in 15 career postseason starts, and the best team in the AL, whi

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini believes referee Mark Clattenburg was the deciding factor in his sides defeat to Tottenham on Sunday. The game ended 2-1 to Spurs after Christian Eriksens late winner, but Pellegrini said the defining moment came in the 52rd minute when Clattenburg awarded the visitors a penalty for a handball by Raheem Sterling, even though the ball appeared to hit his armpit.Harry Kane scored the resulting spot-kick before Kelechi Iheanacho equalised for the hosts. They were level for just nine minutes though as Eriksen struck the winner to move Spurs back up to second in the Premier League. Pellegrini was incensed by the penalty decision and also pointed to the reverse fixture between the sides, where Clattenburg was also in charge and in which two Spurs goals appeared to be offside.Im disappointed because I thought we were better than Tottenham, really they didnt have any chances to score until the end when we took more risks, we lost the ball and they scored the second goal, the Chilean told Sky Sports.Before that we had more clear chances, not too many, but it was a close game, a very good game. The decisive penalty was very important. Spurs were awarded a penalty after Danny Roses cross hit Raheem Sterling Unfortunately for us, it is the same referee as in the first game with Tottenham when they scored two goals that were offside.Today, I believe the penalty decided the game. Its a shot that hits the back of Sterling and then his elbow very slightly. I think the referee decided the game.With Leicester losing at Arsenal earlier in the day, City had the chance to make up ground on the leaders.However, even though Pellegrini said they were the better side at the Etihad, they are six points behind Leicester with 12 games of the season remaining.Of course, after [the penalty] we were 1-0 down, we had to take a lot of risks, said Pellegrini. Before this Tottenham didnt shoot once at our goal, I cant remember a save by Joe Hart so I think that action [to give the penalty] in a very close game was absolutely decisive. Manchester City are six points off leaders Leicester It is a decision that we are very unlucky with this referee, it was the same in the first game against the same team. I think that we responded well but it was more important to win the three points.We are not going to give up [on the title]. Of course, losing two games here against teams that are fighting for the title in Leicester and Tottenham is not an advantage but we have to keep working. I think the spirit of the team was very good but we are going to continue fighting as much as we can.Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher agreed with Pellegrini on the penalty incident, saying he was not sure how the referee could have seen it from his position.I think he has gone off a hunch that its hit him in the arm. Hes got it wrong, he said. It wasnt a penalty. The referee was so sure it was a handball and it felt like the decision he had to make was whether it was inside or outside.He was right in that it was inside, but its not handball. It almost hits Raheem Sterling on the armpit. Also See: Man City 1-2 Spurs As it happened Match stats Are Citys title hopes over? Cheap Custom Jerseys Online . 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Custom Baseball Jerseys Outlet . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. An ALDS rematch between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays promises to provide plenty of drama after the bad blood left over from last Octobers bat flip and this springs brawl, but which club has an edge, starting with a Game 1 showdown between Marco Estrada and Cole Hamels?Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Thursday nights game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen Estrada is on the mound: Estrada proved that his 2015 season wasnt a fluke as he made the All-Star team and led the AL in fewest hits allowed per nine innings for a second straight year. He did struggle in August and early September as he has had to pitch through a herniated disk in his back, but he finished strong with only two runs allowed over 19 innings in his final three outings.Estradas four-seam fastball averages 88-89 mph, which tells you a bit about where his changeup, the pitch on which he makes his living, comes in. Thrown 75-78 mph, its a pitch Estrada has the ability to manipulate to both side of the plate, so its moving away from lefties on the outside corner and away from righties on the outside corner to them as well. Batters hit just .159 against with a 32 percent strikeout rate in plate appearances ending with the pitch, an 11 percent increase from last year. Another reason for Estradas improvement from his Milwaukee days is the addition of a cutter that he now throws 12 percent of the time.Estrada is the opposite of teammate Marcus Stroman, who had the highest ground-ball rate among qualified starters. Estrada had the second-highest fly-ball rate, which is a reason why his BABIP is so low. The way to beat him is to hope one or two of those fly balls leave the park. -- David SchoenfieldWhen Hamels is on the mound:?The veteran lefty is making his 16th career postseason start, so he already knows all about the ramped-up intensity of playoff baseball. His changeup, once regarded as the best in the game, wasnt as dominant this year as batters hit .252/.311/.430 against it -- the third season in a row theyve increased their damage against the pitch after Hamels held them to a .154 average and .417 OPS in 2013. He still does a great job locating pitches down and away from right-handed batters, but its not the strikeout pitch it was a few years ago.As a result, he threw the changeup less often than ever, under 20 percent of time, and he now throws his cutter -- a pitch he didnt have when he was a World Series hero for the Phillies in 2008 -- about 21 percent of the time. Its a great pitch to get inside on right-handed batters, who hit only .217 against it, although with some power (six home runs in 129 at-bats).Hamels had a four-start stretch near the end of the season where hee gave up 21 runs in 18 innings before finishing with seven shutout innings against the As and giving up five runs in seven innings against the Brewers.dddddddddddd Hamels did have a notable platoon split this year with righties posting an OPS 117 points higher, so matching up against that right-handed Toronto power will be a fun challenge. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightRougned Odor:? Odor led the Rangers with 33 home runs and punches that landed on Jose Bautista. He had one of the most distinctive seasons in major league history, however, as he walked only 19 times against 135 strikeouts. Jeff Banister has been hitting him fifth, behind Adrian Beltre, so given Beltres season-long clutch hitting, look for the Jays to pitch to him carefully and go after Odor and his ultra-aggressive approach. -- SchoenfieldWhat will decide tonights gameAmong players to see at least 100 fastballs with similar vertical movement and spin rate to Marco Estradas, Rougned Odors .462 batting average was highest in MLB (12 hits in 26 at-bats). Odors five homers against such pitches were most among second basemen and tied for fourth-most among all players in MLB. --?ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win? The Toronto Blue Jays spent the night guzzling champagne and celebrating after their dramatic win over the Baltimore Orioles in the wild-card game before flying to Texas for the ALDS. They expended a lot of emotional energy dispatching the Orioles and used Marcus Stroman in the process. Now, all they have to do is beat Cole Hamels, who has a 3.03 ERA in 15 career postseason starts, and the best team in the AL, which happens to be 53-28 at Globe Life Park. -- Jean-Jacques Taylor I dont expect the bad blood to spill over into a 15-round fight between Jose Bautista and Rougned Odor. One, I think Bautista would win in fewer rounds. Two, the two teams should contain their emotions and focus on the game. It should be a tight series, but I look for Toronto to win Game 1 because they have been playing at an intense level to keep their season alive the past couple of weeks while the Rangers possibly could have lost a little rhythm after clinching so early. They also were 4-3 against Texas this season. -- Jim CapleWhere the series standsThe Rangers have the home-field advantage, which could be vital considering their 53-28 record at home (although the road team won four games when this teams met in last years division series). The Rangers would obviously love to take both games at home, but it might be even more imperative given the Game 3 pitching matchup (Colby Lewis versus Aaron Sanchez) favors the Blue Jays.?--?Schoenfield ' ' '