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A five-game winning streak wasn’t enough to lift the Chicago Cubs out of last place in a tightly packed National League Central. But the Cubs will get another chance to torment another NL East team on Monday night, when they continue a homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a four-game series. Colin Rea (2-0, 3.63 ERA) is slated to take the mound for the Cubs against Aaron Nola (1-1, 4.03) in a battle of right-handers. Both teams continued going in opposite directions while completing a home series Sunday. The Cubs closed out a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 2-1, 10-inning win, while the Phillies suffered their fifth consecutive loss as the Atlanta Braves

The Cleveland Guardians won three of four games against the Baltimore Orioles to begin their seven-day homestand. Next up are the free-falling Houston Astros, who arrive Monday to open a three-game set against the American League Central leaders. In a matchup of 26-year-old right-handers, the Guardians’ Slade Cecconi (0-2, 5.03 ERA) will oppose the Astros’ Spencer Arrighetti (1-0, 1.50). Regardless of what happens in the series, the feel-good moment of the homestand has already occurred. It involved a diamond being presented on the baseball diamond. Veteran catcher Austin Hedges became engaged to his girlfriend Lexi Dickinson near third base on Sunday, shortly after Cleveland beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4. Hedges won two replay challenges behind the plate and scored a

The Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays will open a three-game set Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., and look to keep moving forward with their early winning ways. The National League Central’s first-place club, Cincinnati will start the second half of a six-game road swing. The first portion of it ended Sunday as the Reds swept the Minnesota Twins 7-4 with a rally in 10 innings, scoring six times in the final two frames to stay perfect on the trip. “I just like the life and the enthusiasm and the competitiveness,” Reds skipper Terry Francona said after Saturday’s 5-4 win from a two-run deficit, perhaps a prelude to Sunday’s comeback. “I love the will to keep playing.” Cincinnati’s Monday

The Washington Nationals will try to cool off Michael Harris II and the surging Atlanta Braves when the teams open a four-game series on Monday night. The visiting Braves have won five straight and 9 of 11 following a 4-2 win at the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night. Washington salvaged the finale of a three-game series against the visiting San Francisco Giants with a 3-0 shutout on Sunday. The Nationals will send right-hander Jake Irvin (1-2, 6.16 ERA) against Braves righty Bryce Elder (2-1, 0.77) in the opener. Irvin lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 in his last start on Wednesday, working five innings and giving up two runs on four hits. He settled in after allowing both runs in