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Starting Boyd was a questionable decision, given he was on short rest, but to start Boyd and leave Javier Assad off the roster is a question that Craig Counsell will have to answer later down the road.

One roster note is that catcher Miguel Amaya and Javier Assad were left off the roster, making room for youngsters Moises Ballesteros and Kevin Alcantara. Pitchers (12) LHP Matthew Boyd LHP Shota Imanaga LHP Caleb Thielbar LHP Taylor Rogers LHP Drew Pomeranz RHP Colin Rea RHP Andrew Kittredge RHP Brad Keller RHP Daniel Palencia RHP Michael Soroka RHP Aaron Civale RHP Jameson Taillon Position players (14) C – Carson Kelly C – Reese McGuire C/DH – Moisés Ballesteros INF – Michael Busch INF – Nico Hoerner INF – Dansby Swanson INF – Matt Shaw INF – Justin Turner INF/OF – Willi Castro OF – Kyle Tucker OF – Pete Crow-Armstrong OF – Ian Happ OF – Seiya Suzuki OF – Kevin Alcántara The coaching staff under manager Craig Counsell (#11) is as follows: Ryan Flaherty (bench, #84), Tommy Hottovy (pitching, #68), Dustin Kelly (hitting, #76), Jose Javier (first base, #65), Quintin Berry (third base, #0), Mark Strittmatter (bullpen, #81), Casey Jacobson (assistant pitching, #86), Juan Cabreja (assistant hitting, #63), John Mallee (assistant hitting, #80), Jonathan Mota (coach, #90), Tyler Zombro (special assistant, pitching, #88), AJ Lewis (staff assistant, #74), Erick Castillo (bullpen catcher, #93), Garrett Lloyd (bullpen catcher, #85) and Alex Smith (strategy, #97).

Relievers Colin Rea Mike Soroka Aaron Civale Andrew Kittredge Javier Assad Drew Pomeranz Taylor Rogers Brad Keller Caleb Thielbar Daniel Palencia Due to some of the issues the Cubs have faced with starters like Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga down the stretch, we anticipate the Cubs deciding to carry 13 pitchers — including some long relief options like Aaron Civale, Mike Soroka, and Javier Assad.

Given the situation, Javier Assad was the only choice to start in this one, and the Cubs are sure happy they elected to give him the ball. ..... Not known as a strikeout pitcher, you wouldn't have thought that based on this performance as Assad struck out six across 5 1/3 scoreless frames before yielding to the pen. ..... Facing off against Assad was right-hander Kyle Leahy, who was auditioning for a spot in the 2026 rotation.

Now that the Cubs know where they will be playing on Tuesday, Javier Assad will likely get the start on Sunday, as this has the classic bullpen game written all over it.