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NEW YORK -- Bright lights, big city, ol country hardball.Madison Bumgarner against Noah Syndergaard with the season on the line. A pair of towering tough guys you probably dont want to mess with.Playoff pitching matchups dont get much better.Toting his outstanding October resume to the mound, Bumgarner will start for the San Francisco Giants against Syndergaard and the New York Mets in the NL wild-card game Wednesday night.The winner moves on to face the major league-best Chicago Cubs (103-58) in a best-of-five Division Series. The loser heads home for the winter.Its going to be an exciting game, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday, when both teams worked out at Citi Field. I mean, this is the fun thing about postseason is youre going to get great matchups like this.It took 162 games to set it up.San Francisco, the top team in the majors at the All-Star break, struggled badly throughout the second half before finishing with a four-game winning streak. That was enough to hold off St. Louis by one game and secure the last NL playoff spot on the final day of the regular season.New York, the defending NL champion, was two games under .500 on Aug. 19 after losing two straight in San Francisco. But with slugger Yoenis Cespedes and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera back from the disabled list, the Mets posted the top mark in the majors (27-13) from that point on and jumped over four teams in the pennant race, booking their postseason trip Saturday with one game to spare.Both teams finished 87-75, and New York earned home-field advantage by winning the season series 4-3.Good major league players, when it comes crunch time, they turn it on, Mets manager Terry Collins said. So Im not really sure that momentum going in means a whole lot. Both of us have had to play good at the end -- we did.Citi Field should be rocking Wednesday night, but Bumgarner and the Giants know all about thriving in playoff pressure. The team is 8-0 under Bochy when facing postseason elimination, all since 2012. And after winning World Series titles in 2010, `12 and `14, the Giants want to extend their pattern of even-year championships with another run through October.The last time Bumgarner pitched in the postseason, he saved Game 7 of the 2014 World Series in Kansas City with five scoreless innings on two days rest to cap one of the greatest postseason performances in baseball history. His 0.25 ERA in five career outings is the lowest for any pitcher with at least 25 innings in the Fall Classic.He was 15-9 with a 2.74 ERA and 251 strikeouts this season.With us finishing up the way we did, I feel really, really good about our chances, Bumgarner said.The 6-foot-5, 250-pound lefty, born in Hickory, North Carolina, started San Franciscos playoff surge in the 2014 wild-card game by striking out 10 in a four-hit shutout at Pittsburgh -- a similar assignment to Wednesday.We have been through this before. Weve been down this road. I like this wild-card thing, Bochy said. I love it. I have to. We have a ring because of this wild card and have a chance now.The 24-year-old Syndergaard, with long blond locks and the nickname Thor, is no inexperienced sophomore.The 6-foot-6, 242-pound righty from Mansfield, Texas, joined Bumgarner on the All-Star roster this summer and went 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA and 218 strikeouts over 183 2/3 innings. Featuring a 100 mph fastball, sharp slider and impressive control of several secondary pitches, he won a pair of postseason starts as a rookie last year -- including Game 3 of the World Series against the Royals.He has the best stuff for a starter in all of baseball, Bumgarner said back in San Francisco.Last fall, Syndergaard caught everyones attention with his first World Series pitch: a sizzling fastball well above Alcides Escobars head that dusted a hot hitter who liked to swing at the initial offering.Hes not intimidated by anything, Collins said. Hes not afraid. He wants to take charge. His stuff speaks for itself. I think hes grown as a pitcher. I think he trusts his stuff a lot more now.Syndergaard, for his part, is eagerly anticipating Wednesday night.Its just a dream come true, he said. Its going to be really exciting and Im looking forward to getting out there and feeling the energy from the hometown crowd, just having an awesome time.---AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report. Nick Pope England Jersey . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Jordan Pickford Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Nick-Pope-England-Jersey/ . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Kyle Walker Jersey . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Ruben Loftus-Cheek Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. CHICAGO -- Cornell Johnston scored 21 points and had a season-high nine assists to lead Eastern Illinois over Illinois-Chicago 90-76 on Sunday.Johnston was 7 of 12 from the floor and made four 3-pointers. Montell Goodwin added 19 points and four 3-point baskets for Eastern Illinois (5-3). Aboubacar Diallo had a career-high 14 rebounds, and Patrick Muldoon grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds.Marcus Ottey scored 16 points to lead Illinois-Chicago (4-4), which had its tthree-game home winning streak snapped.dddddddddddd The Flames shot just 23 of 59 from the floor for 39 percent, and made only 23 of 34 free throws.The Panthers took the lead for good with 6:42 to play in the first half. Eastern Illinois closed the half on a 20-12 surge, had a nine-point lead at halftime and the Flames didnt get closer. ' ' '