Taillon (6-6) earned the win over Cincinnati on Thursday, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five batters over five-plus innings.
It wasn't the breeziest outing for the right-hander, as he notched just one 1-2-3 inning and needed 92 pitches to get through five-plus frames. However, Taillon got the job done, collecting his fourth win in his past five starts to get his record to .500 for the first time this season. The veteran hurler has turned things around since a poor July 2 outing against Cleveland that pushed his season ERA to 6.93 -- over his subsequent five starts, he's posted a 2.08 ERA over 30.1 innings despite a mediocre 23:10 K:BB. Taillon will look to keep rolling in his next start, which currently lines up to be a road matchup against the Mets.
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Cubs' Adbert Alzolay: Records another save Thursday
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Alzolay tossed 1.1 scoreless innings to record the save in Thursday's win over the Reds. He didn't allow any hits or walks, and struck out two.
Alzolay continued his good recent stretch, as he's now recorded seven straight scoreless outings, a span of 7.2 innings. He's a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities in that time and has 13 saves overall this season in 14 chances. Alzolay also has a tidy 2.27 ERA, and his strong play should keep him locked into the closer role for the Cubs moving forward.
Suzuki is not in the lineup Thursday against the Reds.
Suzuki takes a seat despite going 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the Cubs' rout of Cincinnati on Wednesday. Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Mike Tauchman are starting across the outfield and Christopher Morel is serving as the designated hitter in Thursday's series finale.
Smyly tossed 4.2 innings against Cincinnati on Wednesday, allowing five runs on six hits and no walks while striking out seven batters in a no-decision.
Smyly had pitched behind an opener in each of his two previous outings, but he returned to a traditional starting role Wednesday. The change didn't appear to benefit the left-hander, as he fell behind 5-2 after four frames and was pulled with two outs in the fifth. The Cubs eventually came back with a massive offensive outburst in the late innings to take Smyly off the hook, but that doesn't do much to soften the veteran's struggles. After pitching well for a period earlier in the campaign, Smyly has mostly fallen off the fantasy radar, posting an 8.40 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB over 30 innings across his past seven starts.
Suzuki went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 16-6 win over the Reds.
Suzuki was one of four Chicago hitters to go deep in the easy win. The outfielder is up to nine home runs this season after hitting 14 as a rookie in 2022. His production has been a little underwhelming, as his OPS is down to .723 from .769 last year, though he should remain a regular fixture in the lineup for the Cubs.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Homers, drives in three in big win
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Morel went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 16-6 win over the Reds.
Morel hit a two-run shot in the third inning, his 17th home run of the season, and added another RBI on his 12th double. Despite the Cubs' acquisition of Jeimer Candelario at the trade deadline, Morel has stuck in the lineup, serving as the designated hitter each of the last two nights. With Candelario slotting in at first base, Cody Bellinger figures to play mostly in center, with Mike Tauchman also in the mix. Morel's playing time should be secure if he keeps delivering at the plate like he's done all season long.
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Cubs' Ian Happ: Goes deep twice in rout
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Happ went 2-for-4 with a walk, two solo home runs and three runs scored in Wednesday's 16-6 win over the Reds.
Happ is heating up a bit with four home runs across his last seven games, bringing him to 12 for the season. The outfielder had 17 long balls a season ago, which seems within reach if he keeps this up. His career high of 25 home runs might be harder to match, however. Either way, fantasy managers are enjoying this recent stretch of production.
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Cubs' Dansby Swanson: Goes deep in third straight game
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Swanson went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 16-6 win over the Reds.
Swanson also struck out three times, but that can be overlooked because he's now gone deep in three straight games, including hitting two long balls Tuesday. The shortstop got off to a relatively slow start in the power department with the Cubs, but he now has 16 home runs on the season and could match or exceed the 25 long balls he tallied a year ago with Atlanta.
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Cubs' Jeimer Candelario: Four more hits Wednesday
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Candelario went 4-for-4 with a walk, two doubles and four runs scored in Wednesday's 16-6 win over the Reds.
Candelario has now played in two games with the Cubs since getting traded over from the Nationals, and he's proceeded to go 8-for-9 with three doubles and six runs scored. He won't be able to stay this hot, but he's been solid all season with an .854 OPS and has fit in very nicely so far with his new team.
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Cubs' Marcus Stroman: Expected to miss minimum time
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Cubs manager David Ross said Wednesday that he expects Stroman (hip) will be ready to return from 15-day injured list around when he's first eligible for activation Aug. 16, ESPN.com reports. "He's still only going to miss one start with the off days we have, and he'll be able to work on some stuff with the time he's going to have down, so I thought it was an optimal time [for Stroman to go on the IL]," Ross said.
Stroman was placed on the IL on Wednesday due to right hip inflammation, an injury the right-hander said has been affecting his mechanics of late. The hip issue would help explain his stark decline in performance over his last seven outings, as Stroman has turned in just one quality start during that stretch while going 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over 30 frames. Stroman's move to the IL opened up a spot on the 26-man active roster for reliever Jose Cuas, whom the Cubs acquired Monday in a trade with the Royals.
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Cubs' Mike Tauchman: Heads to bench versus lefty
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Tauchman is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Tauchman is sitting for the third time in four games, with all three of those absences coming against left-handed pitching. The 32-year-old still looks like he has a hold on a regular role as the Cubs' top leadoff option versus righties.
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Cubs' Nick Madrigal: On bench, could lose playing time
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Madrigal is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.
Madrigal had started at third base in each of the Cubs' last four games, but he appears destined to move into more of a part-time role following Tuesday's acquisition of Jeimer Candelario. Though manager David Ross acknowledged that Candelario will see plenty of time at first base, his arrival could create a domino effect that results in Christopher Morel seeing most of the starts at third base.
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Cubs' Marcus Stroman: Lands on IL with inflamed hip
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The Cubs placed Stroman on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with right hip inflammation, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
The transaction is retroactive to Tuesday, so the earliest date Stroman will be eligible for activation is Aug. 16. Stroman wasn't known to be dealing with an injury coming out of his most recent start Monday, but he'll be deactivated after enduring a rough stretch over the past month. In his last seven starts, Stroman has gone 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA, 1.93 WHIP and 28:16 K:BB in 30 innings, taking some luster off of what had been his second All-Star campaign. Hayden Wesneski could be the Cubs' top choice to replace Stroman in the rotation.
Steele (12-3) earned the win Tuesday, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and striking out six without walking a batter over six innings in a 20-9 win over Cincinnati.
Steele was the beneficiary of an offensive explosion Tuesday, as the Cubs put up 20 runs on Cincinnati. The 28-year-old lefty wasn't particularly sharp in this one, but he threw 73 of 101 pitches for strikes and did enough to earn his 12th victory, tying him for the major-league lead. Prior to this start, Steele hadn't allowed more than three earned runs in an outing since May 26, going 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 43:8 K:BB across 44.2 innings during that stretch. He is projected to make his next start at home versus Atlanta.
