Vorstellung des Teams » CHICAGO — When Cole Hamels joined the Chicago

Cubs earlier this season Alex Bregman Jersey , the veteran starter didn’t expect he would take on such a vital role. But as the Cubs close in on what they hope is their third straight National League Central Division title, Hamels could be a major reason why. Coming off his worst start joining the Cubs, Hamels will attempt to keep Chicago moving in the right direction when he takes the mound Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field.Hamels (9-10, 3.90 ERA) has not recorded a victory since Aug. 28 and had registered no-decisions in three straight starts before being roughed up in his last outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks.Article continues below ...Now, with the Cubs magic number at five to clinch the division title after a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox Sunday, Hamels hopes to rebound Monday against the Pirates. Hamels is coming off a start in which he allowed seven runs and nine hits over six innings as he surrendered more than three earned runs for the first time since July 23 — his final start with the Texas Rangers. Hamels is 5-3 with a 2.49 ERA in 12 career starts against Pittsburgh.Despite taking two of three games from the White Sox over the weekend, the Cubs realize that they still have to take care of their business as they cling to a 2 1/2 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers with seven games to play.“Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves,” Cubs ace Jon Lester told reporters Saturday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “We’re only 2 1/2 games ahead. We have a long way to go.”The Cubs will attempt to keep their focus set on the Pirates, who will look to play spoiler starting Monday against the Brewers. But as Chicago attempts to close out the division title, second baseman Javier Baez says Chicago cannot become consumed by the teams chasing them.“We know what we have,” Baez said Saturday, according to the Tribune. “We just have to stay away from every other team. They have to pay attention to us http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , not us to them. If we do that, we should be good.”The Pirates will travel to Chicago having lost having officially been eliminated from playoff contention. Their 13-6 loss to the Brewers, coupled with the Cardinals’ victory over the Giants wiped out any hopes Pittsburgh had of seeing the season extend beyond the next week.Despite Sunday’s loss, Pittsburgh has won six of their past eight games and could have an impact on Chicago’s division title chances depending on how they next four days against the Cubs play out.But impacting other teams’ title chances doesn’t diminish the disappointment the Pirates feel after failing to miss the postseason for the third straight season.“If we figure out how to win one game a month more, we’re in a very different spot as we finish this season,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told reporters before Sunday’s game, according to MLB.com. “If we win two games a month more, we’re fighting for a division, which is ultimately where we want to be, because (it puts you in) best positions you to win a World Series.”Jameson Taillon (13-9, 3.24) will take the mound for the Pirates on Monday having won four of his past six starts.Taillon threw seven scoreless innings in his last outing against the Kansas City Royals when he allowed just four hits and struck out 11. Taillon is 3-3 with a 4.35 ERA in seven career starts against the Cubs. Straily has been a career 4.23 ERA pitcher, but his Marlins rotation spot could be in jeopardy."WhiteFanposts Sections News & RumorsAnalysisPodcastsProspects & DraftGame CoverageFull ArchiveMasthead Social Marlins Players on TwitterFish Stripes on InstagramMarlins Media Members Fish Stripes Best of 2018 Marlins StoriesScheduleRosterStatsCommunity Guidelines StubHub 鉁昅iami Marlins Analysis2019 Marlins Season Preview2019 Marlins Season Preview: Dan StrailyNew,3commentsStraily has been a career 4.23 ERA pitcher Brian McCann Jersey , but his Marlins rotation spot could be in jeopardy.EDTShareTweetShareShare2019 Marlins Season Preview: Dan StrailySteve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsDanStraily is in a weird spot this year for the Marlins. The 30-year-old has been back end of the rotation quality for most of his career in the majors. He owns zero seasons with an earned run average below 3.50. While Straily used to be useful as an innings eater who could hold the thin Fish pitching staff together, he’s being squeezed out in 2019 by a wave of electric, inexpensive starters.How did he get here? Traded on January 19, 2017 from the Reds to the Marlins for Zeek White, Austin Brice and Luis Castillo.2018 MLB Stats: 4.12 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 99 K in 122.1 IP2019 ZiPS Projection: 5.04 ERA, 5.34 FIP, 1.43 WHIP, 113 K in 135.2 IPStraily and right-hander Luis Castillo are permanently linked to one another. For reasons that remain unclear, the Marlins were determined to trade Castillo once he emerged as their farm system’s most promising power arm. Selling high on Straily coming off his solid 2016 campaign, the Reds accepted Castillo as the centerpiece of the trade. He has quickly demonstrated more potential for missing bats than the veteran ever did http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , a frustrating reminder to Fish fans of the old regime’s incompetence.While Castillo continues to improve, Straily is not projected to do the same. The National League East will be treacherous for pitchers this season, particularly for those who lack the tools to escape jams via strikeout. The Oregon native has allowed 82 home runs since 2016, the highest total of anybody in the NL, and he’s been somewhat fortunate that those haven’t resulted in more total runs against him.Without special fastball velocity, Straily relies on deception and smart sequencing. He is an intellectual who leans on technology to help him overachieve, as detailed by the Miami Herald last summer.The Marlins have their fingers crossed that Straily’s luck holds up through the first half of 2019. His $5 million salary is very movable at the trade deadline if he can keep fly balls in the field of play and benefit from having quality fielders behind him.This spring, Straily is focused more on experimentation than results, so no reason to overreact to nine earned runs and six homers allowed in 11 1鈦? innings pitched. Regardless of how he performs, his veteran guidance and willingness to take the ball every fifth day carry some value for a rebuilding club.