MLB Player News

Sale (18-3) earned the win Thursday over Cincinnati, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks across five innings. He struck out six.

While Sale failed to make it through six innings for the first time in eight starts, the left-hander continues to separate himself as the Cy Young favorite -- Sale hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last 18 outings. He leads the majors in wins, ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225) through 29 starts (177.2) innings this season. Sale will look to wrap up the regular season on a high note -- he's currently lined up for a home matchup with the Mets next week in what could be his final start..

Harris went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs, four total RBI and four total runs scored in Thursday's 15-3 win over the Reds.

Both of Harris' homers came off Reds' lefty Brandon Leibrandt, a solo shot in the eighth inning and a three-run blast in the ninth. The 23-year-old Harris has been on a tear, going 6-for-16 with four home runs in his last three games. He's now slashing .251/.291/.405 with 15 homers, 45 RBI, 51 runs scored and nine steals across 429 plate appearances this season.

Dunn went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk, two stolen bases and three total runs scored in Thursday's 15-3 loss to Atlanta.

It was a rough day for the Reds overall, though Dunn provided a bright spot -- the 26-year-old outfielder swiped his first two bases in the majors before swatting his first big-league homer, a 422-foot blast off Chris Sale. Dunn had gone just 2-for-21 in 16 games prior to Thursday. He'll likely fill a bench role for Cincinnati over the final week of the season.

Olson went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, four total RBI and three total runs scored in Thursday's 15-3 win over Cincinnati.

Olson got the scoring started with a solo shot off Julian Aguiar in the second inning before adding a three-run homer in the fifth, extending Atlanta's lead to 8-1. While it's been a down year overall for Olson, he's been on fire down the stretch, going 15-for-36 (.417) with a pair of home runs and 15 RBI in his last 10 games. The 30-year-old first baseman has boosted his slash line to .243/.326/.459 with 28 homers, 94 RBI and 76 runs scored across 647 plate appearances this season.

Garcia (wrist) isn't in the Nationals' lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Garcia will be missing his second straight start Thursday as a result of wrist discomfort that flared up during Tuesday's contest. As he continues to recover, Darren Baker will pick up a start at the keystone and bat eighth.

Gallo isn't in Washington's lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Gallo's two home runs since the start of September represent the only hits he's tallied in his last 32 at-bats, so the Nats will sit him down Thursday in an effort to find more production at the plate. Juan Yepez will fill in as Washington's first baseman and bat seventh.

Merryweather will undergo surgery on his right knee Friday, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Merryweather has been on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa since last Friday, during which he's thrown two scoreless innings while striking out three batters and walking one. However, his attempt at a return this season will be put to an abrupt end, as he's elected to undergo surgery to address the tendinitis in his knee. A recovery timeline will likely emerge after the 32-year-old goes under the knife.

Busch isn't in the Cubs' lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

After going 1-for-10 with an RBI and four strikeouts during Chicago's previous series against Oakland, Busch will take a seat to begin the Cubs' four-game set with Washington. Patrick Wisdom will cover first base in his stead and bat sixth.

Albies (wrist) will be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday's game in Miami, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Things were pointing in that direction, but Atlanta presumably wanted to wait to see how he bounced back from a couple rehab games with Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday and Wednesday before officially clearing him to return to the active roster. The switch-hitting Albies will bat exclusively from the right side upon his return, at least initially, due to continued discomfort in his fractured left hand when swinging from the left side.

McCutchen is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest in St. Louis.

McCutchen had a couple hits and scored a run in Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals, but he will begin Thursday's series finale on the bench. The Pirates are going with Bryan Reynolds at designated hitter and Nick Yorke in left field.