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CHICAGO -- One misplaced changeup was quite costly for Steven Matz and the New York Mets.Matz served up a three-run homer on his 10th pitch to Anthony Rizzo in the third inning, and the Mets lost 5-1 to the Chicago Cubs on Monday night in a rematch of last years NL Championship Series.You really want to grit your teeth and beat this guy, Matz said. Unfortunately, he won.Wilmer Flores hit a leadoff homer in the seventh inning, but New York went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base in its fifth loss in seven games.Hitting is very, very hard. But weve had guys who have done this, who have driven in runs, manager Terry Collins said. Youre looking at three or four guys that have all driven in a lot of runs in their careers. Were hoping it turns, for sure.With one out and two on in the third, Rizzo fouled off five straight 2-2 pitches before driving a changeup deep into the bleachers in right-center for his 22nd homer.It was 2-2 for a while there. I dont think he wanted to go 3-2, Rizzo said. He was making good pitches and I was just fighting them off. Just try to grind at-bats. Thats what were so good at doing.The crowd of 41,353 cheered wildly as Rizzo rounded the bases on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The All-Star slugger is batting .339 with three homers and 10 RBI in July.Hes the anchor of the whole group. Theres no question about it, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.The last time the Mets visited the iconic neighborhood ballpark, they finished off a sweep of the Cubs to advance to the World Series. They swept Chicago again in New York from June 30 to July 3, roughing up Jon Lester for one of the wins.This time around was much different.Lester (10-4) allowed one run and four hits in his first win in a month, helping the NL Central leaders win for the fourth time in five games since dropping five in a row.We were able to get some quick outs with some well-located fastballs and some well-located cutters, Lester said, so that was huge for us tonight.Hector Rondon replaced Carl Edwards Jr. with two runners on in the ninth and got Travis dArnaud to bounce into a game-ending double play for his 16th save.Matz was charged with four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. The rookie left-hander dropped to 0-5 in his last nine starts.Even though I thought he threw the ball fine, he didnt have his real Grade-A stuff, Collins said. But he battled the best he could.Matz nearly had another run on his line, but left fielder Yoenis Cespedes cut down Willson Contreras with a perfect throw to the plate when the rookie tried to score from second on Szczurs third-inning single.WELCOME BACKNew Yorks Michael Conforto, who was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas after Sundays 5-0 win at Philadelphia, pinch-hit in the ninth and reached on an opposite-field single to left.I think its a testament to what Ive been working on, he said. Ive been trying to use the whole field like I did last year and earlier in the year. So I think its definitely a product of the things Ive been working on.TRAINERS ROOMMets: RHP Matt Harvey had season-ending thoracic outlet surgery in St. Louis. ... RHP Jim Henderson (biceps) is throwing 91 to 93 mph during his rehab stint at Triple-A Las Vegas, and Collins said the reliever is nearing a return.Cubs: OFs Dexter Fowler (right hamstring strain) and Jorge Soler (left hamstring strain) were traveling to Iowa and are expected to begin their rehab stints with the Triple-A club on Tuesday. Fowler could return to the Cubs by the end of the week.UP NEXTAll-Star RHPs Noah Syndergaard of the Mets and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs face off on Tuesday. Syndergaard (9-4, 2.56 ERA) was removed from last start on July 8 due to arm fatigue. I think the rest has been good for him, Collins said. Arrieta (12-4, 2.68 ERA) is looking to get back on track after allowing four or more earned runs in three consecutive starts for the first time since 2012.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Jimmy Garoppolo Jersey . 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I was thinking about the competition make-up and the way the Australians have played all year. I know there are cries of dont panic from Australia, but weve been making mention of just how average the Aussie teams have been throughout this Super Rugby season.And that suggests you need a good hard look at what has gone wrong. Theres more than a few injuries or a slip in form behind this; the foundations probably arent right in Australia and havent been for a long time.The South Africans have got the Currie Cup while many of their top players are in Europe. New Zealand has the Mitre 10 Cup, which is a great foundation for building the next tier of players.Australia have their club competitions in Sydney and Brisbane, and a few others; but its nothing of the same level. They also have the National Rugby Championship, but it still needs to bed in.There is real concern and last weekend, although it was a horror round, only highlights some of the problems that wont go away.I cant help thinking: how do you fix it? Im not pointing the finger and laughing at the Australians as, when it comes down to it, this also affects New Zealand. Having a one-sided sports competition is no fun for anybody and Super Rugby really needs Australia to be strong. New Zealand needs Australia to be strong to have competitive games.When you sit down to watch the rugby at the weekend you dont want to know what the outcome is going to be. You at least want to be a bit on edge going into watch some sport.I do wonder if a big financial purse for the winner would help the situation. It could really motivate teams by saying: hey guys you could walk away with a $2.5 or $5million cheque at the end of the competition if you can win it. Theres got to be an incentive for performance and I also think relegation should be in the mix for under-performance.Both those thing would get everyone on edge and teams wouldnt be so keen to offer the rebuilding excuse. The Heineken Cup is a perfect knockout competition, while relegation is a part of both Englands Aviva Premiership and Frances Top 14. It is a big, massive incentive.Teams have got to get off to a good start; theyve got to do their prep work. You cant just go into a competition and say it is going to take us three to four years to build. Youve got to hit the ground running and if you dont, theres consequences. And if you do, theres a cash purse at the end of it.That sort of excitement really gets the fans going. In the northern hemisphere, if a team is fighting relegation it is a massive relief for the fans if they avoid it and a huge disappointment if they dont. We dont have that sort of emotion in Super Rugby, but it is probably the thing that would be a good kick up backside for the entire set-up.The Australians arent as ggood as the New Zealanders and while theyve had their moments over the past few years, the point is they havent been dominant.dddddddddddd Theyre either there or thereabouts, or theyre a long way behind.The dilution is the problem, the spreading out of talent; they just dont have the capacity to run five teams spread across a big country like Australia. Its not their No.1 sport like New Zealand, or their No.1 passion. Having three or four teams that are going to be competitive is far better than five teams who are going to be easybeats.Thats no slight on the Brumbies and the Waratahs who remain in contention for the playoffs this season, and whove enjoyed success in the past.The other consideration, in New Zealand, with promotion-relegation is that it is another chance for New Zealand teams to be exposed to this type of play because there is not a lot of opportunity for players to be exposed to it regularly at a domestic level in order to be better equipped to cope with at a higher level, like a World Cup.I would prepare a Pacific Island team to replace the side that finished dead last in 2017; that team should drop out and the Pacific Islands team could replace them. You could even open up the competition by having teams around the world bidding to come into the place vacated by the relegated team. Who knows what that might throw up?Let market forces dictate. It would be a bit of a merry-go-round but the players would be fine; they would be moved from one team to another and would have a chance of joining another team.People, reading this may well say promotion-relegation is all very well but the competition itself is backward and they are right. If you were going to have relegation, and a big purse at the end of it, you cant have a competition with the inadequacies of this years competition with all the different pools. Everybody would have to play everybody and it would have to be an even footing.To have a team like the Stormers in South Africa in the play-offs and a potential winner, without having played a single New Zealand team during the regular season is just not right.Hopefully the powers that be listen and that we as fans can get what we are all screaming out for which is a competition in which everyone plays everyone.Even the players have made comments that it is tough playing in the New Zealand Conference. Sure, they get battle-hardened, but when they look at where they are on the points table, and where other teams are it doesnt seem right.Having said that the competition has gone down to the final round to decide the playoffs positions and there will be some stimulating games this postseason. ' ' '