Milton has been a stabilizing presence for the Knights

PHILADELPHIA -- After the Mets clinched a playoff berth and home field for the National League wild-card game on Saturday with a 5-3 victory over the Phillies, all eyes shift to longtime Phillies slugger Ryan Howard on Sunday afternoon.Howard said hes not taking anything extra in right now and is only focused on playing baseball, but even his manager knows thats hardly likely.He says hes not but I think hes got to, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. Its just human nature. Tomorrows going to be fun to watch.Howards two-run homer to tie the game in the fifth inning against the Mets on Saturday could be Howards last. It moved him into 67th place on the career home run list list, tying him with Jim Rice and Frank Howard with 382.It was cool, Howard said. Being able to hit the home run and tying the game up. Tried to spoil it for them a little bit today but they got us and youve gotta congratulate those guys because theyve scratched and clawed.Mackanin said he hopes his first baseman has just a little more left in him for what could be his final game in Phillies pinstripes.Hopefully hell hit another one tomorrow, he said. Hes been swinging the bat well in the second half to have 25 home runs and almost 60 RBI. Hes been phenomenal.The Phillies will celebrate Howards career before the first pitch tomorrow, but the 36-year old first baseman says its just another game.Tomorrow is Sunday, Howard said when asked about tomorrows game. Im just going to show up. Ill definitely take it in. I think itll be something cool.The Mets are overjoyed to have the burden of home-field advantage wrapped up. Jay Bruce knows just how important it is to have secured that heading into Sunday.Home field means a lot, he said. I think home field means a whole lot. I played with Jim Edmonds in 2010 and he said that one play, one pitch can change the outlook of the whole thing and its so true. I think we have a group of guys who are ready for it.The Mets are undecided as to who starts Sunday as it appears they might save right-hander Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA) for Wednesdays wild-card game. The Phillies send right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (11-14, 3.72) to the hill Sunday.Mets manager Terry Collins may not put Syndergaard on the hill very long, or at all Sunday.We are going to be able to save Noah (Sundergaard), Collins said. Im not sure were going to pitch him, he might just throw side instead. I just thought it might be good to face some hitters for him tomorrow.Eickhoffs start last Tuesday was cut short because of rain as he only pitched four innings against the Braves, but hell have a chance to punctuate his strong second half in the final game of the season.Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis, who left Fridays game with right hamstring tightness, missed Saturdays game and his season is likely over. Wholesale Athletics Jerseys . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Stitched Athletics Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Oakland Athletics Gear .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Oakland Athletics Shirts .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. ORLANDO, Fla. -- Arkansas State and UCF certainly have a lot in common heading into Saturdays AutoNation Cure Bowl matchup.Both are led by their defenses, have developing high-octane offenses and have made the postseason after impressive turn-around seasons.The Knights are 6-6 and back in the bowl mix after coming off a frustrating 0-12 season in 2015. Arkansas State finished the season strong by winning seven of its final eight games and earning a share of the Sun Belt Conference after beginning this season 0-4.That doesnt happen unless a whole teams buys in and are working together, first-year UCF coach Scott Frost said of Arkansas State. I think thats probably happened on both campuses. So this is exciting game for both teams and I think both teams have some similarities.The two programs are meeting in the second Cure Bowl, which was started to bring more awareness to breast cancer. But with this years matchup, it could easily be dubbed the Comeback Bowl.Both coaches have praised their respective programs for their resolve. The Red Wolves (7-5) appeared on the verge of having their run of bowl appearances come to an end. But they will be appearing in a school-record six straight bowl.It is hard to really explain just how proud of this group I am, Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson said. I dont know really a way to get it across to you that makes a lot of sense. There just arent many teams that go through what we went through and then have the result that we had.Frost shares that sentiment after taking over a Knights program that fell on hard times under George OLeary last season. He came in from Oregon with a new energy and excitement that produced results on the field.Aside from a blowout loss at Michigan and a 17-point season-ending defeat at American Athletic Conference rival USF, the 6-6 Knights were a handful of plays from a possible 10-win season.We had a chance to win a bunch of games this year and we won enough to get to a bowl game, but I expect our young players to enjoy their succeess and use this as a springboard to keep on improving, Frost said.dddddddddddd Were on the right track and were going to keep taking steps in that direction.---Some other things to watch in the AutoNation Cure Bowl matchup between UCF and Arkansas State:SACK TANDEM: Arkansas State enters the game tied for 12th in the country with 37 sacks on the season, thanks in large part to the defensive end duo of senior Chris Odom and junior JaVon Rolland-Jones. Odom led the Red Wolves with 12 + sacks this season, while Roland-Jones -- the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year -- had 11 +. Combined, the two had 36 tackles for losses for the season.FRESHMAN SENSATION: Since taking over as the starter in the third game of the season against Maryland, freshman quarterback McKenzie Milton has been a stabilizing presence for the Knights. He is completing 60 percent of his passes and has a QB efficiency rating of 114.33.RED WOLVES REBOUND: The Red Wolves enter the Cure Bowl having won at least a share of the Sun Belt championship in five of the last six seasons, but theyve lost their last two bowl games. After opening this season 0-4, Arkansas State rebounded with a six-game winning streak and victories in seven of its last eight games to end the regular season.EASY MONEY: Money Hunter had only one interception in the Arkansas State secondary this season, but the senior did what he knows best with it -- returning it 46 yards for a touchdown in a win over New Mexico State.IMPACT PLAYER: It seemed like a reach when the new coaching staff decided to move junior Shaquem Griffin from safety to outside linebacker this season. But after being named AAC Defensive Player of the Year it seems like a great decision. He has 11 sacks this season, which ranks him 12th in the nation. Griffin also ranks 10th nationally in tackles-for-loss with 19.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '