MLB Player News

Contreras went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run, three additional RBI and an additional run scored in Friday's 20-0 win over the Reds.

Contreras opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first and added two more RBI during Milwaukee's eight-run fifth inning. The star backstop capped the scoring in emphatic fashion, crushing a three-run homer off position player Jose Trevino in the eighth to make it 20-0. The blast was Contreras' 16th of the season. He's gone yard in three of his last five games and is hitting .282 with a .915 OPS across nine games since the beginning of September.

Ford was removed from Friday's game against the Angels due to pain in his left hand/wrist, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Ford reportedly injured his hand during his final at-bat in the sixth inning, and he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth. The Nationals have sent the 23-year-old for imaging to determine the severity of his injury, and an update on his status should come before Saturday's game.

Salas isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants.

Salas was expected to receive the lion's share of starts behind the plate when the Padres called him up at the beginning of September, but after going 0-for-12 across his first five major-league contests, he'll now miss out on the starting nine for a third consecutive game. Freddy Fermin will handle catching duties and bat ninth Friday.

Cavanaugh is not in Friday's starting lineup against the Padres, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Cavanaugh will get a breather after going 3-for-12 over his last five outings. Andrew Knizner will start behind home plate for Friday's series opener and bat eighth while forming a battery with Anthony Molina.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Washington's game against the Angels on Friday.

Despite launching a solo shot during Wednesday's affair with the Padres, Ruiz will sit out the series opener against the Angels. Harry Ford will catch balls and strikes while batting seventh for the Nationals.

Ruiz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Padres.

The switch-hitting backstop took Walker Buehler deep to lead off the third inning and open the scoring, but the game quickly got away from the Nationals in an eventual 9-2 loss. Ruiz has been in a timeshare with Harry Ford since late August but has been by far the more productive hitter in that time -- over his last 10 games, Ruiz is batting .344 (11-for-32) with two of his 10 homers on the season.

Torrens went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and four RBI in Wednesday's win over the Marlins.

The 30-year-old backstop was one of three Mets to collect three hits in a 15-run, 15-hit outburst from the offense. Torrens had gone just 3-for-22 (.136) over his prior nine games, and on the season he sports a .240/.303/.399 slash line in 85 contests with eight homers and 37 RBI as the backup to Francisco Alvarez.

Millas will undergo surgery Friday on his fractured left index finger, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.

Millas had a procedure in July when he first suffered the injury, but he'll undergo another one Friday because the finger didn't heal as hoped. It will be the third surgery the catcher has had on the finger since last August. There's no word on a timeline for Millas' rehab, but he should be healed well before spring training.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Astros.

It's an afternoon game Thursday after Realmuto had started the last three contests, so it's not a surprise he's getting a breather. Rafael Marchan will do the catching and will bat ninth for the Phillies.

Murphy is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Rays.

After drawing starts behind the plate in the first two games of the series, Murphy will take a seat for Thursday's finale. Drake Baldwin will do the catching as Atlanta tries to avoid the sweep.