Daniel Palencia: Everything you need to know

Palencia tossed a scoreless inning of relief to secure the save in Thursday's 2-0 win over Atlanta. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Palencia allowed his first two runs of the season his last time out Sunday, but he bounced back by recording his third save of the year. Outside of that one hiccup, the flamethrowing righty has been excellent with a 2.25 ERA and nine strikeouts across eight innings of work. Now that he's recovered from an early-season lat strain, Palencia appears to once again be locked in as Chicago's clear closer.

Palencia retired a single batter via strikeout to record the save in Thursday's 8-3 win over the Reds. The Cubs were looking to let their top reliever rest Thursday, but with Cincinnati threatening in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, Palencia got the call. The flamethrowing righty got a battle from Nathaniel Lowe before retiring him on seven pitches. Palencia just returned from the injured list Sunday, and he's only recorded two saves this season across seven appearances, but he's locked in as Chicago's closer and should begin racking up the saves more frequently with the team now sitting at 26-12.

Palencia allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday against the Reds. With the game tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth, Palencia came on for his first appearance since returning from a lat strain that sidelined him for three weeks. He topped out at 101 mph with his fastball Tuesday. Palencia has yet to allow a run this season and owns a 5:2 K:BB across six innings, notching one save.