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CHICAGO — When Cole Hamels joined the Chicago Cubs earlier this season Adam Engel 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, 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 http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-davidson-jersey , 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. The Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed in six new legends, asVladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Jack Morris, Jim Thome and Alan Trammell were all enshrined Sunday in Cooperstown, New York.Jones probably wouldn't receive a warm welcome in New York on most occasions given the way he and the Atlanta Braves dominated the National League East through the 1990s and early 2000s. The Braves were NL East champions from 1995 to 2005, while Jones retired as an eight-time All-Star and the 1999 NL Most Valuable Player.The trio of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz were integral pieces to Atlanta's string of division titles, and Jones gave them their just due during his speech. He did, however, reserve a pretty good burn for Smoltz:Jayson Stark jaysonstChipper on his pal John Smoltz: 鈥淪moltzie always pitched like his hair was on fire. Looking at (his lack of hair) it all makes sense now.鈥滼ones also shouted out former teammate Andruw Jones, who was a 10-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star in 12 seasons with the Braves:Grant McAuley grantmcauleyChipper Jones said he hopes #Braves teammate Andruw Jones will join him in Cooperstown one day. quot;Druw, Im proud to call you my brother from another mother.quot; #ChipperHOFBob Nightengale BNightengaleChipper Jones says he hopes former teammate Andruw Jones joins him one day in Cooperstown.Andruw Jones' career tailed off after he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he was one of the most complete outfielders in MLB during his prime. Despite his rapid decline, Jones' peak years are enough to warrant enshrinement.The highlight of Chipper Jones' speech came when he recounted a meeting with Mickey Mantle at a trading card show in Atlanta,per 11Alive'sJay Clemons.According to Jones, Mantle said he had had a recurring dream in which he arrived at the pearly gatesand saw God."Don't worry, Mick. You'll get in Lucas Giolito Jersey ," God said to Mantle in the dream. "But hey, before that, can you please sign these 15 baseballs?"Jones said he had come to understand the anecdote over his career and retirement.Charlie Manuel had a big impact on Thome's career, first as a manager in the Cleveland Indians' minor league system and then as the Indians' hitting coach. Thome credited Manuel for helping him become one of baseball's pre-eminent sluggers in the 1990s:MLB Network MLBNetworkquot;You know I wouldnt be standing here today without you. Thank you for everything.quot; An emotional Jim Thome thanks Charlie Manuel in his Hall of Fame induction speech. #HOFWKND XhCSCOpQ4IOne of Thome's contemporaries, Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, was moved by his speech:Anthony Rizzo ARizzo44鈥淚f you try to conduct yourself with authenticity and honesty, the end result is one of the most natural highs a human being can have鈥?Thome, what an amazing speech by an amazing person!The Thome family not only got to celebrate Jim's induction but also watch his daughter, Lila Thome, deliver the national anthem prior to the ceremony. Cleveland.com was on hand in Cooperstown to capture her rendition:clevelanddotcom clevelanddotcomJim Thomes daughter Lila sang the National Anthem at the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. How great is this?! 4xTH4vuMA1Guerrero generally shied away from the spotlight during his playing career, and that continued during his Hall of Fame induction. With the help of Jose Mota as his interpreter, the 2004 American League Most Valuable Player kept his speech short and sweet."I wanted to let my bat do the talking," Guerrero said, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. "But now that I'm done playing, I'm proud to be standing here, talking to you."Guerrero is the first position player from the Dominican Republic to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. His hometown was close to his heart as he closed his speech:MLB Network MLBNetwork.VladGuerrero27 thanks his hometown in the Dominican Republic as he is enshrined into the baseballhall! #HOFWKND zlK8syZM2jHoffman stepped to the podium next and delivered a speech that was arguably the best of the day. The seven-time All-Star spanned his entire baseball career, including his years in junior college before arriving in MLB:Adam McCalvy AdamMcCalvyHoffmans speech included a thanks to Brewers medical director Roger Caplinger, who is battling cancer. quot;Keep up the fight,quot; Hoffman said.Gabe Lacques GabeLacquesTrevor Hoffman starting with an quot;Oh, Doctor!quot; and shouting out clubbies and JC coaches and siblings along the way was more or less perfection.AJ Cassavell AJCassavellTrevor Hoffmans speech was as good as they come - not that we expected anything less.Hoffman closed his speech with a heartfelt message to his wife."You shared with me this amazing journey of ups and downs from the beginning, always never letting me get too high or get too low http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-nicky-delmonico-jersey ," he said, per the Associated Press (via the Washington Post). "I love you."The Detroit Tigers are headed for a fourth straight season without playoff baseball in 2018, but Sunday was an opportunity to feel nostalgic and celebrate better times. Both Trammell and Morris were members of the Tigers team that won a World Series in 1984.Sunday also represented the end of a long journey for Trammell and Morris.Trammell got40.9 percent of the vote in 2016, which was his 15th and final year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Morris, meanwhile, fell off the ballot in 2014 after collecting61.5 percent of the vote in his final year.TheModern Baseball Era Committee voted them into the Hall of Fame during the winter meetings in December.Morris called being enshrined in the same Hall of Fame class as Trammell a "dream come true,"perUSA Today'sBob Nightengale.Trammell formed one of MLB's best double-play duos with second baseman Lou Whitaker over nearly two decades."My hope is someday you'll be up here as well," he said of Whitaker, per the Detroit Free Press' Anthony Fenech.Trammell singled out former Tigers manager Sparky Anderson as well."I looked at Sparky much like an extension of my parents," he said, per Nightengale. "I'm so happy our lives crossed."The 2018 Hall of Fame class was loaded from top to bottom, and that might be the case in 2019 as well. Edgar Martinez is inching toward his induction after getting 70.4 percent of votes a year ago. The same can be said of Mike Mussina (63.5 percent), too.Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Todd Helton headline the stars who will be eligible starting in 2019, with Rivera and Halladay the most likely inductees in their first go-round.