Javier Assad

Assad gave up one hit, walked six and struck out two. It was a bit of a mixed bag for Assad in his second start since returning from the injured list. He wasn't throwing a lot of strikes, but gave up just one hit. The Brewers worked his pitch count up to 76 in the fourth inning and the Cubs decided they weren't going to push him further than that. Assad has a 3.15 ERA on the year. The 26-year-old right-hander is set to face the Royals on the road this weekend.

Contreras victimized his former team in the opening inning with a 364-foot (103.9 mph EV) solo shot off of Javier Assad. He then started the Cardinals' go-ahead rally in the eighth inning with a leadoff walk and then raced home on Nolan Arenado's go-ahead two-run single. He's having an impressive season at the dish, slashing .273/.405/.517 with 10 homers, 24 RBI and three stolen bases in only 50 games.

Assad also issued a pair of walks on the night and didn't record a strikeout. Things got bad for Assad right out of the gate as Masyn Winn slugged a leadoff homer and later in the first inning Willson Contreras added a solo shot of his own. The Cardinals added on in the second on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Alec Burleson. Assad got just two whiffs on 44 pitches in the game, posting a CSW of 27 percent. He now holds a 3.27 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 79/35 K/BB ratio over 85 1/3 innings in 17 starts on the season.

The Cubs reinstated Assad (forearm) from the 15-day injured list Saturday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

The Chicago Cubs made a handful of roster moves prior to the start of their Saturday doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, including activating starting pitcher Javier Assad from the 15-day injured list.