CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta almost certainly wont win a second straight NL Cy Young Award. He likely wont be the No. 1 or 2 postseason pitcher for the loaded Chicago Cubs, either.Arrieta showed Friday he can still dominate. And he figures its because hes stopped trying so hard.Arrieta struck out 10 in seven innings and the Cubs beat the sloppy St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 for their 98th victory, the most since they last played in the World Series in 1945. Chicago clinched home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.A lot of the time more effort creates some inconsistencies in my delivery, Arrieta said. Trying to do more than I have to. I had several outs today where I took my foot off the gas and I was at 60-70 percent and got nice, easy groundballs to second base or shortstop.Manager Joe Maddon said Arrieta looked familiar when he struck out the side on 11 pitches in the first inning, a reference to his 22-win 2015 season that included a 1.77 ERA. Arrieta said competitiveness and stubbornness have been the reasons his walks, hits and runs are up from a year ago.Weve been hyper-critical of him all year based on what he did last year, Maddon said. But to his credit, I think hes handled that very well.With veteran Miguel Montero back catching him, Arrieta (18-7) allowed five hits and walked one. Anthony Rizzo had three hits and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs as the Cubs tied a team record with their 56th home win.Chicago scored four runs in the first inning off Mike Leake (9-11) and dropped the Cardinals 1 1/2 games behind the Mets and a half-game behind the Giants for the two NL wild-card berths.Pedro Strop came off the disabled list to work the eighth, and Travis Wood and Carl Edwards Jr. finished the five-hitter.Rizzo, Zobrist and Chris Coghlan drove in runs in the first off Leake, who lasted 3 1/3 innings and is winless in four starts since recovering from shingles.I couldnt locate early. I was slightly erratic, Leake said. I just started out on the wrong foot.Leake allowed another run on one of two wild pitches. Cardinals gaffes included Kolten Wong face-planting into the turf chasing Rizzos first-inning double and Matt Adams getting picked off first.Leake gave up five runs, seven hits and three walks. Manager Mike Matheny used six relievers.The Cardinals are hoping to return to Wrigley Field in two weeks. But that requires earning one of the two wild-card berths and then winning the single-elimination game for a spot in the division series.Zobrists fourth-inning groundout added another run for Chicago (98-55), which has won four straight.The Cubs have so much depth as they seek their first World Series title since 1908 that Arrieta is likely the No. 3 playoff starter behind Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks.But Arrieta feels if he can control his effort, hell be at his best come October.I dont give up many hits, Arrieta said. So if I can keep guys off base via the walk, Im going to be in a pretty good spot.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: LF Matt Holliday (broken right thumb) took batting practice off RHP Mike Mayers before the game. He blistered a couple balls, Matheny said. It was exciting to see. Holliday will likely have another BP session before hes activated. ... SS Aledmys Diaz (arm fatigue) was out of the lineup.Cubs: Strop (knee, groin) worked around a leadoff walk in his first appearance since Aug. 10. Once he settled in and the slider became his pitch again, he felt at home, Maddon said.GROOMSMAN STRIKES OUTArrieta and Cardinals 2B Matt Carpenter were college teammates at TCU. Arrieta was Carpenters wedding groomsman. Yet Carpenter cant solve his friend. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, leaving him 0 for 24 in the regular season against Arrieta.CARDINALS ROTATIONLHP Jaime Garcia will take the Cardinals rotation spot of struggling RHP Luke Weaver on Monday vs. Cincinnati.ROSS RECOGNIZEDCubs chairman Tom Ricketts presented retiring C David Ross with the No. 3 from the Wrigley Field manual scoreboard before the game.UP NEXTRHP Jason Hammel (15-9, 3.56 ERA), contending for the final Cubs postseason rotation spot, faces rookie RHP Alex Reyes (3-1, 1.08) on Saturday. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Mark-Clayton-Jersey/ . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Koa-Misi-Jersey/ . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Hoodie/ . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Chase-Allen-Jersey/ . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Matt-Moore-Jersey/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jerry Reese, New York Giants general manager, summons Eli Manning, New York Giants quarterback, into his office every summer to share ideas on the 16 regular-season games to come. It is not an equal-time exercise. The GM does most of the talking, and the quarterback does most of the listening.Some years, Reese challenges Manning to carry the team or take more chances downfield or be more careful with the ball. This year? Reese told ESPN.com on Sunday that he sat down with his franchise player and told him it was their shared responsibility, above all, to make sure their rookie head coach doesnt fall flat on his face.I told Tom Coughlin when I first got the job [in 2007] that failure wasnt an option for me, Reese said. So I told Eli, Failure cant be an option for Ben McAdoo. Its on you and me to make sure he doesnt fail. We have to make sure hes here long after were gone. We have to make sure his young kids graduate high school here.In order to ensure that McAdoos 7-year-old daughter, Larkin, and 4-year-old son, B.J., make it through a fine New Jersey high