Justin Steele

Steele gave up six hits, including run-scoring singles to Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang in the first and sixth innings, respectively. He finished with four strikeouts and also handed out three free passes. It wasn't a dominant performance, but it was a much-needed bounce-back outing after getting lit up for five runs over 4 2/3 innings last Friday in his second-half debut against the Diamondbacks. He'll bring a stellar 3.08 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 91/23 K/BB ratio across 96 1/3 innings (16 starts) into a road tilt on Tuesday against the Reds.

Murphy confirmed that Sanchez will be activated from the injured list to face Cubs lefty Justin Steele. The 31-year-old backstop has been out since late June recovering from a left calf strain. He'll continue to split time between designated hitter and catcher for Milwaukee moving forward.

The Chicago Cubs "remain in listening mode" ahead of the MLB trade deadline, according to The Athletic's Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.

There goes the two-game win streak. It's the fifth time this season that Steele has allowed as many as five runs. The other four all came in a five-start span in May and June, so hopefully that doesn't repeat. He'd given up a total of 11 runs in his previous seven starts.

No surprise here as the Cubs will hand the ball to their ace following a stellar first half where he posted a pristine 2.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 81/18 K/BB ratio across 86 1/3 innings (14 starts). The 29-year-old lefty would've been an obvious All-Star Game selection had he not missed a handful of starts due to an early-season hamstring injury. It'll be Kyle Hendricks and Shota Imanaga, fresh off a scoreless appearance earlier this week in the Midsummer Classic, taking the ball over the weekend against the Diamondbacks.