and 07/08. Cesc Fabregas record v Man City Pl

ST. LOUIS - Matt Holliday has been known to be a streaky hitter. And he might be finding his hitting stroke at just the right time for the St. Louis Cardinals. He homered twice and had five RBIs and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 13-2 Saturday night to earn a split of a day-night doubleheader. "It feels good," Holliday said. "It always feels good to help your team win. Thats what were here for. Were here to win games. When you do something that helps the team win, thats the idea." The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for St. Louis, which won for just the third time in its past nine games and pulled to within one game of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee dropped its fourth straight with a 3-1 loss at San Francisco. Its the most runs this season for the Cardinals and the first time in seven games they scored at least three runs. Their previous high was 10, which they did twice. "Yeah, we really need those big production days and Matts the guy that can do that," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "Its nice to see and nice to see him lead like he did. "Its good to see our offence kind of quiet people that think that we can only score two runs a game." The Cardinals have scored two or fewer runs in 45 of their 136 games or about one-third of the time. Marco Gonzales (1-2) gave up one run and three hits over a season-high six innings. His previous long outing was in his debut on June 25 when he pitched five innings against Colorado, but didnt figure in the decision in a 9-6 win for St. Louis. Tsuyoshi Wada (4-2) gave up four runs in six innings. "Wada was hanging in there," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "He was hanging in there. One pitch obviously Holliday drilled it out of the ballpark. Then he went back out and kept us in there one more inning. He ground it out. I thought he kept us in the ballgame." Holliday hit his 14th home run in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. His three-run, two-out blast to centre scored Daniel Descalso and Matt Carpenter. He got No. 15 leading off a nine-run eighth. It marked his 19th career multi-homer game and his first since getting two on Aug. 10, 2013, against the Cubs. Holliday has an 11-game hitting streak during which he has gone 14 for 43. "Three-run homers are game-changers," he said. "Especially if its a tie game and you get a three-run lead, it kind of gives you a little bit of a cushion and allows your pitcher to settle down a little bit." The first 10 batters reached to start the eighth for St. Louis. Hollidays homer was followed by five singles and three walks before he was hit by a pitch to drive in the seventh run of the inning. Matt Adams hit a sacrifice fly and Yadier Molina got his third hit of the night to drive in the ninth run before second baseman Javier Baez made a nice play on an Oscar Taveras grounder to start an inning-ending double play. Felix Doubront pitched seven strong innings in his National League debut and Starlin Castro hit one of Chicagos three solo homers, sending the Cubs to a 5-1 victory in the opener. Doubront (1-0) allowed seven hits in his return from the disabled list. He had been out with a strained right calf since Aug. 1, two days after Chicago acquired him from Boston. Logan Watkins and Chris Valaika also connected for Chicago in the makeup of a May 14 rainout. Justin Masterson (2-3) gave up all three homers and five earned runs in 4 1-3 innings for St. Louis. Masterson has allowed four or more runs in five of his six starts for the Cardinals and pitched five innings or fewer in four of his starts. WELCOME BACK: Molina went 3 for 5 with three singles in his second game since returning to the lineup following a seven-week absence. Molina, who had surgery on his thumb in July, went 0 for 3 in his return Friday and sat out the first game of the doubleheader. He also threw out Arismendy Alcantara trying to steal second in the fifth, the first attempt against Molina since his return. TRAINERS ROOM Cubs: 1B Anthony Rizzo, who was second in the NL with 30 homers, sat out again. Rizzos lower back tightened during a rain delay Tuesday in Cincinnati. He has not played since and is expected to sit out Sunday as well. ... RHP Edwin Jackson (strained right strain) threw in the bullpen before the game. He has been on the disabled list since Aug. 21. Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder strain) will pitch Sunday in Tulsa for Double-A Springfield. Wacha went on the DL after his June 17 start. UP NEXT Cubs: LHP Travis Wood (8-11, 4.72) will start Sunday afternoon. He is 2-5 with a 5.83 ERA against St. Louis in his career, with both victories coming this year. In his last outing against the Cardinals, he got a no-decision after giving up five runs (two earned) in five innings July 25 in a game Chicago won 7-6. Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (2-1, 4.50) gets his second career start against Chicago. He earned his second win with St. Louis in his last start, giving up one run in seven innings in a 3-2 win Aug. 25 at Pittsburgh. Cheap Vapormax Uk . General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently. Vapormax Clearance . Trailing 5-4 in the third set, the 12th-ranked Isner fought off two match points and evened it at 5-5 with consecutive aces. The former University of Georgia star had his only service break of the match to go up 6-5 before firing the last four of his 30 aces to close out Ginepri, an Atlanta resident ranked 281st. http://www.discountvapormaxuk.com/. Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest. Nike Vapormax Uk Sale . According to a release sent by the league, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only team to exceed the cap. Their total salary expenditure of $4,417,975 was $17,975 over the salary cap of $4. Nike Vapormax Sale . Spencer Abbott and Trevor Smith scored third-period goals erasing a 2-1 deficit giving Toronto a late 3-2 lead.This weekends Saturday Night Football pits the champions of the past two seasons against one another at Stamford Bridge. In August, few would have anticipated that, come the business end of the season, Manchester City - buoyed by a summer spending spree in excess of £150m - would trail Leicester by 15 points. Fewer still that defending champions Chelsea would be embroiled in a battle to simply finish in the top half.Kevin De Bruynes emphatic impact on his return to the Premier League was far easier to predict. Chelsea paid £6.7m to Genk for De Bruyne in January 2012, but it wasnt until Jose Mourinhos return to the club ahead of the 2013/14 season that he was awarded his chance in west London. Kevin De Bruyne has been a key man for Man City this season Then, after only nine appearances in all competitions, and just 132 minutes of Premier League football, he was sold to Wolfsburg in January 2014.The Belgian playmaker excelled last season with the Bundesliga outfit, and hasnt looked back since. Most assists in Europes top five leagues since August 2014 Player Team Assists Kevin De Bruyne Wolfsburg/Man City 29 Lionel Messi Barcelona 28 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 27 Luis Suarez Barcelona 26 Dimitri Payet Marseille/West Ham 25 His creative capabilities have been clearly demonstrated throughout his inaugural season in Manchester.Despite a recent 12-game absence with a knee injury, only Mesut Ozil and Dimitri Payet have created more chances per 90 minutes than De Bruyne this season, while only Ozil, David Silva and Gerard Deulofeu have averaged more assists per 90 minutes than Man Citys number 17. His influence for Manuel Pellegrinis side is evident. Man City with and without De Bruyne - all comps 2015/16 With Without 35 Games 16 21 Wins 8 60 Win % 50 22.8 Lose % 31.25 2.2 Goals per game 1.6 Since De Bruynes 2014 departure, Chelsea have spent £96.5m on midfielders, and even the most devoted Chelsea supporter would surely agree that only Cesc Fabregas has been a success - although even he divides opinion amongst Chelseas fan base. Chelseas midfield signings since De Bruynes departure Mohamed Salah - Jan 2014, Basel, ￡11mCesc Fabregas - Jun 2014, Barcelona, ￡30mJuan Cuadrado - Feb 2015, Fiorentina, ￡23.3mNathan - May 2015, Atletico Paranaense, ￡4.5mPedro - Aug 2015, Barcelona, ￡21.4mKennedy - Aug 2015, Fluminense, ￡6.3m So exactly how much has Fabregas achieved at Stamford Bridge? His initial impact was spectacular. He created two goals on his debut for the club in a 3-1 Premier League win at Burnley, and finished the campaign with a league-high 18 assists - although 15 of those came within his first 21 appearances. Cesc Fabregas performances have improved under Guus Hiddink Since returning to the Premier League, only Ozil (23) has more assists than Fabregas 22, and no player has attempted, or completed, more passes in the English top flight this season. Premier League passes - 2015/16 Player Passes Successful passes Cesc Fabregas 2,340 1,964 Andrew Surman 1,988 1,698 Mesut Ozil 1,896 1,636 Glenn Whelan 1,807 1,572 Aaron Ramsey 1,759 1,513 Fabregas return of four goals and four assists from 31 Premier League appearances this season, however, has done little to stem the tide of discontent from certain sections of the Chelsea faithful.dddddddddddd It could be argued that he is a victim of his own success, or that his connections to Arsenal make him an easier target than the likes of Eden Hazard and Oscar, who would surely be the first to admit they have failed to replicate the form of seasons past - they have a combined nine goals and assists in the league this season.After all, Fabregas is one of the divisions all-time top creative talents. Premier League - all-time assists Ryan Giggs - 162Frank Lampard - 102Dennis Bergkamp - 94Wayne Rooney - 94Cesc Fabregas - 92 The pessimism directed at Fabregas from the terraces earlier this season was as much down to his perceived contribution in Mourinhos demise as it was to his form, although under Guus Hiddink, he has flourished in comparison. Cesc Fabregas - 2015/16 Premier League Under Mourinho Under Hiddink 16 Apps 14 0 Goals 4 2 Assists 2 1.56 Chances created per game 1.79 68 Passes per game 84 Since arriving at Chelsea in June 2014, the diminutive Spaniard has either scored or assisted goals against every side currently above them in the Premier League table, barring one - Manchester City. Fabregas is yet to score or assist against Man City since joining Chelsea He does have a particularly strong record against City throughout his career, and scored in successive Premier League home wins for Arsenal in 06/07 and 07/08. Cesc Fabregas record v Man City Played Won Drawn Lost Home 8 6 2 0 Away 10 6 1 3 Overall 18 12 3 3 This Premier League campaign will be one both Chelsea and Manchester City will be pleased to consign to the history books. Both have new faces in the hot-seat for next season, and De Bruyne is undoubtedly one of the few players who can feel secure of his place in Pep Guardiolas re-shuffled pack at the Etihad next season.Fabregas struggles over the last 14 months mean his place in Antonio Contes Chelsea squad come August is less assured, and he will need to maintain his recent improvements to ensure he doesnt become another expensive acquisition of Roman Abramovich that doesnt fulfil their substantial price tag.Watch Chelsea v Man City live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday Night Football from 5pm. Also See: De Bruyne one of Europes best Hazards rapid decline ' ' '