MLB Player News

Winker hit a solo home run in his only at-bat in Thursday's 1-0 win over the Mets.

He did not start with the lefty Jose Quintana pitching, but Winker provided the only spark of the contest when he took Adrian Houser deep in the eighth. It was Winker's 10th homer of the season, his fifth career pinch-hit blast and first pinch-hit homer since 2019 with the Reds. The 30-year-old will often sit against lefties, but he's been very good in his first year with the Nationals, slashing .263/.377/.425 with 39 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Thomas went 1-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases in Thursday's win against the Mets.

Thomas had his fifth game of the season with multiple stolen bases, which is the second most in MLB behind Elly De La Cruz (eight). Thomas already has 19 steals in 58 games this season, one away from the career high he set last season in 156 contests. The 28-year-old continues to be a solid producer since returning from a knee injury in late May, slashing .268/.327/.504 with six homers and 25 RBI over his last 36 games.

Hernandez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to Arizona on Wednesday.

The Dodgers scored all their runs in the first inning, and their final tally came on Hernandez's solo shot. The long ball was his 19th of the campaign, putting the veteran outfielder one home run away from reaching the 20-homer mark for the sixth straight full season (he hit 16 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign). Hernandez is on pace to challenge his career-best marks of 32 home runs and 116 RBI, which he established with Toronto in 2021.

Irvin (7-6) earned the win Thursday against the Mets. He allowed one hit and one walk over eight scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.

Irvin was brilliant Thursday as he threw a career-high eight innings to grab his seventh win. After giving up a one-out single to Jeff McNeil in the third, Irvin went on to retire the final 17 batters he faced. He became the first Nationals pitcher to throw eight shutout innings since Joe Ross in June 2021. The 27-year-old has registered a quality start in eight of his last nine appearances. He is making a case for a spot in the All-Star Game with his 2.80 ERA, which is ranked 10th in the majors.

Winn went 3-for-5 with one RBI in Wednesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Pirates.

Winn has gone 7-for-14 over his last three games. The shortstop cooled off a bit in June, hitting .255 with a .669 OPS over 26 games, though he remains the near-everyday leadoff hitter. For the season, Winn has an excellent .293/.337/.420 slash line with four home runs, eight stolen bases, 29 RBI, 33 runs scored, 17 doubles and three triples across 77 contests.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-5 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Pirates.

Goldschmidt's midseason resurgence has continued into July -- he's opened the month with a pair of multi-hit efforts. He's batting .262 with six extra-base hits and two steals over his last 15 contests. The first baseman is at a .230/.297/.368 slash line with 11 home runs, five steals, 12 doubles, 33 RBI and 40 runs scored through 82 games overall, though his recent play is an encouraging sign for the second half.

Crow-Armstrong received four stitches for a left thumb injury suffered during Wednesday's game versus the Phillies, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Crow-Armstrong was hurt on a slide into third base. He is not in Thursday's lineup but was unlikely to be in it, regardless, with the Phillies sending lefty Cristopher Sanchez to the mound. Crow-Armstrong will be available off the bench.

Kittredge (1-4) allowed two runs (one earned) on a hit and a walk while striking out two over 1.1 innings to take the extra-inning loss Wednesday versus the Pirates.

Kittredge pitched the ninth inning, but he stumbled when tasked with working the 10th. He walked Andrew McCutchen, and then JoJo Romero gave up back-to-back RBI singles, sticking two runs on Kittredge's line in the walk-off loss. Over his last 10.2 innings, Kittredge has been tagged for nine runs (six earned) while posting a 7:4 K:BB. The rough patch hasn't cost him a high-leverage role, but it's made him a little more difficult to trust. For the year, he has a 3.35 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 35:12 K:BB with a save, 24 holds and four blown saves through 37.2 innings.

Liberatore allowed a hit over 1.2 scoreless innings of relief during Wednesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Pirates.

Liberatore was called on for a spot start in a doubleheader June 26, throwing 85 pitches in that outing. He was not expected to stick in the rotation, and he's predictably not listed among the starters for the Cardinals' next turn through the rotation. Liberatore will likely remain in a long-relief role. He's been solid this year with a 3.72 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 36:16 K:BB over 46 innings across 28 appearances (five starts).

Merrifield is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.

Merrifield has gone 4-for-23 over his past 11 contests and will hit the bench for Thursday's series finale in Chicago. Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and David Dahl will start from left to right in the outfield.