MLB Player News

Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-4 with a triple, two home runs, three RBI and an additional run scored during Wednesday's 8-4 win over Atlanta.

Crow-Armstrong strengthened his case for National League MVP on Wednesday with another multi-HR game -- his seventh of the season -- while hustling out an RBI triple in the fifth inning. He's already set career highs in homers (44), RBI (105) and stolen bases (37) across 687 plate appearances this year, and he has just over a week left in the regular season to record the seventh 40-40 season in major-league history and first in Cubs franchise history.

Henderson didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against Pittsburgh, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk across five innings. He struck out eight.

While Henderson had his strikeout stuff working Wednesday, he was hurt by the long ball. After blanking Pittsburgh through three innings, Henderson gave up a solo shot to Oneil Cruz in the fourth before Brandon Lowe tied the game 3-3 with a two-run blast in the fifth. Coming into the day, the 24-year-old right-hander had not given up more than two runs in any of his previous five outings -- he posted a stellar 1.41 ERA with a 0.56 WHIP across 32 innings during that span. Overall, Henderson sports a 2.51 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 96:16 K:BB across 17 starts (93.1 innings) this season. He's tentatively in line to face the Phillies on the road his next time out.

Duran struck out two in a clean ninth inning for the save Wednesday against the Nationals.

Duran wasn't at his sharpest, landing just 13 of his 21 pitches for strikes, but Washington still was unable to muster a baserunner. The star closer hasn't blown a save since July 27 in Miami, tallying at least one strikeout in six consecutive outings and nine of his last 10. Duran has a 1.79 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and a sparkling 77:9 K:BB over 55.1 innings this season, collecting 31 saves (33 opportunities) still with a chance to eclipse his career high of 32.

Cornelio didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Phillies, striking out one while allowing no hits and two walks in 2.2 relief innings.

Opener Jared Simpson couldn't find the plate Wednesday, walking four in one-third of an inning, but Cornelio helped settle things down out of the bullpen before handing things over to Will Dion. The Nationals don't appear to be ready to expand his workload, however, as Cornelio has not yet reached the 50-pitch marker in any of his last four outings since being recalled from the minor leagues. He has a 4.45 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 32:24 K:BB in 30.1 major-league innings this year.

The Nationals optioned Pinckney to Triple-A Rochester after Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Pinckney was recalled from Triple-A on Thursday and went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored during his brief stint in the majors. Unless the Nationals need to replace an injured player down the stretch, the 25-year-old will most likely play out the rest of the season at Rochester.

Jones didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Brewers, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk across five innings. He struck out nine.

Jones has now recorded eight or more strikeouts in each of his last three outings. Prior to Wednesday, the right-hander had delivered 13 straight scoreless frames in his previous two starts, allowing just four hits in that span. Through 19 starts (90.2 innings) this season in his first year back from elbow surgery, Jones sports a 4.17 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP and 109:31 K:BB. He's tentatively lined up to face the Cardinals at home his next time out.

Wheeler (13-5) earned the win Wednesday against the Nationals, striking out five while allowing four hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings.

Staked to an early 2-0 lead, Wheeler found himself in cruise control throughout the course of Wednesday evening. The star right-hander pitched at least six innings while yielding one or no runs for a fourth consecutive start, and he's now just three career punchouts shy of joining the 2,000-strikeout club. He'll bring a stellar 2.99 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 177:46 K:BB over 150.1 innings into his next scheduled outing against the Brewers.

De La Cruz went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a second run scored in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Dodgers.

De La Cruz put the Reds ahead in the third inning with a two-run, two-out blast off Seth Halvorsen, his 28th homer of the season and seventh in his last 11 games. De La Cruz has been on a tear over the last month -- he's batting .424 (39-for-92) in his past 23 games with 18 extra-base hits and a 1.274 OPS in that span. The star shortstop is now slashing .286/.364/.521 with 74 RBI, 94 runs scored and 26 stolen bases across 593 plate appearances this year.

Abbott did not factor into the decision Wednesday against the Dodgers, allowing one run on three hits and five walks across 4.2 innings. He struck out five.

Abbott did a good job limiting the damage, as he held Los Angeles to a lone run despite issuing five walks, matching a season high. The southpaw ultimately departed the game with two outs in the fifth inning after he threw 98 pitches (just 52 for strikes). Notably, Abbott did not give up a home run in the contest -- he had allowed seven long balls in his previous five outings. Overall, his ERA sits at 4.70 through 31 starts (159 innings) this year with a 1.47 WHIP and 125:75 K:BB. Abbott currently lines up for a road matchup in Atlanta his next time out.

Vargas is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

After starting in five consecutive contests from Sept. 6 through last Friday, Vargas has now been excluded from the lineup for five straight games. Arizona will likely continue to prioritize Tim Tawa at first base ahead of Vargas, who is slashing a middling .242/.281/.354 since the All-Star break. Tawa is actually in center field Wednesday with Pavin Smith at first.