school while their father is coaching the Giants, Reese spent $200 million in the offseason on an unwatchable defense that allowed last seasons New Orleans Saints?to score 52 points.Manning? He showed up for work Sunday against his hometown team -- those very Saints -- to make his 196th consecutive start (postseason included), the third-longest streak in NFL history. Its an amazing run of durability in a sport growing more dangerous by the week, as evidenced by the frightening first-quarter scene of concussed Saints cornerback P.J. Williams being loaded onto a stretcher and carted off the MetLife Stadium field and into an ambulance.Take a quick survey of the quarterback position around the league: Tony Romo is out again. Robert Griffin III is out again. Jimmy Garoppolo was a burgeoning sensation who couldnt make it through two games without getting hurt.Manning made his first start in the middle of the 2004 season -- 2004 -- and hasnt missed a single game since. Despite his limited athleticism and modest (by NFL standards) physical stature, Manning had an almost magical quality to remain healthy passed down to him from his bigger, better brother.Peyton Manning made 227 consecutive starts before serious neck injuries finally cost him his job and a full season of play, and it appears Eli has a good shot to pass his brother for second place on the consecutive starts list (Brett Favres absurd record of 321 is out of reach). Thats the best reason to believe the 2-0 Giants could finally be back as Super Bowl contenders.Manning didnt throw a touchdown pass in this 16-13 victory over New Orleans; in fact, the Giants only touchdown came on Janoris Jenkins 65-yard return of a blocked field goal. But the quarterback did complete 32 of 41 passes for 368 yards, and he made two crucial third-down completions to set up the winning chip-shot field goal as time expired. Manning found rookie Sterling Shepard in the tightest of windows before the two-minute warning, and he overcame Odell Beckham Jr.s drop of a coulda, woulda, shoulda-been touchdown pass on the final drive to give Victor Cruz a chance to make a breathless, 34-yard catch to the Saints 2-yard line.Elis our captain, our leader, the spearhead of this team, said linebacker Mark Herzlich, wwho has been with the Giants since their most recent Super Bowl season in 2011.ddddddddddddWe love watching Eli play, and we love his poise. I think thats the one thing that keeps him healthy. He has poise in the pocket, poise as a leader and poise as a person.Yet much of the postgame focus centered around the defenses that held two quarterbacks who combined for 13 scoring passes in last seasons meeting to a combined one, the fact that the Giants survived three lost fumbles and the fact that?Drew Brees passed Dan Marino for third place on the all-time passing yardage list (Manning passed Drew Bledsoe for 10th). Giants kicker Josh Brown, who scored the decisive points in his return from a one-game suspension for domestic violence, drew a media crowd at his locker and foolishly failed to express remorse for his conduct.It was a reminder that some people never get it and that some professional athletes can navigate long careers in the New York market without making a single mistake off the field or in front of the notebooks and cameras. Eli Manning, by the way, has been open about his desire to follow the Derek Jeter model: Do your job, conduct yourself as a pro and avoid creating a stir at all costs.?In his news conference, McAdoo was asked more questions about Eli Apple (one) than he was asked about Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP. Maybe thats because Manning didnt throw for a score. Maybe thats because Manning hasnt been back to the playoffs since he won that second title for Tom Coughlin. Or maybe thats because Mannings presence is taken for granted, even in Year 1 of Peytons retirement.I try to put in a lot of dedication and work to stay healthy, Eli said Sunday of his durability. I dont know if its my greatest trait, but I definitely like being out there for my teammates.With Washington 0-2 and with Dallas and Philadelphia relying on rookie quarterbacks, Manning makes the Giants the favorites to win the NFC East. He isnt getting ahead of himself (Its only Week 2, he said), but past performance suggests he has a chance to join Peyton, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Ben Roethlisberger as the only quarterbacks to win Super Bowls for two different coaches.In the delirious moments after Manning won his second ring, Giants owner John Mara said his quarterback has something different in his DNA than everybody else has. ... The more pressure on him, the better hes going to perform. There are very few people on the planet that have that, and this guys got it.Manning also has a team-centric sense of self. Asked why the Giants were suddenly making the game-shaping plays they couldnt make last season, the quarterback said through a smile, The $200 million we spent, I think, right? I think that had something to do with it right there.That was Jerry Reeses end of the bargain, his Steinbrennerian spending spree in free agency. Before the GM told Manning in their annual late summer meeting that they were both responsible for McAdoos fate, Reese thanked his quarterback for not getting himself hurt in the preseason.The GM knows what all interested New Yorkers know: If you give Eli Manning a competent defense and a few playmakers to work with, hell give you a credible chance to win it all. China Womens NFL Jerseys Stitched NFL Jerseys Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys China NFL Gear Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping NFL Jerseys Outlet Wholesale Jerseys 2019 China NFL Jerseys ' ' '