In a season full of pitcher injuries, Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has learned just how solid Javier Assad is.

The 28-year-old right-hander, who pitches Sunday in Chicago to try to stop a St. Louis Cardinals sweep, is 6-1 with a 4.53 ERA in 13 games (six starts).

The Cubs have four starters on the injured list and have had 13 pitchers total spend time on the IL this season.

“We have talked about guys getting opportunities, and certainly Javy has come in at a time when we really needed it and has delivered a couple of big starts, big performances,” Counsell said. “This is how you figure out how to stick in the big leagues. It hasn’t been all smooth for Javy; there have been bumps. You don’t know when you are going to get these opportunities so you have to stay ready.

“Javy just kind of keeps telling you, ‘I’ll be ready when I get the opportunity.’ “

Assad won his last start June 24, a 10-3 victory over the Mets, giving up five hits and three runs in five innings. He struck out five and walked just two.

He has won three straight starts and the Cubs have won nine of his last 11 appearances.

“I feel really good with all my pitches,” Assad said. “My sinker is really helping, but I feel good with all my pitches. I feel my velocity has been really good. I’m trying to take advantage of every opportunity. I like to start, but I’m ready for anything.”

Assad is 24-13 with a 3.57 ERA in 91 career appearances, including 60 starts, since his major league debut with the Cubs in 2022.

He is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 10 games, including five starts, against the Cardinals.

St. Louis will counter with Matthew Liberatore. The 26-year-old southpaw is 4-5 with a 5.33 ERA.

After losing two straight, Liberatore beat the host Atlanta Braves 5-3 in his last outing, giving up one hit and one run in five innings. He walked four and struck out nine.

Liberatore is 20-29 with a 4.77 ERA in 137 career outings, including 70 starts.

He is 2-1 with a 3.03 ERA in 11 outings (five starts) against the Cubs.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was honored to tell Jordan Walker that the outfielder had made his first National League All-Star team on Saturday.

“There was a lot of emotion in the room,” Marmol said. “We have been with him through the ups and downs, so it was nice to be able to tell him that today.”

Walker is hitting .291 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs. He has an .870 OPS.

The 24-year-old had never hit more than 16 home runs and never had more than 51 RBIs in one season (both in 2023). He even has more stolen bases (11) than he has ever had in one season since his major league debut in March 2023.

Walker, who was selected 21st overall by St. Louis in the 2020 MLB Draft, has a career OPS of .728.

St. Louis has won five of six and is in surprise contention for a playoff spot despite trading away most of their veterans in the offseason.

Rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt is a big reason why.

Wetherholt led off the game Saturday against the Cubs with a home run and reached base four times.

He is hitting .266 with 13 home runs and 36 RBIs. He has a .778 OPS.

The left-handed-hitting Wetherholt’s home run was to the opposite field.

“Today was a good example of what I have been trying to do, work the back side of the field,” he said. “We are just excited. We wake up excited every day to play. We just try to end with a win.”

–Field Level Media

While the Philadelphia Phillies will have at least five All-Stars this season, Saturday’s contest proved that their talent runs much deeper.

The surging Phillies look for their ninth win in 12 games when they visit the Kansas City Royals in a Sunday matinee.

Philadelphia learned Saturday afternoon that the National League All-Star team will include ace Cristopher Sanchez, closer Jhoan Duran, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, first baseman Bryce Harper and outfielder Brandon Marsh.

Right-hander Zack Wheeler could be in line for a spot on the team, as well, if any other NL starting pitchers miss the game due to injury.

Meanwhile, in Saturday’s series opener, the Phillies defeated the Royals 6-1 with non-All-Stars making the majority of the contributions to the team’s latest victory.

Jesus Luzardo allowed one run in six innings, while J.T. Realmuto, Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Alec Bohm homered in support of the left-hander.

“If we’re going to be any good, we need contributions up and down (the lineup),” Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly said. “It can’t always be (Harper) and (Schwarber) hitting homers and driving in a bunch of runs. It’s gotta be the whole roster.”

Nick Loftin drove in the only run for Kansas City, which has lost eight of its last nine games. Right-hander Michael Wacha, one of two Royals All-Stars, allowed four runs in six innings.

Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., the team’s other representative for the Midsummer Classic, went 0-for-4 and is 1-for-12 in his last three games.

