half the group awarded inaugural 15-a-side professional

LOS ANGELES -- Anthony Rizzos bat shattered into shards, and the ball trickled onto an empty patch of infield grass. The Chicago Cubs cleanup hitter scampered to first base in the ninth inning, getting just his second hit this postseason in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series.In an October of increasing offensive ineptitude, the powerful Cubs are looking for any kind of break to get them going.Thats the kind of hit that we needed, fellow slugger Kris Bryant said. Thats the hit that can spark a team.Except it didnt. This combustible offense remains quiet and cold -- and after a superlative regular season, the Cubs have been shut out in back-to-back playoff games.With its pitching staff again dominating one of baseballs best lineups, Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 6-0 victory Tuesday night over Jake Arrieta and the Cubs.If the Cubs dont find their offense before they leave LA, the most infamous championship drought in sports will stretch into next year.Chicago had never been blanked in two straight playoff games before the Dodgers did it. Chicagos 18 consecutive scoreless innings comprise the longest drought in the teams postseason history, two more than the 1906 squad.This 103-win club spent exactly one day out of first place this season, but the Cubs are trailing in the NLCS because their hitters have been silenced ever since that five-run eighth inning in a Game 1 victory.I dont gamble, but I probably wouldnt have gambled on that one, Chicago catcher Miguel Montero said.Including a 1-0 loss in Game 2, Chicago is a collective 6 for 60 with one extra-base hit over the last two games. The Cubs hadnt been shut out since Aug. 28, but Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill did it with plenty of help from closer Kenley Jansen.This is highly unusual for the Cubs, who were third in the big leagues with 808 runs during the regular season. They had the majors second-best on-base percentage before the postseason, but baserunners have been scarce for most of their seven playoff games, and their team batting average is languishing below .200.Were not hitting the ball hard, manager Joe Maddon said. Theyve pitched well. Obviously, I have no solid explanation. Weve just got to keep working at it. ... There is really no excuse. We just have to pick it up quickly.Chicago hadnt been shut out in consecutive games since May 2014, but the Cubs never really threatened against Los Angeles -- and their best hitters realize they bear the responsibility.MVP candidate Rizzo (2 for 26), Addison Russell (1 for 24), Jason Heyward (2 for 19), Dexter Fowler (5 for 28) and Ben Zobrist (4 for 26) are all struggling mightily in the postseason. The middle of Chicagos lineup is particularly lacking, and Maddons adjustments havent helped.The Cubs were baffled by Hill, the 36-year-old journeyman who was playing independent ball just more than 14 months ago. Hill threw six innings of two-hit ball, and Arrieta couldnt keep up in his return to the stadium where he threw a no-hitter in August 2015.The 2015 Cy Young Award winner had a middling NLCS start for the second straight season, giving up four runs and six hits to the Dodgers over five-plus innings. Last October, he gave up four runs and four hits over five innings to the Mets in Game 2 of New Yorks sweep.Maddon dropped Heyward from the lineup for Game 3, but replacement Jorge Soler went hitless and made two misplays in right field, although neither cost the Cubs any runs. Heyward struck out on three pitches as a pinch hitter to end the seventh, taking a terrible swing on a down-and-in slider from Joe Blanton.Fowlers two-out double in the eighth off reliever Grant Dayton was the Cubs first extra-base hit since Game 1, but Jansen promptly struck out Bryant. After Rizzos shattered-bat single, Jansen calmly finished off the win.The playoffs always provide small sample sizes of teams woes, but California pitching has flummoxed the Cubs through seven games in October. They didnt hit much even in the Division Series against San Francisco, batting a collective .200 with a meager .247 on-base percentage while relying on pitchers at the plate for an alarmingly big chunk of their runs in that four-game series victory.Game 4 on Wednesday suddenly looms as pivotal for the Cubs, who had five two-game skids in the second half of the season, but havent lost three straight since early July.Youre playing against great teams at this time of year, Montero said. You just try to live in the moment. And maybe you have to have a better plan. Nick Bosa Jersey Large . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Wholesale Custom 49ers Shirts . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Custom 49ers Jerseys . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Cheap 49ers Jerseys . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. England Women have announced a 54-strong elite player squad for this season, with more than half the group awarded inaugural 15-a-side professional contracts.The squad is split into full-time, part-time, short-term and non-contracted players. Eight of Great Britains Rio Olympics rugby sevens squad that narrowly missed out on a medal in Brazil will return to the 15-a-side programme, including Emily Scarratt, Claire Allan, Natasha Hunt and Danielle Waterman.Eighteen players have been handed full-time deals as England look to retain the womens World Cup in Ireland next August, with nine on part-time contracts, 11 gaining short-term deals and 16 non-contracted.The squad will prepare for games in November aggainst France, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, ahead of the Six Nations, in addition to the HSBC world rugby sevens series.ddddddddddddEngland Women head coach Simon Middleton said: With less than 12 months to the 2017 womens Rugby World Cup, the focus for the EPS this year will be very much on the 15-a-side game.We believe everyone in this squad has the potential to make the World Cup.We are looking forward to an exciting season, and I would like to recognise and thank those employers who have supported and released players to take up these contracts and represent England. 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