Smyly tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Cardinals. Smyly picked things up after Chicago starter Jameson Taillon covered 5.2 innings, and the former was effective across his 16 pitches, earning his third hold of the season in the process. Smyly had a solid first half of the season, posting a 3.09 ERA across 35 innings of relief. While the veteran lefty has plenty of starting experience in his career, he's worked exclusively out of the bullpen so far in 2024, and he'll likely stick in that role after the All-Star break.
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Smyly tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Cardinals. Smyly picked things up after Chicago starter Jameson Taillon covered 5.2 innings, and the former was effective across his 16 pitches, earning his third hold of the season in the process. Smyly had a solid first half of the season, posting a 3.09 ERA across 35 innings of relief. While the veteran lefty has plenty of starting experience in his career, he's worked exclusively out of the bullpen so far in 2024, and he'll likely stick in that role after the All-Star break.
Lopez tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Cardinals. He allowed a hit and walk, while striking out two. Despite getting released by the Mets in unceremonious fashion earlier this season, Lopez had a solid first half, as he finished with a 3.18 ERA across 34 innings. He's been even better since joining the Cubs at the end of June, posting a 1.17 ERA across 7.2 innings. Lopez may be able to seize a higher-leverage role after the All-Star break if he continues to pitch well out of the Chicago bullpen.
Happ went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Cardinals. Happ has enjoyed a productive July so far, going 15-for-46 (.326) with four homers and 13 RBI over 13 games. The outfielder is up to 15 homers, 57 RBI, 53 runs scored, 23 doubles and seven stolen bases while slashing .243/.352/.548 through 92 contests. Happ has maintained his starting role in left field even through cold stretches, so there's little risk of him losing playing time once this hot streak ends.
Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-3 with two solo home runs, a walk and a stolen base in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Cardinals. Entering Sunday, Crow-Armstrong had just one homer all season. He finally flashed some power by taking Miles Mikolas deep in the third and fifth innings to triple his homer total on the year. Crow-Armstrong has added 17 RBI, 11 runs scored, 16 stolen bases and a .203/.253/.329 slash line over 174 plate appearances. With Cody Bellinger suffering a fractured finger Wednesday, Crow-Armstrong may have a bit more time to make his case to stay in the majors after the All-Star break.
Morel went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Cardinals. Morel hit a two-run blast in the sixth inning and a solo shot in the eighth to pad the Cubs' lead in the contest. This was his first multi-hit effort since June 22, though he's hit safely in 10 of 12 games in July, batting .229 (11-for-48) for the month. Overall, Morel has 18 long balls, 50 RBI, 42 runs scored and seven stolen bases through 96 contests, though he's slashing a light .202/.303/.387 on the year.
Taillon (7-4) allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out three without walking a batter over 5.2 innings to earn the win Sunday over the Cardinals. Taillon came an out shy of his seven straight quality start, but he was still able to capture his third win in a row. He's also given up a home run in six straight starts, as Alec Burleson tagged him for a solo shot in the sixth inning. Taillon is now at a 3.10 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 75:18 K:BB through 93 innings over 16 starts this season.
Amaya is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals. Amaya has moved back into a timeshare with Tomas Nido behind the plate, but it'll be the latter's turn to play Sunday after the former started at catcher in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday. In the Cubs' 5-4 loss in the second game of the twin bill, Amaya went 1-for-2 with a home run, two walks and two RBI.
Mastrobuoni will start at third base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Cardinals. Since heading to the bench for Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Orioles, the lefty-hitting Mastrobuoni has re-emerged as a regular part of the Cubs' lineup against right-handed pitching. Mastrobuoni will close the first half of the season with his fifth consecutive start, with his uptick in playing time coinciding with Cody Bellinger's (finger) placement on the injured list Thursday. Mastrobuoni has gone 4-for-13 with an RBI and two runs over his prior four starts.
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