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The 23-year-old right-hander struggled with his command and had to battle a bit throughout the outing, but the only hit that he allowed was a leadoff single to Andrew McCutchen to start the ballgame. Diaz got nine swings and misses on 79 pitches on the day, registering a respectable CSW of 29 percent. He’ll look to carry over the momentum from this strong start as he brings a 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and a 14/8 K/BB ratio (20 innings) into Saturday’s rematch against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

The Astros still want him to increase the intensity of his workout before he progresses to facing live pitching, so it still sounds like he has a bit of work to do before he returns. Meyers has been shelved since July 10 with the calf ailment.

Brown looked good in a relief role after Michael Soroka went down with an injury last week and will now get at least one start to make his case to stick in the Cubs’ rotation. Jameson Taillon is nearing a return from the injured list though which could relegate him back to the bullpen in short order.

The 26-year-old backstop got the scoring started in the ballgame with his 407-foot (104.9 mph EV) two-run blast off of Shota Imanaga in the third inning. He also struck out and flied out to center in the contest. For the season, Pages is now hitting .211/.256/.341 with eight homers and 35 RBI in 291 plate appearances.

The Cardinals got something started with two outs in the seventh inning as Jordan Walker singled and swiped second base to get himself in scoring position. Gorman then battled back from an 0-2 hole against Shota Imanaga to line a single into right field that plated Walker with the go-ahead run that proved to be the difference. The 25-year-old infielder finished the night 1-for-3 and is now hitting .228/.315/.411 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI.

Romero came on to get the final out of the eighth inning with a man on first base and two outs. He allowed a single to Kyle Tucker but then retired Carson Kelly on a ground ball to shortstop to get out of danger. He then returned for the ninth where he got Justin Turner on a fly ball to center. Ian Happ then drew an eight-pitch walk to put the tying run on base, but pinch-runner Jon Berti was cut down attempting to steal second base. Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson then singled to put the tying run in scoring position before Romero finally got Matt Shaw to hit into a fielder’s choice to end it. It looks like the 28-year-old southpaw is near the top of the committee for save chances in St. Louis at the moment, making him a worthwhile addition for those speculating on saves.

The 35-year-old right-hander racked up seven strikeouts on the night while allowing only one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came on a two-run blast by Matt Shaw in the fifth inning after Dansby Swanson had reached on an error. Gray got seven swings and misses on 92 pitches on the night — all of them on his sweeper — while posting a CSW of 28 percent. Now 11-5 on the season, Gray will look to further improve upon his 4.06 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 148/22 K/BB ratio (135 1/3 innings) when he does battle against the Yankees on Saturday.

Shaw got the Cubs on the board and pulled them even at two runs apiece with his 379-foot (98.2 mph EV) two-run blast off of Sonny Gray in the fifth inning. That would be the extent of the Cubs’ offense in the ballgame. He struck out in each of his other two plate appearances in the game. For the season, the 23-year-old rookie third baseman is now hitting .228/.292/.392 with nine homers, 30 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 295 plate appearances.

Imanaga racked up nine strikeouts on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. He served up a two-run homer to Pedro Pages in the third inning and then kept the Cardinals at bay until Nolan Gorman’s two-out RBI single in the seventh broke a 2-2 tie and chased Imanaga from the game. He got 11 swings and misses on 92 pitches on the evening — six on his fastball — while registering a strong CSW of 33 percent. Imanaga has been brilliant through his first 17 starts, posting a 3.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 79/17 K/BB ratio across 96 innings. He’ll take on the Pirates his next time out at home on Saturday.

The 24-year-old right-hander was lit up for seven runs (six earned) over three innings in a loss to the Tigers on Sunday and that appears to have been the final straw this time around. He’ll go back to refining his craft at Triple-A Salt Lake. It’s unclear who will step into the Angels’ rotation to fill that void, though Carson Fulmer continues to be one viable alternative.

The 33-year-old hurler refused his outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo and will once again peddle his wares on the open market. Jackson made just three appearances with the Tigers, registering a 7.71 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and a 4/5 K/BB ratio over 4 2/3 innings of work. He’s still talented enough that he should have no problem finding another team hurting for quality bullpen depth that’s willing to take a chance on him.