NEW YORK -- A sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series last fall sent the New York Mets to the World Series for the first time in 15 seasons. But the Cubs are the team that looks ready to return to the NLCS -- and perhaps end a far longer drought -- as the two teams prepare for a four-game series that begins Thursday night at Citi Field.The Cubs arrived in New York fresh off a 9-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds that capped a three-game sweep at Great American Ball Park. The sweep snapped the longest skid of the season for Chicago, which lost six of seven prior to facing the Reds.This was a good series for us, said Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who hit a three-run inside-the-park homer Wednesday.The Cubs have had a lot of good series this year. Chicago, which is looking to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945 and win it all for the first time since 1908, is now a baseball-best 51-26, with a mammoth run differential -- plus-170 -- that suggests ot should have five or six more wins.The Mets, meanwhile, continued to spiral downward Wednesday with a 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. The loss capped a three-game sweep at the hands of the Nationals, who extended their lead over the Mets from three to six games.The loss ended a 2-5 road trip for the Mets, who were outscored 35-20 by the Nationals and Atlanta Braves. New York, which blew an early 4-0 lead in Mondays opener against the Nationals, went 23 straight innings without scoring until James Loney hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday.Were just not giving ourselves chances, Mets manager Terry Collins said. We just cant give our pitchers any room to work.At 40-37, New York is the closest it has been to .500 since April 24, though it is still only a half-game behind the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the NLs second wild card.Theyre struggling lately and theyre banged up, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. It is different (than last year) for both teams.The series opener Thursday begins an 11-game homestand for the Mets that could dictate the direction the rest of their season takes. After the Cubs exit Sunday, the Mets host the Marlins for three games and the Nationals for four games.Weve still got 11 before the All-Star Break, Collins said. Weve just got to go play them.Mets left-hander Steven Matz is scheduled to start Thursday against Cubs right-hander John Lackey. Matz is pitching through a bone chip in his right elbow and got an extra day of rest after struggling last Friday, when he was staked to an eight-run lead but allowed six runs over 4 1/3 innings and was lifted before he could qualify for the win in the Mets 8-6 victory over the Braves.Lackey will be looking to bounce back from his worst start of the season. He took the loss last Saturday, when he gave up seven runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Cubs fell to the Marlins, 9-6. Cheap Jersey Website . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. NFL Jerseys From China . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. https://www.cheapjerseysreview.com/ . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Cheap Jerseys For Sale . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Where To Buy Cheap Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. SEATTLE -- Chip Kelly and Pete Carroll overlapped for only one season as college coaches in the Pac-10. Theyve met only once since both found their way to the NFL.If all goes to plan in both Seattle and San Francisco, the pair will get quite familiar over the next few seasons, beginning Sunday when the Seahawks host the 49ers. While the relationship between Carroll and former San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh was more contentious, his dealings with Kelly have been mostly congenial.When Kelly was the coach at Oregon, one of the first places he visited to see how other teams run in-season practices was Seattle.It was his request to come here, then I was grilling him, Carroll said.Kelly recalled this week also visiting then-49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and taking a trip to Air Force, but the Seahawks were his first stop.I spent all my time trying to take as much information as I could in on all three of those visits, and I was fortunate because of, whether it was Jim or Pete or Troy Calhoun at Air Force, that they allowed me to do it, Kelly said. Not a lot of people would allow people to come in, especially in-season, but it was good experience for me.San Francisco has surprised with its performance through the first two weeks, opening with an impressive 28-0 shutout of the Rams, before losing 46-27 at Carolina in a game that was 34-27 midway through the fourth quarter before the Panthers pulled away.Seattle is showing signs of major offensive issues after managing 15 points through two games , including three points last week against a Los Angeles team the 49ers routed in Week 1. The offensive line has been unable to fully protect quarterback Russell Wilson or get the run game started. It hasnt helped that Wilson has played with a sprained right ankle suffered early in the second half of the opener against Miami.We feel like were really close, Carroll said. We feel like we can see the execution, we can see the potential to make the ball move up and down the field like we want to.Heres what else to watch as Seattle goes for its fifth straight regular-season win against San Francisco:THE INFIRMARY: Seattle came out of last weeks loss to Los Angeles beaten up. Wide receivers Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett suffered minorr knee injuries, while running back Thomas Rawls has a muscle strain in his lower left leg.ddddddddddddAll three are expected to play, but none will be at 100 percent. Coupled with Wilsons sprained ankle and a number of Seattles offensive stars will be playing at less than full health.GROUNDED: After rushing for 150 yards and three TDs in that opening win over Los Angeles, the 49ers running game couldnt get off the ground in Carolina. San Francisco was held to 65 yards on 25 carries against a defense keyed to stop the run.We need to get into the pass game a little bit more and maybe a little bit earlier just to kind of loosen them up a little bit, Kelly said. The two of them have to go hand in hand.TURNING IT OVER: A big positive for the 49ers early this season has been their ability to take away the ball after ranking second worst in the league a year ago with 12 takeaways. The defense has six takeaways already this season with three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Coordinator Jim ONeill has stressed taking chances on defense -- even if it can lead to the occasional big play.We dont want to be that team that never makes any plays, ONeill said. We want our guys to go try to make some plays. Thats what this whole league is about, is making football plays.AIR DEFENSE: San Francisco quarterback Blaine Gabbert has thrown a touchdown pass in 12 straight games . That streak will be tested by the Seahawks, who are giving up just 184 yards per game through the air and have allowed one touchdown in two games. Gabbert was solid in his one start against Seattle last season, throwing for 264 yards and a TD and didnt commit a turnover.HOME-ROAD DISPARITY: The 49ers have had two different types of defenses the past two years depending on whether they are at home or on the road. San Francisco has given up 15.8 points per game at home, compared to 33.1 per game on the road. That discrepancy was glaring the first two weeks as the 49ers shut out the Rams in the opener and then lost to the Panthers last week.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '