl.com/andy-andreoff-jersey/ . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Derek Forbort Jersey . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Rogie Vachon Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The days of the New York Giants defense giving away games is seemingly over.A multimillion dollar infusion in the offseason has transformed Steve Spagnuolos unit from the worst in the NFL to one that is suddenly finding ways to win games.Just look at last weekend. The defense finally got a pass rush against the Los Angeles Rams and intercepted four passes, including one incredible return that Landon Collins turned into a touchdown, in a 17-0 win that gave New York (4-3) a two-game winning streak heading into its bye week.Its a far cry from a year ago when the defense was on the field six times either late in the fourth quarter or in overtime and gave up a winning score as the Giants missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season.It cost Tom Coughlin his job. Not Spagnuolo though. Ben McAdoo retained him after being promoted from offensive coordinator to coach, and general manager Jerry Reese took care of him with a free-agency spending spree in the offseason.Pass-rushing defensive end Olivier Vernon was signed to a five-year, $85 million deal. Shutdown cornerback Janoris Jenkins got a five-year, $62 million contract. Defensive tackle Damon `Snacks Harrison got five years and $46 million.Reese even took a chance on Jason Pierre-Paul a year after his hand injury, giving the defensive end a one-year $9.4 million contract.Add in veteran linebackers Keenan Robinson and Kelvin Sheppard, nickel back Leon Hall and a couple of draft picks -- cornerback Eli Apple and safety Darian Thompson -- and the Giants have a whole new look.Were definitely starting to click and play a lot better, said cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who like Collins had two interceptions against the Rams. We still have a lot of mistakes that we have to get corrected. Once we do that, its going to be special.After seven games, the Giants are ranked 19th overall in total defense. They are 12th against the run, giving up an average of 93.6 yards, and 22nd against the pass, giving up 267.4 yards.New Yorks 141 points allowed are the sixth fewest in the NFC, and thats not bad for a team that has a minus-7 turnover differential.Defensive captain and linebacker Jonathan Casillas believes the defense has gotten more precise in recent weeks in terms of the coverages and the blitzes.We blew some coverages early in the season that allowed teeams to get big plays on us and get into the red zone and missed a couple tackles and I think we have done a lot better with tackling and we are creating turnovers, he said.ddddddddddddhat is putting people at the ball, having the right people, at the right place, at the right time, and being detailed and I think that is all coming to fruition right now.To be honest, the defense has carried the Giants this season. Eli Manning and the offense have struggled, averaging 19 points. Its not easy to win that way.The Giants have won four games by a total of 15 points. The win in London over the Rams came in a matchup in which New York gained 232 yards and had the ball for less than 25 minutes, something that has happened in four straight games.I dont think we have played as consistent as we want every game, but we have made progress every week in certain ways and continually come into our own, linebacker Devon Kennard said. I think this last game was a good turning point for us and we have to keep it rolling.If there has been a problem for the defense it is getting off the field on third down. Opponents have had a league-high 118 third-down chances and converted on 43.2 percent, which is too high.The bye should help. Safeties Darian Thompson (foot) and Nat Berhe (concussion) are both expected to be back for the game against Philadelphia on Nov. 6, the first of three straight home games.Thompson has missed the past five games and Berhe four, forcing former practice squad player, Andrew Adams, to start.The break also should help Apple, the first-round draft pick who has been bothered by hamstring and groin issues, and Rodgers-Cromartie (groin) get back to 100 percent.Were starting to get on the same page, defensive tackle Jay Bromley said. Its remarkable how good weve played and when look at the film, there are still plays that we wish we had back.Once we continue to work with the communication, and actually do things every single time the way we are supposed to do them, we could be an even better defense.If the defense can do that, and the offense finally gets going, the Giants just may be headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys China Womens NFL Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Discount Jerseys ' ' '