30-27 defeat to Central Michigan back on Sept. 10, when the Chippewa

NEW YORK -- Jake Arrieta was not accustomed to this.The NL Cy Young Award winner started his first eight batters with balls.He went to 3-2 counts four times in a 35-pitch first inning, allowing Neil Walkers two-run homer.Its frustrating for me, because I expect a lot more out of myself, he said Saturday night after the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in Arrietas first regular-season road loss in 14 months.Just after Anthony Rizzo tied the score with a two-run, fourth-inning homer off Bartolo Colon, Travis dArnaud blooped a two-run single in the bottom half that sent the Mets to their third straight win in the four-game series, which ends Sunday.Arrieta (12-3) won his first 12 decisions, reaffirming his status as a premier pitcher. Now hes lost three times in six starts, giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against the defending NL champions.Poor performance on my end, he said. Just didnt get the effort my team needed tonight. I needed to be more of a stopper, put a stop to the bleeding.He had been 19-0 in 24 regular-season road starts since losing at St. Louis on May 7, 2015 -- to current teammate John Lackey. Arrieta is the only pitcher since 1913 to win 19 consecutive road decisions. However, he lost Game 2 of last years NL Championship Series at Citi Field.Believe me, were all going to be in for a treat when this all gets straightened out, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. Hes going to look like he did last year.Arrieta said issues with mechanics were overblown.Were spinning our wheels a little bit too much trying to figure out what the solution is, or is there a problem, he said. I just need to pitch better. Thats the bottom line.Rookie Brandon Nimmo walked leading off the first, and Walker sent a 94 mph sinker off the facing of the second deck in right. Walker had been 4 for 28 against Arrieta, including the postseason.He just wasnt throwing as many strikes early in the count as Ive been accustomed to facing him, Walker said. When youre 1-0, 2-1 with everybody, it makes it difficult to use that entire arsenal.With the score 2-2 in the fourth and runners at first and second, dArnaud popped a ball into short center field, in the middle of a triangle formed by center fielder Jason Heyward, second baseman Javier Baez and shortstop Addison Russell. On a full run toward the outfield and with his back to home plate, Baez reached up with his right, bare hand, but the ball glanced off it and fell to the ground as two runs scored. Baez had just entered the game at second base.Colon (7-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, and Ben Zobrist homered off Erik Goeddel in the seventh.Addison Reed struck out Kris Bryant to end the seventh with the potential tying run on second, and then struck out the side in the eighth after Rizzos leadoff single. Jeurys Familia got three straight outs to convert his 44th consecutive save chance, including a major league-leading 28 this season.Chicago lost for the ninth time in 13 games but still has the best record in the major leagues at 51-29. After getting swept in a three-game series at Washington, the Mets can sweep four from the Cubs.We want to finish it off tomorrow, Mets manager Terry Collins said.LOOKING AHEADArrieta is to start Friday at Pittsburgh, putting him in position for a possible start for Collins of the Mets in the All-Star Game at San Diego on July 12.JUST PLAIN LOOKINGPlate umpire Laz Diaz called nine batters out on strikes, including five Cubs. When Baez was called out leading off the ninth, he held out both arms, and Maddon yelled from the dugout.The amorphic strike zone tonight was really difficult for both sides, Maddon said.CUBS ROTATIONRight-hander Adam Warren is to start Wednesday against Cincinnati at Wrigley Field, following Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. Maddon said Warren could get a start after the All-Star break but because of a July 21 off day, it was unlikely he would go with a six-man rotation two turns in a row.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RF Chris Coghlan left after three innings because of right ribcage soreness.UP NEXTLHP Jon Lester (9-3) is to start Sundays series final for the Cubs and RHP Noah Syndergaard (8-3) for the Mets. Lester is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Mets but lost last years NL Championship Series opener to Matt Harvey.Yeezys Shoes Ireland Outlet . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Yeezys Shoes Ireland . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. http://www.yeezysaleireland.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Clearance Yeezys Shoes Ireland From China . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Discount Yeezys Shoes Ireland . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining.STILLWATER, Okla. -- The players at No. 13 Oklahoma State know one thing: They dont have to look for help to wrap up a special season.After escaping with a 45-44 victory over Texas Tech over the weekend, the Cowboys needs to win Saturday at TCU to set up a Bedlam showdown with No. 8 Oklahoma on Dec. 3 for the Big 12 championship.The Cowboys (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) know that they need to focus on the next game and not look ahead to the looming contest with their intra-state rivals, especially on the road against a strong opponent in TCU (5-4, 3-3). The Horned Frogs are coming off a bye week that followed a dominating 62-22 win on Nov. 5 over then-No. 17 Baylor, the only Big 12 team that has beaten Oklahoma State (35-24 back on Sept. 24).Each week I talk to them about the importance of focus, and fortunately, weve had big wins, and whether you have a big win or you have a loss youre not happy with, you have to re-focus on Sunday, said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. Were not good enough to even look past tomorrows practice, and TCU, in my opinion, is a considerably different team than they were even three weeks ago.The players appear to be buying into the notion that they cannot look past TCU.It is hard, but right now, we just focus on TCU and well be ready for Bedlam next week, said defensive tackle Vincent Taylor, who is tied for sixth in the Big 12 in both sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (9.0). Dont watch ESPN, the AP polls, the college polls and all that, stay off of Twitter. Its hard, but to be focused, thats what you have to do.With the Sooners ranked eighth, West Virginia No. 10 and the Cowboys at No. 13, there is a lot of speculation thaat no matter who emerges as the Big 12 champion, they will be shut out of the College Football Playoff.dddddddddddd.I cant control that, said junior quarterback Mason Rudolph, who ranks fifth in the nation with 3,384 passing yards and is 12th with 24 touchdown tosses. We control our own destiny and regardless of our ranking, we know whats at stake and what we can accomplish, so were really trying to block that out and look forward.Gundy actually considers his team 9-1, discounting the Cowboys controversial 30-27 defeat to Central Michigan back on Sept. 10, when the Chippewas scored a touchdown on a Hail Mary pass during a final, untimed play that officials later admitted should never have been awarded.Nobody will ever convince me we lost that game, Gundy said.Gundy still has faith that the committee would alter its perception of the result based on how the game ended, but also acknowledged he doesnt have the stomach to engage in the type of politicking that might be necessary to get his team into the playoff if it should win the next two games.When you get into administrative politics, Id just as soon jump off a building than deal with people like that, Gundy said. I havent thought about it a lot because we have to play these next two games. And at that point, somebody can make a decision on that. Theyre supposed to be deciding on who they think the best teams are -- thats what they say, right? I mean, I never watch the show. Id rather watch `SpongeBob than watch or listen to his comments, to be honest with you. ' ' '