Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer didnt give us the pitching duel everyone expected to open the series. Can Rich Hill and Tanner Roark deliver one in Game 2?Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Sundays game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen?Rich Hill?is on the mound: A little more than a year ago, the 36-year-old left-hander was toiling for Long Island in the independent Atlantic League after he opted out of his Triple-A contract with the Nationals when they didnt call him up to the majors by June 1. Since then, he has gone from situational lefty out of the bullpen to one of the best starters in the majors, in part by raising his arm slot (after an injury years ago, he had dropped his release point to create less strain on his shoulder). Now hes pitching against the Nationals in Game 2 of the division series after posting a 2.12 ERA with 129 strikeouts against 33 walks in 110? innings between the As and Dodgers, allowing a meager .195 average.Basically, theres nobody else out there like Hill. He throws his curveball about 50 percent of the time and his fastball about 50 percent. What makes him so unusual is he throws his fastball up in the zone about 70 percent of the time (the MLB average is about 50 percent) but also throws his curveball up in the zone, whereas most curveballs break down near the knees or even below. Hill has talked about mirroring his two pitches on the same axis. Batters simply dont see many curveballs like his. Hitting is all about knowledge gained, the brain learning to hit a pitch because batters have seen it thousands of times before. Hill is an outlier with built-in deception. Also, his fastball averages only 89.7 mph, but he generates extreme spin, which induces more fly balls and popups (which leads to a lower BABIP).Hill has battled a blister issue and hasnt thrown more than 93 pitches since returning from the DL in late August, so pitch efficiency will be important to get him deeper into the game. Lefties?Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy?will have another tough matchup as Hill hasnt allowed a home run to a lefty all season. -- David SchoenfieldWhen Tanner Roark is on the mound: Hes not as flashy as Max Scherzer or Stephen Strasburg, but he has now had ERAs below 3.00 in two of three seasons. The right-hander has all the pitches: a two-seamer in the low 90s that he throws more than the four-seamer, plus a slider, curveball and changeup, all thrown 10 to 15 percent of the time. Hes more of a ground ball pitcher, ranking 19th among qualified starters in grounder rate.His changeup was an effective pitch to lefties, who hit just .136 in 71 plate appearances ending with that pitch. Its not a big strikeout pitch but induces a high rate of grounders. While he throws more than 60 percent fastballs overall, he will throw a lot of sliders to right-handed batters; its a pitch that usually breaks off the plate and also induces a lot of weak contact.The Dodgers are loaded up with left-handed batters, but Roark didnt show any platn split this year (righties actually had a higher OPS). One of his strengths is fastball location, as hell work inside and out against lefties. He faced the Dodgers back in June, giving up three runs in 7? innings. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightCorey Seager. Hell win Rkie of the Year and will likely finish in the top five of MVP voting. His splits were interesting, as his first-half OPS ended up nearly identical to his second-half OPS. But he arrived at that in different ways, hitting 17 home runs in the first half while hitting .321 in the second half, though his numbers were down a bit in September with just one home run in his final 20 games. Overall, he hit .334/.391/.557 against right-handers. Hes only 22, but he was the teams best hitter this year.?-- SchoenfieldWhat will decide todays gameRich Hill will give the Nationals opportunities to hit him. He throws pitches in the strike zone at the highest rate of anyone who made at least 15 starts this season (56 percent of the time), and yet hitters swing infrequently -- 43 percent of the time, the eighth-lowest rate against a starter this season. With that in mind, keep an eye on whether Hill is getting called strikes with his fastball. In the 10 starts in which Hill got his highest rate of called strikes with the fastball (43 percent or higher), he was 8-1 with a 1.42 ERA. --?ESPN Stats & InfoChsing sides: Who will win?Ryan Zimmerman, who has been showing signs, hit the ball hard four times in Game 1 (2-for-4). That will work out in Game 2, when he faces Hill (6-for-9 lifetime, 2 home runs). Thanks to him, the Nats get just enough offense to make a winner out of birthday boy Tanner Roark (turned 30 this week), who has been a giant-slayer this year. He has outpitched Jake Arrieta and beaten Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner. On Saturday, he beats the Dodgers to even things up. -- Eddie MatzThe Dodgers already have the one game they were lking for in the nations capital, and Game 2 figures to go the way of the home team in what was always expected to be a close series. Expect Nationals starter Roark to rise to the occasion, making everybody wonder what tk so long to make his outing official. The Dodgers will be playing lse, though, and wont go down easy. -- Doug PadillaWhere the series standsFor the Nationals, its simple: Win Game 2 or head to L.A. in a very tough spot. If Washington cant turn it around Saturday, theyll head west on the brink of elimination. --?ESPN.comCheap Jordan 12 Retro Australia . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Jordan 12 For Sale Australia . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.cheapairjordan12australia.com/ . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-ft) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Air Jordan 12 Online Australia . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Cheap Air Jordan 12 Australia . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end.INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts tight end Weslye Saunders has been suspended eight games without pay after violating the leagues policy on performance-enhancing substances. League officials did not say Thursday what substance was found in Saunders test. He can practice with the Colts throughout training camp and will be eligible to play in preseason games. But he wont be eligible to play in the regular season until after the Colts game Nov. 3 against Houston. Saunders is no stranger to controversy. Last year, the NFL imposed a four-game suspension on Saunders for violating the same substance policy. The Steelers subsequently released Saunders in October. Indianapolis signed him five days later and he wound up catching two passes for 15 yards with the Colts. He also got into trouble in college. At South Caroliina, he was questioned by NCAA investigators about possible contact with an agent and was later suspended by Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier for violations the coach said were not related to the NCAA probe.dddddddddddd Less than a month after first announcing the suspension, in August 2010, Spurrier kicked Saunders off the team. Instead of transferring, Saunders wound up forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Saunders is the third Colts player in less than a month to run into trouble off the field. In June, the league announced receiver LaVon Brazill would be suspended for four games for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy. Earlier this month, backup safety Joe Lefeged was arrested in Washington on a gun possession charge. He has not been disciplined by the league. ' ' '