MLB Player News

Crow-Armstrong went 1-for-3 with a walk, stolen base and a strikeout during Thursday's 2-1 win over the Marlins.

With his stolen base Thursday, Crow-Armstrong officially joined the illustrious club of just six other players with 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. The 24-year-old swiped his 40th bag after drawing a walk in the first inning against Tyler Phillips. The young phenom has cemented his MVP campaign, batting .280/.373/.575 with 45 homers, 107 RBI, 40 stolen bases and 82 walks over 716 plate appearances this season.

Rodriguez (16-7) earned the win Thursday over the Rockies, allowing two runs on nine hits and no walks over six innings. He struck out three.

Rodriguez did a good job working his way out of danger Thursday, as he held Colorado to just a pair of runs despite dealing with at least one base runner in each of his six innings. It's a nice bounce-back effort from Rodriguez, who was tagged for seven runs over 5.1 frames his last time out against the Yankees. The lefty will finish a strong regular season with a 2.89 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 143:62 K:BB across 32 starts (189.2 innings).

Zeferjahn posted a clean ninth inning with no strikeouts to earn the save Thursday against the Marlins.

Zeferjahn set down the Marlins in order on just nine pitches (seven strikes) to complete his seventh save of the season. It was the right-hander's first appearance permitting no baserunners since Sept. 12 against the Pirates. Since joining the Cubs on Aug. 3, the 28-year-old owns a 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 19:8 K:BB and three saves in 18 innings.

Smith isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Padres.

Smith will retreat to the dugout to begin Thursday's contest after going 6-for-16 with three homers over his last five games. Hunter Feduccia will fill in behind the plate and bat eighth.

Thornton (5-6) took the loss Thursday against the Rangers, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk across five innings. He struck out four.

Thornton managed to hold the Rangers scoreless after giving up a two-run homer to Josh Jung in the first inning, though the Mets' offense failed to provide enough support in an eventual 3-1 defeat. Still, the rookie southpaw was solid to close out the season, holding opponents to two runs or fewer in five of his final six outings. Thornton looks to have solidified his spot in New York's 2027 rotation after posting a 3.42 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 63:18 K:BB across 15 major-league starts (84.1 innings) this year.

Boyd (10-5) picked up the win after allowing one run on five hits and two walks over seven innings against the Marlins on Thursday. He struck out three.

In his final start of the campaign, Boyd tied his season high with seven innings pitched, which he previously accomplished four times this year. The southpaw allowed just one run on a Jakob Marsee RBI single in the third inning as he secured a second straight victory. The 35-year-old will end the year with a 3.91 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 96:39 K:BB over 126.2 innings.

Ralston (0-2) earned the loss after allowing two runs and on three hits and no walks over 1.1 innings against the Cubs on Thursday. He struck out two.

Ralston came on in relief of Tyler Phillips and allowed the game-tying and eventual game-winning runs. Seiya Suzuki blasted a home run off the right-hander, and then Nico Hoerner lined a go-ahead single in the sixth. Ralston has been scored upon in three of his past five outings. Across 15 appearances this season, he owns a 4.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB over 16 innings.

Phillips did not factor into the decision in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Cubs, allowing no runs on three hits and four walks over four innings. He struck out two.

Phillips recorded his second consecutive scoreless outing Thursday against Chicago. The 28-year-old righty has posted solid numbers over his last seven games with a 2.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 25:16 K:BB over 28 innings. Assuming this is Phillips' final appearance of the campaign, he'll finish 2026 with a 5-6 record, 3.34 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 101:56 K:BB over 126.2 innings.

Leahy didn't factor in the decision Thursday at Pittsburgh after giving up a run on three hits and no walks over two innings. He struck out three.

It was another short start down the stretch for the right-hander as the Cardinals managed his workload to close out his first season as a big-league starter. Leahy lasted fewer than five frames in his final six starts of the year, but he still finished with a 10-5 record with a 3.66 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 132:41 K:BB across 140 innings. That innings total is the 29-year-old's largest since 2022 in the minors -- his last season as a full-time starter -- and should set him up nicely to be a key rotation piece and avoid workload limitations late in the 2027 campaign.

Montgomery picked up the save Thursday versus St. Louis, striking out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

The left-hander entered for the ninth inning with Pittsburgh holding a 2-1 advantage, and he closed things out in strong form by punching out the side in order to record his 17th save of 2026. Montgomery has turned into a late-inning weapon for the Pirates and hasn't given up a run since July 26. During that 25-game stretch, he's picked up three wins and converted all 15 of his save chances with a 0.65 WHIP and 37:7 K:BB.