Right-hander Trent Thornton is emerging as a much-needed weapon in the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen, which is exceeding expectations while closer Daniel Palencia remains sidelined with right elbow inflammation.

Thornton has made four straight scoreless outings for the Cubs, who face the host Cincinnati Reds in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday.

Chicago evened the series with a 5-3 win on Saturday. Alex Bregman hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning and Carson Kelly added a solo shot for Chicago, which won for the fourth time in its last six games.

The Reds had runners on second and third in the ninth inning before Thornton entered and retired Sal Stewart on a grounder to second base for his third save.

“He’s doing a heck of a job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s got guts; he’s got big guts. Credit to him. At the end of the game, that last out in the ninth inning is a difficult out. Thorny has certainly stepped up when we needed it.”

Counsell used five relievers and continues to juggle roles without Palencia, who is not expected to return until later this month.

“When the phone rings (in the bullpen), they don’t necessarily know who it’s going to be,” Counsell said. “But they’re all doing their jobs really well. I couldn’t be happier with what they’re doing.”

Cincinnati is looking to head into the All-Star break on a high note after losing Saturday for the fifth time in its last eight games. Nathaniel Lowe, Eugenio Suarez and JJ Bleday each hit solo homers for the Reds, who went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

“We had some really good at-bats and we drove the ball out of the ballpark,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “But when you don’t have a ton of opportunities, if you don’t cash in, it becomes more glaring.”

The pitching matchup for the series finale features a pair of left-handers as Chicago’s Matthew Boyd (4-1, 4.31 ERA) opposes Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott (5-5, 3.92).

Boyd, 35, pitched six scoreless innings in a 5-2 road victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

“He was really good,” Bregman said. “I thought the fastball was really good. The slider was good, and the curveball, too. He was in a rhythm.”

Boyd is 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA in three starts since coming off the injured list. He has been limited to eight starts this season due to two separate IL stints.

Eugenio Suarez is 1-for-12 with six strikeouts all-time against Boyd, who is 1-3 with a 6.48 ERA in five career starts versus Cincinnati.

The Reds will counter with Abbott, 27, who allowed three runs over six innings in a 4-1 home loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.

Abbott retired the first seven batters before running into trouble in the third, when Kyle Schwarber capped a three-run outburst with a two-run homer.

“I kept a good offense pretty quiet other than one mistake,” Abbott said. “But then again, Schwarber is a good hitter. Fastball is one of my best pitches. He just put a good swing on it.”

Dansby Swanson is 6-for-17 (.353) with two homers against Abbott, who is 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA in eight career starts versus the Cubs.

–Field Level Media

Cleveland Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo, who has a 1.80 ERA in two July starts, isn’t easy to hit.

Cantillo, who will start against the host Miami Marlins on Sunday as the Guardians look for a three-game sweep, has an over-the-top delivery that gives batters fits. In fact, from last year to this season, his hard-hit rate has dropped from 41.8% to 36.5%.

Cantillo is 7-4 with a 3.66 ERA this season, his third in the majors. He’s already set a career high in wins and looks for his eighth in his first career start against the Marlins.

As for Cleveland’s offense, third baseman Jose Ramirez and left fielder Angel Martinez are on the injured list, along with their combined 21 homers, and Guardians manager Stephen Vogt can’t wait to get them back.

“We haven’t played our best baseball (without them),” Vogt said. “But we’ve found ways to win.”

Without Ramirez and Martinez, other Guardians players have emerged, including rookie right fielder Chase DeLauter, who has 10 homers, 45 RBIs and a .279 batting average, best among everyday starters on the team.

“Chase is learning faster than most,” Vogt said. “Good hitters foul (tough) pitches off, and Chase has done that.”

DeLauter, Cleveland’s first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in 2022, is part of a stellar rookie class for the Guardians. That class includes starting second baseman Travis Bazzana (first overall pick in 2024) and starting pitcher Parker Messick (second-rounder in 2022), both of whom are among Cleveland’s three players selected to the All-Star Game.

