Javier

Assad

Assad gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out four. The 28-year-old right-hander gave up solo home runs to Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suarez in the fourth inning, but otherwise kept Cincinnati off the scoreboard. Assad remains a risky streaming option as he takes a 4.11 ERA into the All-Star break.

Assad walked two and struck out five while throwing 64 percent of his pitches for strikes. He collected a 10 percent swinging strike rate and 27 percent CSW in what was a decidedly average performance. He commanded the zone well with his sinker and four-seamer, and he did have good vertical movement on the four-seamer today, which got him whiffs at the top of the zone. He struggled to command the cutter, and none of his other pitches were overly impactful. Assad should remain in the rotation with both Ben Brown (neck) and Edward Cabrera (hamstring) on the injured list, but he remains just a deep league streamer and a risky play against the Padres next week.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Edward Cabrera will get the ball for his regularly scheduled start on Tuesday with Imanaga being pushed back to Wednesday’s twin bill instead. It’ll be Javier Assad drawing the starting assignment for the other doubleheader contest at Citi Field.

Pitching with a seven-run lead after the second inning, Assad cruised through this matchup with the Rockies at home. He lived in the zone with both his sinker and four seam fastball letting the opposing hitters make contact. In fact, those two pitches didn’t force a single whiff on 32 combined swings and Assad only forced two whiffs in total. His contact-heavy approach is perfect against poor lineups like this one. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Mets and Brewers.

Assad allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five. He’s pitched 12 1/3 scoreless innings versus the Giants his last two times out, lowering his ERA from 5.88 to 3.99. Unfortunately, he’ll have to face a more forward-thinking team in the Rockies next time out. He’ll just have to prepare a little harder, most likely.

Not good. Counsell added that Boyd experienced shoulder soreness following his final minor league rehab start and wasn’t feeling right after a bullpen session earlier this week. There should be a clearer return timeline for the 35-year-old southpaw, who is coming back from knee surgery last month, once he resumes throwing in the coming days. It’ll be Javier Assad taking the ball against the Giants at Oracle Park this weekend in his place.

What a great effort from Assad, who still seemed to have something left in the tank while being removed after 72 pitches. He’s going to need at least three and probably four days off, so most likely, his reward for tonight will be a return to Triple-A Iowa’s roster. But if the Cubs put Taillon on the IL and bring in a fresh arm that way, perhaps there’s the chance Assad could stick.

Assad fortifies Chicago’s overworked bullpen after the club burned through five relievers following Edward Cabrera’s abbreviated outing against the Giants on Friday afternoon. He provides the Cubs with some additional long relief depth for the rest of the weekend series against San Francisco.

Assad has struggled in a hybrid role for the Cubs this season, posting a 5.88 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 14/7 K/BB ratio over 26 innings in eight appearances (three starts). He’ll return to the rotation at Triple-A Iowa where he’ll likely be the next man up the next time the Cubs require an extra starter. Ty Blach was promoted from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move on Sunday.

The Cubs’ starting pitcher corps has been depleted by injuries, so they called on Brown to return to their rotation and he delivered them four quality innings. He leaned on his knuckle-curve as his primary pitch and it forced five of his nine total swings-and-misses. Also, his fastball didn’t lose much velocity despite him throwing 46 pitches, the most he’s thrown in a single outing since March 31st. Javier Assad threw bulk innings in relief later in this game and it feels like these two could be in a piggy-back situation moving forward. If Brown sticks in the rotation for another turn, he’ll face the Braves in Atlanta.