Dillon Dingler showed again how he can be the Detroit Tigers’ difference-maker.

The Tigers catcher had two home runs, a successful pickoff and the go-ahead RBI single as Detroit defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-6 in 10 innings in the first contest of a three-game set on Monday, all while managing six pitchers in a big-game environment.

Game 2 of the series in Chicago will be Tuesday night.

“A lot of Tigers fans in the stands and obviously a lot of Cubs fans in the stands made it feel like a playoff atmosphere, and the whole team rallied to get a big win,” Dingler said after his 4-for-5, three-RBI performance on Monday.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch concurred, calling it “a character win.”

Hinch said his favorite part of Dingler’s performance wasn’t the big hits. Instead, he enjoyed watching the All-Star’s way of “navigating the game, in this ballpark, against that offense.”

“I love homers for us, when he hits them, but his contribution behind the plate is always going to be where I go to first,” said Hinch, a former catcher who appeared in 27 games with the Tigers in 2003.

The extra-innings loss on Monday was made even worse for Chicago when reliever Trent Thornton left the game after taking a Riley Greene line drive directly off his foot in the 10th.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said X-rays were negative on Thornton’s heel after the game, but he added that the team will monitor his status.

Thornton has a 3-3 record with a 2.70 ERA and three saves in 27 appearances this season.

“We’ve done a really good job of — especially in the bullpen — just trying to do the next-man-up mentality,” Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon told reporters after Thornton’s exit. “But seeing a guy like that go down is tough.”

Injuries have been an unfortunate theme for the Cubs’ pitching staff this season. Phil Maton (knee) was added to the 15-day injured list on Monday, joining fellow pitchers Ben Brown, Daniel Palencia, Ethan Roberts, Hoby Milner and Edward Cabrera on the IL. Other pitchers, including Cade Horton, are on the 60-day IL.

Taillon was making his first start since June 7 in Monday’s loss, recently returning from a hamstring strain. He did not figure into the decision after allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings.

It will be a clash of left-handers on the mound Tuesday as Detroit’s Framber Valdez (5-6, 4.10 ERA) opposes David Peterson (4-7, 6.45).

Valdez will make his first start since returning from the bereavement list on Saturday after the death of his grandmother. He had a stellar outing in his most recent start on July 9, striking out nine and giving up one run in seven innings as the Tigers beat the Athletics 4-1.

Both of Valdez’s previous starts against Chicago came as a member of the Houston Astros. He’s 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA vs. the Cubs, most recently tossing six shutout innings in a 2-0 Astros win on June 29, 2025.

Peterson is 1-1 with an 8.16 ERA in his three starts for Chicago since being acquired from the Mets on June 25. He took a no-decision last time out against Baltimore on July 9, allowing only one run in five innings of a 3-2 loss.

This will be Peterson’s first career appearance against Detroit.

–Field Level Media

After suffering their second consecutive walk-off loss, the St. Louis Cardinals will turn to Opening Day starter Matthew Liberatore when they face the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif.

St. Louis, on the heels of blowing a 7-0 lead in a 10-inning, 8-7 defeat at Arizona on Sunday, saw the Angels rally to win the series opener 3-2 on Monday.

The Cardinals appeared to be in good shape heading into the bottom of the ninth with a 2-1 lead, especially after All-Star closer Riley O’Brien struck out Mike Trout to open the frame. The Angels were 0-48 this season when trailing after eight innings.

But Nolan Schanuel followed with a single and Jorge Soler was hit by a pitch. Vaughn Grissom then lined a double off the top of the right-field fence, missing a home run by inches, to drive in pinch runner Oswald Peraza with the tying run.

After Josh Lowe was intentionally walked to load the bases, O’Brien plunked Jo Adell with a 3-0 sinker to drive in the winning run.

It marked the Angels’ first walk-off win via a hit-by-pitch since Hank Conger was hit on April 11, 2014.

“That’s one of those where you don’t feel it getting hit right there,” said Adell, who snapped an 0-for-24 slump with a solo homer earlier. “Good stuff.”

O’Brien said: “Just didn’t have a good feel for the ball today.”

Despite the loss, St. Louis remained in a tie with Miami and Pittsburgh for the final wild-card spot in the National League.

Liberatore (5-6, 5.00 ERA), who has won two of his last three starts during a roller-coaster season, comes in off his finest outing of 2026. The left-hander allowed four hits over six shutout innings in a 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on July 11, walking one and striking out six.

Liberatore has allowed just four earned runs over 16 innings in his last three starts. A big focus has been curtailing big innings.

“That was something that was a theme over a couple starts,” Liberatore said. “I think over the last few starts, I’ve done a much better job of that. Not to say it’s never going to happen again, but I think some of the discussions that we had and adjustments that were made helped me navigate through those moments.”

Liberatore is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA in two career starts against the Angels.

Rookie right-hander Walbert Urena (5-7, 2.88 ERA) will try to pitch Los Angeles to a series win.

Urena, who has never faced the Cardinals, last started in a 13-1 win on July 8 at Texas and had a lukewarm performance. He allowed one hit over four shutout innings but walked a career-high five batters. He didn’t get a chance to go back out for the fifth inning to earn the win even though the Angels had a 7-0 lead because he already had thrown 90 pitches, just 52 for strikes.

“It wasn’t the best, man,” Urena said afterward. “My command wasn’t the best today. Walks. Behind in counts always. But I got lucky.”

–Field Level Media

Before reinstating pitchers Ronel Blanco and Bennett Sousa from the 60-day injured list, the Houston Astros executed a surprising roster move by demoting reliever Bryan King to Triple-A Sugar Land following their loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

Blanco made his season debut in the Astros’ 8-5 interleague victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday. Sousa, a left-handed reliever like King, got loose in the bullpen during the fifth inning but did not enter the game. It would have marked the first appearance for Sousa since May 4.

Sousa could be called on Tuesday night in Houston, when the Astros will look to secure a series victory over the Marlins.

King allowed one run during a sterling stretch of 17 appearances between May 29 and July 7, finishing 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA. His last four outings were ineffective, with King going 0-2 with a 14.40 ERA and a blown save. He allowed five homers across five innings before his demotion.

“Just go work on some stuff,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of the directive for King. “He has that invisible fastball, especially against righties. Trying to get it to not be so much general in the plate, kind of look for certain areas that he can get some swing and miss.

“Huge improvement with his slider, especially against lefties. But we gave him a plan, an objective to go down there and work on some stuff.”

Right-hander Tatsuya Imai (5-4, 6.06 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros on Tuesday.

Imai had a rough close to the first half of his first season in the majors, going 0-1 with a 12.60 ERA while logging only five innings over his final two starts before the All-Star break. He was 3-0 with a 5.09 ERA in four starts last month with 30 strikeouts and just five walks in 17 2/3 innings.

Imai will make his first career appearance against the Marlins. In two interleague starts this season, he is 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA.

Right-hander Tyler Phillips (2-4, 3.48) has the starting assignment for the Marlins. It will mark the 10th start and 26th appearance of the season for Phillips, with his nine previous starts coming in his past 10 appearances.

Phillips is 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA as a starter this season, including a 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on July 12 when he allowed two runs on two hits and one walk with one strikeout in one inning.

He will make his first career start against the Astros. He is 4-2 with a 5.15 ERA in 28 career interleague appearances (eight starts).

The Marlins entered the series with Houston locked in a three-way tie with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates for the third wild card in the National League, despite carrying a six-game skid into Monday.

After roaring into contention by winning 26 of 34 games from June 1 through July 9, the Marlins are laboring to find the form that left them a season-high 10 games over .500 just 11 days ago. They are now 52-49.

“I look at it like this stretch of games and losing, over the course of an entire season, unfortunately it happens on multiple occasions,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Right now we’re going through it, and I think myself and our coaches are just much more concerned with getting our guys back to playing a better brand of baseball, at least to give us a chance to win.”

–Field Level Media