In the middle of a playoff race Authentic Kerryon Johnson Jersey , the Philadelphia Phillies want Aaron Nola to pitch as much as possible.That’s why manager Gabe Kapler moved up the Phillies’ ace to start in Sunday’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs. Jon Lester takes the ball for the Cubs, who are trying to win the three-game series. The Phillies are looking for their first series win in four weeks. The Cubs have won nine of their last 11 games.Article continues below ...Nola (15-3, 2.10 ERA), a first time All-Star in 2018, is in the thick of the Cy Young race, outpitching Washington’s Max Scherzer in his last two starts.Nola, whose 2.10 ERA ranks second in the National League behind Jacob deGrom, finished August on one of the best stretches of his season.Nola has a 0.64 ERA in his last four starts, giving up two earned runs and 16 hits in 28 innings. The 25-year-old has 33 strikeouts and seven walks during that span.The Phillies are three games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East after their loss Saturday. The team is 19-8 in Nola’s 27 starts in 2018, and Kapler was quick to move him up in the rotation.“Mostly because Nola is awesome,” Kapler said to MLB.com, explaining the decision. ” … Nola has been tremendous and we wanted him starting sooner than later.”Nola will be on usual rest because of the Phillies’ off day Thursday. It also gives Nola an extra start at Citizens Bank Park Authentic Deshaun Watson Jersey , where he is 9-0 with a 1.94 ERA in 13 starts this season.Nola is 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA in two career starts against the Cubs.Lester (14-5, 3.67) has been dominant against the Phillies in his career. He is 7-0 with a 1.64 ERA, 0.978 WHIP and .204 batting average in nine starts against Philadelphia. The 34-year-old has not faced the Phillies this season, but also owns a 1.29 ERA in four starts at Citizens Bank Park.In Lester’s last outing, he gave up three runs, five hits and three walks in six innings against the New York Mets. He also knocked in a two-run single off Noah Syndergaard in a 7-4 victory.The Cubs have won in each of Lester’s last three starts, and he has a 2.04 ERA during that stretch.Chicago saw the return of third baseman Kris Bryant on Saturday. Bryant was playing for the Cubs for the first time since July 23, coming back after missing time with left shoulder inflammation.Bryant, the 2016 MVP, went 2-for-4 with a double in his return, and is batting .279 with an .858 OPS this season.“My shoulder is fine,” Bryant told MLB.com before rejoining the Cubs’ lineup. “My shoulder feels good http://www.houstontexansteamonline.com/deshaun-watson-jersey , strong. I’ve taken all the precautions to make sure it does feel good, which is taking a month off and tweaking some things here and there.“I don’t know if he’s going to give me a day off because of the shoulder or because of feeling physically tired, but my shoulder feels good.”Sunday marks the final regular-season meeting. Chicago has taken three of the first five games against Philadelphia. The Arizona Diamondbacks re-signed infielder Eduardo Escobar to a three-year extension, the team announced Monday.According to the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro, the deal is worth $21 million.After playing for the Minnesota Twins since 2012, Escobar was traded to Arizona at the 2018 MLB non-waiver trade deadline as the Diamondbacks attempted to make a postseason push. However, the team came up short in its quest to continue playing into October.Overall in 2018, Escobar hit.272with23home runs,48doubles,threetriples and84RBI between Minnesota and Arizona. The switch-hitter posted a.268average witheighthomers,11doubles and21RBI in54games with the Diamondbacks.As valuable as Escobar's bat can be, the29-year-oldalso brings versatility in the field. He has no shortage of experience playing short Deshaun Watson Jersey Elite , second and third, and he also has made appearances at all three outfield positions in his career. That versatility will give managerTorey Lovullo flexibility when injuries inevitably arise."We feel like he complements what we鈥檙e trying to do pretty well," Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said in July, per Piecoro. "He plays a good defensive infield, (brings) versatility, experience at multiple positions, being a switch hitter (who is) dominant from the left side. We felt like given our right-handed lineup that he added a lot to that for us."Although Escobar couldn't help the Diamondbacks reach the postseason for the second consecutive year, they did see enough in him to want him to be a part of their future plans.