The 27-year-old hurler was just called up on Monday, but he’ll head back to Columbus after allowing one run on three hits and a pair of walks while striking out four batters over three innings in his big league debut. He should get another opportunity with the Guardians before the 2025 season is through.

Pomeranz, who hasn’t allowed a run in seven relief appearances since making his Chicago debut back on April 25, got the call to protect a three-run lead with Porter Hodge likely unavailable after throwing 29 pitches in a pair of appearances over the weekend. It certainly appears the Cubs are going to try to stay away from Ryan Pressly in save situations for the time being. The 36-year-old veteran southpaw struck out Kyle Stowers and got Eric Wagaman to fly out to center field before Connor Norby delivered a two-out single. He froze Derek Hill on a 94.4 mph fastball to extinguish any hopes of a comeback and preserve the victory.

Rea took a shutout into the seventh inning before giving up a two-run homer to Derek Hill, which accounted for all of the damage against him in this one. He finished with four strikeouts and only handed out two free passes. It was a much-needed bounce-back effort after allowing five runs his last time out against the Giants. He’ll square off against the White Sox on Sunday in his next outing.

Verdugo’s grounder up the middle scored Eli White from second. Verdugo also doubled earlier in the game. He entered the night in a 1-for-24 slump, and he needs to turn it on now that Ronald Acuña Jr.'s rehab assignment is about to start.

Holmes left with a two-run lead that failed to hold up, but it was still a necessary strong performance from him with Spencer Strider due back soon. The Braves have to be somewhat tempted to send Holmes back to the pen when that happens; he deserves to be in the rotation over Bryce Elder, but he might be able to make more of a difference late in games. He’s 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA at the moment, and he’ll take on the Braves in Fenway next time out.