MLB Player News

Murphy went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Astros on Wednesday.

Murphy connected for his fourth major-league homer in the sixth inning to erase a 2-1 deficit. The rookie backstop has impressively left the yard in three of his last nine at-bats across the last two games, quickly corroborating the power profile he flashed at Triple-A Las Vegas this season wasn't just a byproduct of the Pacific Coast League's hitter-friendly conditions.

Nola went 1-for-2 with an RBI single, a walk and two runs in a win over the Reds on Wednesday.

Nola set the table nicely in the win, and he's now crossed the plate on seven occasions in his last five games. That elevated figure is one of the byproducts of Nola's eye-popping .444 on-base percentage over the first eight games of September, with Nola reaching safely on 11 occasions over his first 27 plate appearances of the month.

Sanchez is not in the lineup for Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Tigers, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

He is hitting .217 with two home runs in 23 at-bats this month. Look for him to be back in the lineup for Game 2. Austin Romine is behind the dish and will hit ninth in the matinee.

Stassi has been dealing with a sore oblique, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The report sheds some light on the nature of Stassi's injury, which had previously been mentioned only as an unspecified side issue. Recovery timelines on oblique injuries tend to be unpredictable, hence the lack of clarity on a potential return date. Stassi has not played since Sept. 3.

Perez is not starting Wednesday against the Angels.

Perez went hitless Tuesday after hitting .409 over his previous six contests. Kevin Plawecki gets the start behind the plate in his absence.

McCann is not starting Wednesday against the Royals.

McCann owns a poor .491 OPS over his last 12 contests, though his season OPS remains quite strong (especially for a catcher) at .785. Welington Castillo starts behind the plate in his absence.

Garver will sit Wednesday against Washington.

Garver has started every other game at the plate over the last six games, adding a start as a designated hitter as well. Jason Castro gets the call behind the plate Wednesday.

Murphy went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Tuesday's 21-7 rout of the Astros.

The rookie has been impressive to begin his big-league career, going deep three times in his first three starts and slashing .357/.400/1.000 through 15 plate appearances. Murphy remains in a timeshare with Josh Phegley behind the plate for now, but if he keeps raking he could overtake the veteran as Oakland's No. 1 catcher with the club pulling out all the stops in an effort to make the postseason.

Maldonado went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs in Tuesday's 21-7 loss to the Athletics.

Maldonado is hitting just .226 since joining the Astros but has homered five times in 62 at-bats. Slugging is not typically a part of his repertoire, so view this stretch as an anomaly.

McGuire went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and walk during a 4-3 victory against the Red Sox on Tuesday.

That gives McGuire five long balls already in just 65 at-bats. He's batting .323 too, and with three doubles to go with the homers, McGuire owns a .600 slugging percentage. Of course, it's still a small sample, as McGuire has played just 20 games. He also has eight RBI and nine runs.