LOS ANGELES — Almost a month removed from his magical major league debut http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-victor-martinez-jersey , Daniel Poncedeleon will return to the St. Louis Cardinals‘ rotation, with an outing in his native Southern California.The right-hander will face the Los Angeles Dodgers and will no doubt be brimming with confidence. His only other big league start came July 23 at Cincinnati, when the right-hander delivered seven no-hit innings before he was removed after throwing 116 pitches.The Cardinals ultimately lost that game 2-1, but gained a winner in Poncedeleon, who was born in nearby Anaheim and went to high school in La Mirada. Moved to the Cardinals’ bullpen after his inspiring debut, St. Louis has won every game Poncedelon has appeared in since, keeping the legend of the 26-year old alive and well.Article continues below ...Perhaps the most impressive part of his debut was that it came 14 months after undergoing emergency surgery to stop bleeding in his brain after he was hit by a line drive in a Triple-A game.“I don’t know if words can describe it,” Cardinals interim manager Mike Shildt said, according to mlb.com. “You talk about magical, with what he’s dealt with, what he’s come back from. Making his MLB debut, throwing seven innings without giving up a hit, that’s what’s magical about this game and special about this game.”Poncedeleon will pitch opposite Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu Nick Castellanos Jersey , who is working on his own story of resilience. Injured often over the past four seasons, with a bevy of maladies, Ryu was out for another 3 1/2 months this year with a left groin strain.He finally returned to the Dodgers’ rotation Wednesday and gave up three hits over six scoreless innings in a Los Angeles victory that allowed the Dodgers to avoid a three-game sweep by the rival San Francisco Giants.“I’ve said it before, that you win with starting pitching,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Our starters have been lights out, they really have. And to get (Ryu) back, the way he’s throwing the baseball, that’s a huge boost for our club.”In four career appearances against the Cardinals (three starts), Ryu has a solid 1.50 ERA over 24 innings.Another huge boost for the Dodgers is the return of Kenley Jansen from an irregular heartbeat. The right-hander went on the disabled list Aug. 10 and was cleared to return Monday after going on blood thinning medication. But he ended up taking the loss Monday when he gave up two ninth-inning home runs to the Cardinals.The Dodgers will need all the pitching they can get against a Cardinals’ offense that has hit a home run in 13 consecutive games, the longest current active streak in baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies had the longest streak this year at 16 games.The Cardinals are not only 22-11 under interim manager Mike Shildt, they are 15-4 in August, the best record in the National League over the month.The Dodgers moved into a tie for first place with a victory Aug. 1, but are 8-10 in the month and have fallen to third place http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-james-mccann-jersey , 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks and two back of the Colorado Rockies. WASHINGTON — National League Cy Young Award candidates square off in Thursday’s series finale between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals.Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (14-3, 2.24 ERA) opposes right-hander Max Scherzer (16-5, 2.11) as the Nationals (64-63) go for the sweep after Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off, two-out, two-run homer gave them an 8-7 win on Wednesday night.Zimmerman’s shot off closer Seranthony Dominguez was his 11th career walk-off homer and first since 2016.Article continues below ...“That guy is nasty,” Zimmerman said after Washington won its second straight game following the trades of Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams. “Ninth inning, a close game and the other team has the lead, those (closers) are usually pretty good. I kind of put the pressure on them. They’re supposed to get me out.”The Phillies (68-58) have lost four straight and nine of 13. They trail first-place Atlanta by three games.“This is a big test for us,” manager Gave Kapler said after Philadelphia wasted an 11-hit night. “Big challenge to have a tough week like we’ve had and then to have an excruciating loss like the one we had tonight. Our guys aren’t going to hang our heads. We’re going to come back swinging tomorrow.”Nola and Scherzer appear at or near the top of the various NL pitching categories. Scherzer is first in wins and Nola is second. Scherzer is second in ERA behind Jacob deGrom of the Mets and Nola is third. Scherzer is first in strikeouts (234) and innings pitched (174 2/3) and second in ERA, while Nola is seventh in strikeouts (160), fifth in innings pitched (161) and third in ERA.And in terms of Thursday being a matinee, Scherzer is third in daytime ERA (2.24) and Nola is fifth (2.86).Nola hasn’t lost since July 14. Last time out he allowed one run and three hits over seven innings of a win against the Mets on Friday. He struck out 11 and walked one.“It’s pretty nasty,” Roman Quinn told philly.com of watching Nola’s curveball from center field. “I’ve seen it in live batting practice once before and it’s not something you want to stand in front of. He’s steady rolling and it’s fun to watch him pitch.”Scherzer hasn’t lost since July 2 Shane Greene Jersey , going 6-0 with a pair of no-decision since then. Last Friday he threw six shutout innings in an 8-2 victory over the Miami Marlins. He allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked one. At the plate, he doubled for his career-high 16th hit of the season — improving his average to .296 — and scored twice from second base.“He does it all for us,” Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper told the Washington Post. “Every fifth day, he goes out there and pitches the ball well and runs the pillows really well and scores.”Scherzer has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last six starts and is 16 strikeouts shy of a fifth consecutive season with at least 250.Against the Phillies this season, Scherzer picked up a no-decision on May 6 despite allowing one run with 15 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. He’s 9-1 with a 2.50 ERA against them in 15 career starts.Odubel Herrera is 12-for-36 (.333) versus Scherzer, while Asdrubal Cabrera is 15-for-64 (.234), Cesar Hernandez is 8-for-35 (.229) and Maikel Franco is 3-for-23 (.130).Nola has already beaten the Nationals twice this season, allowing three runs and nine hits over 13 2/3 innings in those two starts. For his career, Nola is 3-4 with a 3.99 ERA in 12 starts.Harper is 9-for-23 (.391) against Nola with two homers and five RBIs. Anthony Rendon is 6-for-24 (.250) with a homer and Zimmerman is 3-for-20 (.150).