The Battle for the Ohio Cup resumes Monday night as the Cincinnati Reds host the Cleveland Guardians in the opener of a three-game series.

Cleveland captured the final two games of the three-game set the Guardians hosted in mid-May. The Guardians can re-capture the Ohio Cup if they can duplicate that feat on the road.

The Reds return home feeling good about their recent play after a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 10 innings on Sunday. The win capped off a strong 6-3 road trip coming out of the All-Star break, giving the club three consecutive road series victories.

The Reds will look to their ace to continue their modest momentum in their return home. Right-hander Chase Burns (12-1, 2.42 ERA) takes the hill for Cincinnati for the second time since signing a seven-year, $105 million extension and for the second time since skipping the All-Star Game due to a tweaked groin.

Set to make his 20th start of the season, Burns has racked up 124 strikeouts over 107 2/3 innings while limiting opponents to a meager .204 batting average. Relying primarily on an elite 98-mph four-seam fastball paired with a devastating 91-mph slider, the 23-year old All-Star has surrendered two earned runs or fewer in 16 of his 19 outings this year.

Last Tuesday in Seattle, he earned a 4-2 win, laboring a bit while throwing 91 pitches over five innings. But still he held the Mariners scoreless and earned his 11th consecutive winning decision, the longest such streak by a Reds pitcher since Tom Browning and John Franco each won 11 straight in 1985.

“I told him there’s going to be a day where he goes out and throws two more innings. It’s just not now,” Reds manager Terry Francona said of pulling Burns after just five innings. “He competes really well. I didn’t think he had his best fastball, but his slider is still such a weapon.”

Burns took the decision in stride.

“Just knocking off some rust. Just getting back in the groove of things,” Burns said. “I was excited to get back out there. I didn’t get to pitch in the All-Star Game, so I was hungry to get back out there.”

In Sunday’s win in St. Louis, solo home runs from Elly De La Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes kept Cincinnati close, but it was the 10th-inning heroics that secured the rubber match. All-Star rookie Sal Stewart delivered a clutch, go-ahead pinch-hit single to split the tie before Nathaniel Lowe broke the game open with a two-run single.

Cincinnati’s super utility man Spencer Steer left Sunday’s game in the fifth inning with right wrist pain after taking an awkward swing. X-rays were negative.

The Cleveland Guardians are looking to turn things around after a tough weekend in Florida. The Guardians were shut out 1-0 by the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep and extending their losing streak to five games. Despite a stellar performance from starter Parker Messick, who allowed just one run over 7 2/3 innings, the offense was stifled, managing only one hit.

“He was unbelievable,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said of Messick, as the team struggled to find offensive momentum, scoring only three runs over the weekend series.

Cleveland will counter Burns with right-hander Slade Cecconi (4-7, 4.60), making his 21st start of 2026 and sixth career start against Cincinnati. Cecconi is 0-3 with a 4.05 ERA lifetime against the Reds, allowing 12 runs and 22 hits in 26 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

The Denver Nuggets are matching the Oklahoma City Thunder’s two-year, $12 million offer sheet on forward Spencer Jones ahead of Sunday night’s deadline, ESPN reported.

The Thunder had offered Jones, a restricted free agent, the fully-guaranteed contract on Saturday, and the Nuggets had until 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday to keep the 25-year-old.

Denver had signed the undrafted free agent out of Stanford to a two-way contract in 2024 and converted it into a regular contract in February.

Jones averaged 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 22.1 minutes in 64 regular-season games (37 starts) last season. He shot 50.4% (132 of 262) from the field. He started three of six playoff games for the Nuggets and averaged 6.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 24.2 minutes.

For his career, Jones averages 4.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 18.4 minutes in 84 regular-season games (37 starts) over two seasons.

ESPN reported that Denver’s retention of Jones means a $32 million increase in current luxury taxes to $68 million and entry into the second apron.

The Oklahoman reported that the Thunder have one open roster sport after trading wing Luguentz Dort to the Atlanta Hawks on July 19 and are about $6.9 million under the second apron.

–Field Level Media

First baseman Munetaka Murakami enjoyed a career day Sunday to help the Chicago White Sox salvage a game in their weekend series against the Houston Astros.

The rookie will try to maintain that momentum on Monday night as the first-place White Sox host the banged-up New York Yankees in the opener of a four-game set.

Murakami powered Chicago to a 12-3 rout of Houston, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and a personal-best six RBIs.

The outburst stopped a 14-game homerless streak for Murakami, who continues to progress after missing 35 games with a strained right hamstring.

“It was going to come sooner or later,” Murakami said through an interpreter. “It’s not like I’ve been having bad approaches. I wasn’t hitting home runs, but the approach itself was good. It was all about being patient in the box.”

American League Central-leading Chicago smacked five homers in the game to stop a two-game skid. Miguel Vargas provided a go-ahead, two-run shot in the sixth inning while Chase Meidroth and Junior Perez also connected.

It was a welcome power surge for the White Sox as shortstop Colson Montgomery, the team home run leader with 24, is day-to-day with an injured right shin.

Montgomery missed Sunday’s game after fouling a pitch off that area Saturday night. He was sidelined Tuesday after sustaining a similar injury in a July 20 game.

“It’s not going to be a long-time thing. Just something we have to get ahead of right now so it doesn’t linger,” Montgomery said. “Especially this time of year, too, heading into the dog days of August. You don’t really want to be kind of lingering with little things.”

The Yankees learned of another high-profile injury of their own before losing 11-4 to the host Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night.

New York placed All-Star left fielder Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. Bellinger is set to undergo further testing on Monday.

Fellow sluggers Giancarlo Stanton (right calf strain) and Aaron Judge (fractured rib) have been out since April 24 and May 31, respectively.

“We’ll have to do it a little bit differently, but we have guys capable of stepping up, coupled with the fact that we’re confident in our ability to hold runs down from the opposition,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re going out there expecting to win.”

The Yankees had won five of six before falling to the Phillies, yielding double-digit runs for the first time since July 4.

Anthony Volpe, Ben Rice and Ali Sanchez had two hits apiece for New York, which fell three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead. Rice hit his team-best 31st home run.

Monday’s pitching matchup pits a pair of left-handers as Yankees veteran Max Fried (4-3, 2.97 ERA) faces White Sox rookie Noah Schultz (3-7, 6.04).

Fried is coming off Wednesday’s no-decision against Pittsburgh. Pitching for the first time since May 13 after sustaining a bone bruise on his pitching elbow, Fried scattered one hit, one walk and seven strikeouts in five scoreless innings.

Schultz is 1-3 with a 6.50 ERA in four July starts covering 18 innings. He surrendered five runs and 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings during Tuesday’s loss at Texas and has allowed at least one home run in each of his past six starts.

–Field Level Media