Seth Lugo beats Cubs for fifth win of 2026

No word on the countermove. The Mets could just drop Cristian Pache, but that wouldn’t open up much time for Morel. This seems more like a move they’d make it Jorge Polanco was going to return to the IL. Morel, who will need to be added to the 40-man, was crushing it in Triple-A, going 14-for-43 with seven homers in 11 games this month.

Cubs fans would probably prefer he didn’t. Cabrera, who missed time back in May with a blister, is due to face the Mariners next weekend, but the team has flexibility after the off day Thursday.

Bello has been excelling out of the pen, so the Red Sox won’t mess with what’s working by having him start. Given that the bulk role makes him a better bet for a win, Bello is a streaming option tomorrow. Unfortunately, he probably won’t get a second bulk appearance, with the Red Sox having Thursday off, but maybe he’ll make another lengthy relief appearance next weekend if Patrick Sandoval is shaky again.

Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon and Yuki Matsui completed the three-hitter. Mize settled for three strikeouts today. Oddly enough, the 22 splitters he threw produced zero whiffs or called strikes. However, they did generate outs all six times they were put into play. Mize improved to 5-7 with a 3.18 ERA overall. He’ll take on another familiar foe when the Twins travel to San Diego next weekend. Both his four wins and his five losses versus the Twins are the most he has against any team.

Cleveland was shutout in a Bibee start for the fourth time this year. Both he and Joey Cantillo have made 26 starts for the Guardians this season. Bibee has allowed 71 runs in 150 1/3 innings (4.25 RA/9). Cantillo has allowed 62 runs in 125 2/3 innings (4.44 RA/9). Bibee, though, is 4-13, whereas Cantillo has gone 9-7. Bibee will next face the Rockies in Coors, which might lead to some run support.

The Padres got four homers today from players who had combined for 22 previously this season (15 from Gavin Sheets, three from Rengifo and Jake Cronenworth and one from Jase Bowen). Rengifo is hitting .323/.411/.473 in 27 games for the Padres. All four of his homers have come with his new team; he went without one in 57 games with the Brewers.

Bazzana is still drawing walks, but he’s hitting .189 with only one extra-base hit in his last 21 games, leaving him at .235/.332/.372 overall. There might be a slight chance of the Guardians sending him down at some point, clearing the way for Angel Genao to play second base regularly.

The Brewers take three out of four in L.A. Bauers had three previous four-hit games in his career, but they all came in 2018 or ’19. Today’s pushed him up to .275/.384/.500 on the season. That .884 OPS is 212 points better than his career mark of .672.

The Brewers probably could have had Tarik Skubal if they were willing to send Henderson to Detroit, but the right-hander again demonstrated today why that would have been a bad idea. It might not be totally correct to say Henderson outdueled Skubal today — one got good defensive support and one didn’t — but he did come away with the win in the matchup. Henderson still hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his 12 starts this year. He’ll take a 7-2 record and a 2.70 ERA into his next start versus the Braves.

Skubal gave up seven hits and nine hard-hit balls, but he struck out seven and was let down by his defense a couple of times in the game. He’s now 0-2 for the Dodgers, even though he has a 3.18 ERA in his three starts. He’ll face the Pirates next weekend.