Thursday at San Francisco, allowing nine hits

MARSEILLE, France -- The pressure is sharply increasing on Paris Saint-Germain and its coach, Unai Emery, heading into Sundays showdown with French league leader Nice.With Nice already four points ahead, a defeat would further weaken Emerys position.Key players are out of form, the defense is leaking goals, and Emery is struggling to impose his workmanlike methods after joining from Spanish side Sevilla.A 3-0 loss away to Montpellier last weekend was followed by a dismal 2-2 home draw against Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with PSG coming from behind twice to salvage a draw against one of Europes least heralded sides.Hardly the form expected of a side hoping to conquer Europe, having dominated French football for the past two seasons under former coach Laurent Blanc, who was fired in late June.Nice also changed coaches in the summer, but for different reasons and with a hugely positive effect.Swiss coach Lucien Favre replaced Claude Puel, who moved to Premier League club Southampton after finishing in a credible fourth place.Nices defense is well balanced, while its slick midfield of Younes Belhanda, Jean Michael Seri and Wylan Cyprien oozes classy passing.Favre has also relaunched the career of striker Mario Balotelli, following his two dismal seasons with Liverpool and AC Milan, and given talented young striker Alassane Plea the chance to shine.The quick, skillful Plea has nine league goals so far, while Balotelli has six in six games.The powerful Italian forward earned a reputation for his controversial behavior on and off the field, notably when he let off fireworks in his home when he played for Manchester City. But Balotelli has kept his head lately and a good performance against PSG would strengthen his comeback.Favre has gained glowing reviews for adapting quickly to the French league after six seasons with German club Borussia Moenchengladbach.By contrast, the media is coming down hard on Emery.Following the Ludogorets match, in which PSG needed an injury-time equalizer to draw, sports daily LEquipes headline of Appalling summed up the general view.The manner in which PSG conceded goals against Ludogorets and Montpellier was alarming.The Brazilian central defensive pairing of Olympic champion Marquinhos and former Brazil captain Thiago Silva is not working well, with Silva taking on too much responsibility compensating for very basic errors from Marquinhos in terms of marking and concentration.Lynchpin midfielder Thiago Motta -- one of PSGs best players over the past three seasons -- is making unusually sloppy mistakes. The 34-year-old Italy international looks increasingly leg weary.PSG has already lost three league games this season, one more than last term.Despite guiding the club to a second straight domestic treble and winning Ligue 1 by a staggering 31 points, Blanc was fired for failing to get beyond the quarterfinals of the Champions League once again.Emery was chosen by the clubs cash-rich and ambitious Qatari owners because of his three straight Europa League titles with Sevilla.The Spanish coachs Sevilla side was based on intense fitness levels and speedy counterattacking, whereas Blanc favored a more technical, possession-based approach.The transition is proving complex and the only PSG player standing out is Edinson Cavani, with 14 league goals and six in Europe.But that is because Cavani is finally playing in his favored position following Zlatan Ibrahimovics departure, rather than Emerys methods. 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DENVER -- Jorge De La Rosa will make his final start of the season Tuesday and most likely his last one for the Colorado Rockies, when he opposes the St. Louis Cardinals.The Rockies have been using a six-man rotation. Dropping De La Rosa from the rotation will enable German Marquez, a 21-year-old prospect, to make three starts, the last on the final day of the season.Marquez has made three relief appearances since being recalled earlier this month, and will make his first major league start Wednesday in the series finale against St. Louis.In lieu of De La Rosa, the Rockies will end the season with a rotation that includes Jon Gray, 24, Tyler Anderson, 26, Chad Bettis, 26, Tyler Chatwood, 26, and Marquez and might be the Rockies rotation when they begin the 2017 season.De La Rosa, 35, is making $12.5 million in the second season of his two-year, $25 million contract and can be a free agent after the season. His start Tuesday will be De La Rosas 200th with the Rockies.They acquired De La Rosa from Kansas City on April 30, 2008 for a player to be named or cash. At that point, De La Rosa was more about potential and stuff than consistency and results, but he became not just a reliable starter with the Rockies but a historically good one.He ranks first in franchise history with 86 wins, first in winning percentage (.589 with an 86-60 record), second in innings (1136 2/3), first in strikeouts (977), second in starts (199) and second in quality starts (102).De La Rosa also excelled at Coors Field, where he has won more games than any pitcher and has a record of 53-19 (.736).This season, De La Rosa is 8-8 with a 5.22 ERA. He lost his last outing Sept. 13 at Arizona, where he allowed six runs, five earned, in 3 1/3 innings. De La Rosa has yielded at least five runs in each of his past three outings.Hes 7-3 with a 4.18 ERA in 12 career starts against the Cardinals and 4-0 with a 4.01 ERA in four starts against them at Coors Field.Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu took over the lead Monday in the National League batting race with a .349 average, one point better thaan Washingtons Daniel Murphy.dddddddddddd.LeMahieu struck out 97 times in 2014 and a career-high 107 times when he hit a career-high .301 last year. This season, LeMahieu has a career-high 65 walks and 77 strikeouts, helping him compile a .420 on-base percentage.Ive been really impressed how hes cut down on his strikeouts, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. That was a conversation we had at the end of the year last year. For the type of hitter he was, he was striking out too much. We didnt have to tell him that. Hes a great self-evaluator. Hes the one that said it.The fact that hes cut his strikeouts way back just confirms that hes got great feel (for the game). Hes very adaptable. I think hes a superstar. He doesnt get a lot of play nationally, but I think hes a superstar.Adam Wainwright, who is 11-9 with a 4.51 ERA, will start Tuesday for the Cardinals. He lost his last start Thursday at San Francisco, allowing nine hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings as the Cardinals fell 6-2.Wainwright is 8-1 with a 1.31 ERA in 13 games, nine starts, against the Rockies and 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA in four games, three starts, at Coors Field.The Cardinals won their third straight game Monday, beating Colorado 5-3 to pull even with San Francisco in the race for the second wild-card spot. The New York Mets lead the Cardinals and Giants by one game for the first wild-card position.The Cardinals are in the midst of an 11-day, 10-game trip that began with four games against wild-card rival San Francisco and will conclude with three games against the arch rival Chicago Cubs.Before Mondays game, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny quickly dismissed the notion that the three-game set with the Rockies might be a trap series.Not to us, Matheney said. They all mean everything. I wouldnt say for a second that we put any more focus on San Francisco or any other series. Every game is the biggest game of the year, and thats just going to continue all the way through. ' ' '