“It’s an honor,” Witt said after learning that he’ll be the starting shortstop for the American League. “Being able to get this opportunity. Just thankful for all the fans and everyone who voted.”

In Sunday’s affair, Philadelphia will give the ball to Aaron Nola (3-5, 6.04 ERA), who is coming off another tough outing in the midst of a difficult season. The veteran right-hander allowed eight runs in 4 1/3 innings in Monday’s 11-7 home loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, while giving up two homers for the fourth straight start.

“I definitely haven’t really had a stretch like this ever in my career,” Nola said. “I mean, over my career, I feel like I’ve been kind of an innings eater since I’ve been with the Phillies. It’s been tough, you know? I mean, I haven’t really stepped foot in the sixth inning too much this year. It’s a little bit different, but I’ve got to keep working. I believe I can get back to that point.”

Nola has made three previous starts against the Royals, losing all three while posting an 8.82 ERA. He gave up six runs in six innings against Kansas City in a 10-3 loss last September.

The Royals will counter with rookie Luinder Avila (3-3, 5.40), who made two scoreless relief appearances against Philadelphia last season. The right-hander has made seven starts and nine relief appearances so far in 2026.

Most recently, Avila surrendered four runs in four innings last Sunday in an eventual 5-4 victory over the host Chicago White Sox.

“Way too many pitches,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Some of it’s unfortunate, but some of it is needing to execute early in the count.”

–Field Level Media

An impressive power display put the Minnesota Twins on the verge of a rare achievement — a series win at Yankee Stadium.

Coming off hitting six homers in a game for the first time in nearly three years, the Twins hope to keep the power surge going Sunday afternoon when they visit the struggling New York Yankees.

Minnesota is attempting to secure a series win at Yankee Stadium for the first time since 2014. The Twins are 7-29 against the Yankees in New York in the regular season since then, and the closest they came to a series win was a four-game split in April 2023.

The Twins are in position for the series win following Saturday’s 11-4 victory, when they hit six homers for the first time since Sept. 4, 2023, at Cleveland.

Josh Bell homered from both sides of the plate in consecutive at-bats for his 13th career multi-homer game. He continued a hot streak that has seen him bat .318 with six homers and 19 RBIs in his past 18 games.

Trevor Larnach also homered and is hitting .417 with three homers and 13 RBIs in his past 16 games.

Kody Clemens heads into Sunday with five homers in his past eight games after hitting a three-run shot.

Byron Buxton, who missed four games with right hip impingement, is hitting .313 with five homers and 13 RBIs in his last 16 games after driving in two runs Saturday before getting named to the American League All-Star team.

“It was a fun day,” catcher Alex Jackson said after hitting a solo homer. “The guys are attacking as a team, getting barrels to the ball, putting the ball in play hard. When you do that, good things happen.”

The Yankees are trying to avoid losing a series to the Twins for the first time since dropping two of three in Minnesota on April 24-26, 2023.

New York also is 1-8 in its past nine games and 4-12 in its past 16. The Yankees went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and several players are slumping, including All-Stars Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger.

Rice has seven hits in 52 at-bats (.135) over his past 14 games. Paul Goldschmidt is hitless in his past 22 at-bats while Bellinger is in a 6-for-54 (.111) skid over his past 15 games.

“It’s never easy, but I feel like with the lineup that we have, we’re more than capable,” New York’s Max Schuemann said.

Joe Ryan (5-5, 3.61 ERA) starts for Minnesota and attempts to avoid a third straight loss after allowing a .326 average (14-for-43) in his previous two outings.

After allowing four runs on eight hits in six innings during a 4-3 home loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 24, the All-Star right-hander yielded a season-high six runs on six hits in four innings Tuesday in Houston during his shortest non-injury start this season.

Ryan is 3-2 with a 3.30 ERA in five career starts against the Yankees.

Ryan Weathers (3-6, 4.08) starts for the Yankees and hopes to bounce back from his shortest outing of the season. Weathers last pitched in Monday’s 7-3 home loss to the Detroit Tigers and allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Weathers is 1-4 with a 5.81 ERA over his past six starts but has not allowed a homer in his past two outings after allowing eight in his prior four.

The left-hander is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his lone career start against Minnesota, which occurred Sept. 24, 2024, for the Miami Marlins.

–Field Level Media