Then again, using rookies in key places is necessary for the Guardians, who have the lowest payroll in the major leagues ($80 million).

The Marlins, meanwhile, have the second-lowest payroll ($80.8 million).

That being said, the Guardians and Marlins would both be in the playoffs if the season ended today. And, by contrast, the Mets — who have the highest payroll in baseball at $328.7 million — are essentially out of contention this year.

After initially not announcing a starter, Miami will start right-hander Tyler Phillips (2-3, 3.28) in his ongoing conversion from reliever to starter.

After his first 15 appearances this season came out of the bullpen, he’s started eight of his last nine outings. By now, he’s essentially completed the transformation, throwing a season-high 97 pitches in his fourth and final June start.

The 28-year-old’s two July starts have been a mixed bag. After he was tagged for five runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings against the Athletics on July 3, he delivered five shutout innings and was the winning pitcher in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Mariners.

“Really nice bounce-back for Tyler,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said after Phillips’ last start. “As he continues to make this transition back to starting, filling up the zone (is key) because he’s got so many weapons to go to. I think that’s kind of the ticket is being on attack and giving himself count leverage.”

Since Phillips will be on three days’ rest after a 71-pitch outing, the Marlins bullpen will need to do some heavier lifting than normal in the final game before the All-Star break.

On paper, that shouldn’t be a problem for the Marlins, who have a 3.72 bullpen ERA, seventh-best in the majors.

–Field Level Media

The pitching matchup in Detroit on Sunday sounds like it belongs in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

The Phillies’ Zack Wheeler and the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal were not named All-Stars this season, but they’re easily among the best pitchers on the planet. The pair will start the rubber game of a three-game series.

Wheeler is coming off a dominant performance in Cincinnati when he matched his career high with 14 strikeouts in a 4-1 Phillies victory last Tuesday. The right-hander lasted seven innings, allowing just one run and four hits.

Wheeler has a 9-1 record and 2.28 ERA but got overlooked when the All-Stars were announced on July 4.

“I felt like that was a reminder for whoever needs to be reminded,” he said. “It pisses me off. It’s kind of BS. Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in (the All-Star mix), I wouldn’t be saying this. But I feel like I’ve earned it.”

According to The Athletic and NBC Sports Philadelphia, Wheeler was offered a spot that opened on the NL roster on Friday but declined.

Wheeler, who had a blood clot in his pitching shoulder last season, didn’t make his season debut until late April. He quickly reestablished his status as one of the majors’ most feared starters. He’s given up two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 14 starts.

“I had expectations when I got hurt,” Wheeler said. “I’m going to be the same guy or even better. I’m going to use this time to get a little bit stronger, maybe just tweak a couple things. That’s what I’ve been able to do. And credit to the coaching staff, the training staff and my family for helping me get through that mentally and physically.”

He’s 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers. Skubal has won both of his career starts against the Phillies, allowing three runs in a combined 14 innings for a 1.93 ERA.

Skubal (5-4, 3.06), who won the American League Cy Young Award each of the last two seasons, was not chosen for the Midsummer Classic mainly due to the fact he missed six weeks after undergoing an elbow procedure.

He’s won his last two starts, including a five-inning outing against the Athletics last Tuesday. The left-hander gave up five hits and walked two, but the Athletics only pushed across one run. Skubal struck out nine for the third consecutive start while throwing 96 pitches.

“Part of that is, I counted 20 non-competitive pitches,” Skubal said. “That’s a high percentage of my outing. The other part is, that’s a good lineup over there. I sprayed the ball a little, especially my fastball. And some changeups, too. Not my best showing by any means.”

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was much less critical of his ace’s performance.

“He’s always the hardest critic on himself,” Hinch said. “He beats himself up quite a bit. But give him some grace. He goes out and one run is deemed an OK start. Think about that standard every time you take the mound no matter what you do. The bar is really high and he can handle it.”

The teams split the first two games, with Philadelphia snapping Detroit’s six-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory on Saturday night.

With the All-Star break coming up and a six-game road trip to follow, the Tigers won’t play another home game until July 23.

–Field Level Media