Luke Raley (elbow) held out of action on Friday

Smith got the scoring started on Tuesday with a solo home run off Nick Lodolo in the first inning. He was later hit by a pitch in the fifth. It was Smith’s seventh home run this season and first since May 29 after missing nearly three months with a neck injury. He’d been off to a slow start in his return, going 2-for-17 so far this month.

De La Cruz provided all of the offense for the Reds on Tuesday with one swing of the bat as he took Tarik Skubal deep for a two-run blast in the third inning. He later added a double in the eighth. The 24-year-old shortstop has homered in four straight games. He’s up to 25 this season while hitting .283/.362/.506 with 88 runs scored, 69 RBI, and 25 steals across 564 plate appearances.

Scott was summoned in the top of the ninth to close out the game against the Reds with a one-run lead. He walked the leadoff man, then struck out the next two batters before inducing a groundout to end the game with his 22nd save of the season.

Skubal had gotten through two scoreless frames against the Reds before Elly De La Cruz took him deep for a two-run blast in the third. He’d recover nicely, settling in to pitch into the eighth without allowing another run while collecting five strikeouts. The 29-year-old left-hander will take a 2.84 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and a 164/24 K/BB ratio across 139 2/3 innings into a start against the Reds in Cincinnati next Tuesday.

Lodolo served up a solo homer to Will Smith in the first inning. Two walks, a base hit, and a hit batter brought a second run in for the Dodgers in the second. A walk, a hit batter, and a base hit scored another run in the fifth and left two runners on as Lodolo departed with two outs at 97 pitches. He struck out six. The 28-year-old left-hander will take a 5.12 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and a 75/38 K/BB ratio across 89 2/3 innings into a start against the Dodgers in Cincinnati on Monday.

Luis Lara won the game in extras, but Chourio got it there with his 110-mph blast to left off the Cubs’ closer. It was his career-high 22 homer after he finished with 21 each of his first two years. Since he missed the start of the year with a hand fracture, this year’s homer total has come in 20 fewer games (111) than last year (131) and 37 fewer games than in 2024 (148).

Misirowski threw fastballs on 63 of his 93 pitches and topped out at 104.5 mph before exiting with the scored tied 1-1 tonight. All nine of his strikeouts came on the heater. He’s up to 236 strikeouts for the season, which is the highest total for an NL starter since Spencer Strider came in at 281 in 2023. He should make his next start next Tuesday against the Pirates.

Megill, who would have taken a loss if the Brewers hadn’t come back in the bottom of the ninth, gave up two singles, a double and a walk while retiring just one of the five batters he faced. The walk, though, would have been overturned into a strikeout if the Brewers hadn’t been out of challenges. Megill also gave up a run while pitching Monday and probably could use a couple of days off at this point. Expect Abner Uribe to close if the Brewers have a save chance Wednesday.

The run came right away in the first, but Peterson, who walled six hits and walked three, was in trouble throughout. When he was lifted from a 1-1 game, it was with runners on first and second and one out in the fifth. Neither runner scored, though, as a single with two outs saw Jackson Chourio barely get thrown out at home to end the inning. Peterson failed to complete five innings for the second straight start, but he did keep the Cubs in the game. He’ll likely face the Braves next on Monday.

Jackson Chourio delivered the game-tying homer in the ninth after Christian Yelich singled as a pinch-hitter. It was Webb’s first save chance since he left last Wednesday’s game after getting hit in the forearm by a comebacker. He’s now blown three straight save chances since his last conversion on Aug. 14. The door is wide open for Daniel Palencia to win back the ninth, but since his results have been poor since coming off the IL, the Cubs might choose to mix and match for now. Ryan Zeferjahn would also presumably be in the mix for saves.