Unser Chat » A look at what’s happening around the majors

today:PRIZE FIGHTTop contenders for the NL Cy Young Award square off when Aaron Nola (14-3 http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , 2.24 ERA) and the Phillies face Max Scherzer (16-5, 2.11) and the Nationals in their series finale. Nola is 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts this season against Washington, which has won consecutive games against Philadelphia since trading away Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams. The second-place Phillies are three games behind Atlanta in the NL East, while the Nationals are 7½ games back.PAIR OF ACESIn another marquee matchup on the mound, it’s Jacob deGrom (8-7, 1.71 ERA) and the Mets hosting Madison Bumgarner (4-5, 3.05) and the Giants for a Citi Field matinee. Also a leading candidate for the NL Cy Young, deGrom is coming off his third career complete game and first this season last Saturday in a 3-1 win at Philadelphia. Bumgarner is 5-0 with a 0.47 ERA in five starts at Citi Field. He last faced New York in the 2016 NL wild-card game, pitching a four-hit shutout that sent San Francisco to the NLDS.E-WING SWINGIN’Boston tries to slow down Edwin Encarnacion and the Indians as the major league-leading Red Sox seek a split of their four-game series between AL division leaders. Encarnacion cleared the Green Monster twice Wednesday night after being sidelined since Aug. 12 with a bruised right wrist http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , though Boston still beat Cleveland 10-4 to end a three-game skid. Encarnacion has 27 homers and is trying to reach 30 for the seventh straight season, stretching the longest active streak in the majors. Red Sox left-hander David Price (13-6, 3.69) is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA since the All-Star break.IMMEDIATE DIVIDENDSCole Hamels is 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA in four starts for the NL Central-leading Cubs since they acquired him from Texas in a July 27 trade. Hamels pitches the opener of a four-game series at Wrigley Field against last-place Cincinnati. One day after obtaining Daniel Murphy from Washington to boost their sagging lineup, the Cubs finally broke loose Wednesday night in an 8-2 victory at Detroit. Chicago, which homered three times, had scored exactly one run in each of its previous five games. Murphy singled home a run in his first game with the Cubs.TOO HOT CORNERWil Myers’ move to third base got messy Wednesday. The Padres‘ infielder was scratched from a game against Colorado with a cut on his nose after taking a grounder to the face while practicing at his new position. Myers was fielding grounders at third during batting practice when a ball went over his glove and struck him. He left the field holding a towel over his face with a trainer near his side. Myers was scheduled to make his eighth start at the hot corner as San Diego experiments with sliding the veteran outfielder and first baseman across the diamond. CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs had hoped to use the past four days to maintain or pad their lead in the National League Central, but the weather certainly didn’t cooperate.Heading into a pivotal three-game series against the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs will attempt to again create some distance. The series opens a day after Chicago’s scheduled series finale against the Washington Nationals was washed out by rain, which was a constant throughout the weekend.The Cubs will attempt to bounce back after being swept in a Saturday doubleheader that was forced after Friday’s scheduled game was rained out as well.Article continues below ...“The bright side is just getting through (the weekend) Curtis Granderson Jersey ,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “We’ve done really well through this stretch. I’ve been really pleased with it and it’s not easy to do what we’ve been doing over the past couple of weeks and how well we’ve actually played.”Despite losing their past two games, the Cubs are 4-4 in their last eight games, which had allowed the Cubs to maintain their cushion over the Brewers. But the margin has been trimmed to two games after Milwaukee completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants on Sunday with a 6-3 victory.The Brewers will enter Monday’s series opener having won eight of their past 10 games and captured two of three from the Cubs last week. Now, with the Cubs within reach, the Brewers head to Chicago with the front-runners in their sights.“Something we’ve been talking about (is) ‘Don’t think about the wild card — think about the division,” said Brewers pitcher Jhoulys Chacin, who will take the mound Tuesday. “We have the chance this week. It feels really important now.”Jon Lester will take the mound as the Cubs attempt to get back on a winning track after the wet weekend in Washington.Lester (15-5, 3.53 ERA) has won three of his past four starts but hasn’t pitched since Sept. 2. Lester threw six scoreless innings in his last outing against the Philadelphia Phillies when he scattered six hits and struck out seven.Lester was scheduled to pitch Friday Jaime Garcia Jersey , but when the game was rained out, it allowed the Cubs ace to open the series against Milwaukee on Monday rather than pitch Wednesday’s series finale.Lester is 4-2 with a 2.40 ERA in seven career starts against the Brewers.Milwaukee will counter with Wade Miley (3-2, 2.12) as the Brewers attempt to continue to close the gap. Miley has won just won of his six previous starts but shut down the Cubs last week when he allowed just one earned run in six innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five. Miley is 5-2 with a 4.13 ERA in eight career starts against the Cubs.Miley has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his 12 starts with the Brewers and, like the rest of his teammates, believe that catching the Cubs and capturing the division title is well within reach.“Why wouldn’t it be? Heck, yeah,” Miley said after his last start, according to the Brewers’ official website. “I don’t think you quit thinking about it until you can’t think about it no more. I think that’s the way to go about it.”