CLEVELAND -- The Chicago Cubs lavished Jon Lester with a $155 million contract in the winter of 2014 precisely for moments like the one he faced Tuesday night.On the road. Under the lights. In Game 1 of the World Series, with a chance to take a big step toward ending 108 years of franchise futility.And for the first time on baseballs biggest stage, Lester faltered. While his performance in Chicagos 6-0 loss to the Indians was hardly a meltdown, the left-hander managed just 5 2/3 ordinary innings when something significantly more was required to keep up with Cleveland ace Corey Kluber.Jonny pitched -- wasnt on top of his game, but really gave us a chance to win, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.The Indians didnt so much knock Lester around while sending him to his first World Series setback in four starts so much as they took advantage of the limited opportunities he gave them during a shaky first inning. Cleveland opened a two-run lead that felt considerably larger the way Kluber was dealing.When youre going against a guy like Kluber whos locked in from pitch one, to give up two in the first, its tough, Lester said.Lester took the mound having allowed just one run in 21 innings in the World Series during a career that includes a pair of championship rings he earned with the Boston Red Sox. By the time he got the final out of the first, Cleveland had doubled that total.Things began innocently enough. He struck out Rajai Davis and Jason Kipnis before Lesters postseason dominance briefly vanished.Francisco Lindor singled and took a massive lead off first, knowing all about Lesters inability to hold runners due to a tic that prevents him from making pickoff attempts with any kind of consistency or accuracy. At one point, Lester stepped off and Lindor found himself a good 25 feet off the bag. Yet rather than throw over, Lester stood and watched as Lindor scampered back to safety.It was hardly the first time opposing runners have toyed with Lester. Yet it seemed to be one of the rare occasions when it rattled him. He had trouble working out of the stretch and walked Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana to load the bases. Jose Ramirezs swinging bunt then brought Lindor home to stoke an already electrified crowd. When a 1-1 pitch hit Brandon Guyer on the leg, Chicago trailed 2-0.The first inning was tonights game, Lester said.Though he settled down -- thanks in part to catcher David Ross throwing out Lindor trying to steal in the third -- Lester again ran into trouble in the fourth when No. 9 batter Roberto Perez lined a solo shot that clanged off the railing above the wall in left field for the first of his two home runs.Yet its not the home run but the walks that are going to stick with Lester regardless of how comfortable -- or uncomfortable -- he felt when pitching with runners on base.I just didnt execute some things out there tonight, he said. Maybe if they get out of the first with nothing, maybe things are different.Lester, who came in 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA during the 2016 playoffs, handed the ball to manager Joe Maddon with two outs in the sixth and trudged to the dugout after giving up three runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.And when Perez clocked a three-run shot off reliever Hector Rondon in the eighth, the Cubs found themselves turning to Jake Arrieta for Game 2 on Wednesday night hoping to avoid heading back to Wrigley Field down 2-0 following a rare stumble by their ace who typically oozes October cool.Tomorrow we can get right back in it, Lester said. Everybody counted us out after Game 3 (of the NLCS) and called us the worst best team in baseball. ... Ill look to Jake to pick us up. Wholesale Custom Basketball Jerseys Store . 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Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. CINCINNATI -- Linebacker Vontaze Burfict is finished with his NFL suspension, looking to put his emphatic imprint on Cincinnatis struggling defense.Tight end Tyler Eifert is close to full strength after recovering from ankle surgery, eager to become the top passing option near the goal line again.The Bengals are finally back together, looking to dig out of their worst start in five years when they host the Dolphins on Thursday night.The Bengals (1-2) have been out of sync on both offense and defense. They failed to make any game-turning plays in the fourth quarter of back-to-back losses against the Steelers and the Broncos. With Burfict back and Eifert close to form, theyve got two of their top playmakers available again.I just do my job, take control of my defense, just be a leader out there, Burfict said. I do what I can.The Dolphins (1-2) are simply trying to hold it together. They got their first victory on Sunday in overtime when Cleveland missed a field goal at the end of regulation.There wasnt much time to celebrate because of the quick turnaround and a mess on offense.Tight end Jordan Cameron suffered his fourth concussion and has been ruled out for Thursday night. Left tackle Branden Albert and center Anthony Steen have sprained ankles.Right tackle JaWuan James was pulled from the game against Cleveland after allowing a late sack. Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey has missed the first three games while recovering from a hip injury.Well see where it goes, coach Adam Gase said. Weve got a couple of moving pieces, obviously, with our injury situation.Its a game that neither team can afford to lose.Being 1-2, in my opinion, we need to definitely finish the quarter (of the season) at 2-2 and go from there, or else we put ourselves in a very tough bind for the rest of the season, Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said.Some things to watch on Thursday night:HOW MUCH FOR BURFICT?Its likely that Burfict will play most of the game on Thursday even though he missed the preseason and the first three games. Last season, Burfict was recovering from knee surgery and missed the first six games. In his return in Pittsburgh, he made solo tackles on the first two plays and was on the field for nearly half of the defenses plays.Well just seee how its going, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said.dddddddddddd Thats kind of what happened in Pittsburgh last year. I said, `Every series, just tell me how youre feeling and well go from there.RUN ITAfter getting next-to-nothing out of its running game in the first two games, Cincinnati put an emphasis on it Sunday and got immediate results. Jeremy Hill carried four times for 65 yards in an opening touchdown drive. After that, the Bengals managed only 78 yards on 25 carries, an average of 3.1. It was better, but still not up to standards. The Dolphins run defense is second-to-last in the league.SPUTTERING DOLPHINSQuarterback Ryan Tannehill is the Dolphins leading rusher with 54 yards on the season, and they used four running backs in Sundays win over Cleveland with limited success. Gase said he sees progress in the ground game. The rotation at running back came about with starter Arian Foster sidelined by a groin injury.Youd always love to be able to say, `Lets get a guy in there and get 15, 20 touches and see how it goes, Gase said. I need somebody to step up and be consistent and do their job throughout the entire game, not just one good play here and then we screw up, and then another good play. Were too up-and-down.PLAUDITS FOR PUNTERStruggling to find someone to praise this week, Gase cited his punter -- perhaps a sign things the season arent going well. Second-year pro Matt Darr averaged 48.8 yards against Cleveland and put four of his six kicks inside the 20. Darr understands that punters can make a big impact on a game when the offense is struggling.Weve got all kinds of weapons on this team -- offense, defense -- and on special teams there should be some, too, Darr said.HOME BLUESThe Bengals are only 10-6 at Paul Brown Stadium in the past two seasons, including a first-round playoff loss to Pittsburgh. The Bengals play their next two games at Dallas and New England, underscoring how important it is for the defending AFC North champions to win on Thursday.---AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '