MLB Player News

Canario went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and five RBI in Tuesday's 14-1 win of the Pirates.

Making his first big-league start and batting ninth as the DH, the 23-year-old helped put the finishing touches on the rout by slugging his first career homer in the eighth inning -- a grand slam off Kyle Nicolas. Canario has flashed big-time power in the minors, launching eight homers in 36 games for Triple-A Iowa this season after mashing 30 over 101 games in the high minors the year before, but he still needs to prove he can make consistent enough contact against major-league pitching to become a significant part of the Cubs' future.

Meneses went 1-for-1 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's win over the White Sox.

Pinch-hitting for Blake Rutherford in the seventh inning, Meneses launched a clutch three-run homer off Bryan Shaw, putting the Nationals ahead 4-2 en route to a 4-3 victory. The homer was Menses' first in 37 games, with his last coming Aug. 8. While he's hit only 12 homers this year, the 31-year-old Menses is still slashing a solid .279/.326/.406 with a team-high 84 RBI to go with 67 runs scored through 610 plate appearances.

The Padres list Martinez as their probable starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Cardinals at Petco Park.

San Diego hasn't formally clarified its pitching plans for Saturday, but Martinez will likely be deployed in tandem with Pedro Avila after that pairing worked successfully this past Sunday in Oakland. In the Padres' 10-1 win over the Athletics, Martinez opened the game with five strikeouts over three scoreless, one-hit frames, while Avila followed with the exact same pitching line. Martinez could add an inning or two to his workload Saturday, though Avila would probably be the pitcher most likely to pick up a win if he ends up being available in bulk relief.

Arcia is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Phillies.

Arcia is hitting .172 with one home run and 17 strikeouts in 18 games this month. Nicky Lopez gets the start at shortstop, batting ninth.

Assad (4-3) picked up the win in Tuesday's 14-1 rout of the Pirates, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out eight.

A Ke'Bryan Hayes solo shot in the third inning was the only blemish on Assad's line as the 26-year-old righty set a new career high for strikeouts in a game. Since getting fully stretched out and locking down a spot in the Cubs rotation in mid-August, Assad sports a 2.68 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 36:14 K:BB through 47 innings. He'll likely next take the mound this weekend at home against the Rockies.

Hayes went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 14-1 loss to the Cubs.

The third baseman spoiled Chicago's shutout bid by taking Javier Assad deep in the third inning. Hayes is wrapping up a big second-half breakout, and since coming off the IL in early August, he's slashing .309/.349/.562 through 40 games with nine of his 14 homers on the season -- a power pace supported by his 93rd percentile average exit velocity, 89th percentile hard-hit rate and career-best 13.1 degree launch angle and 39 percent flyball rate in 2023.

Falter (2-9) took the loss in Tuesday's 14-1 rout at the hands of the Cubs, giving up two runs on a hit and two walks in just one inning. He struck out one.

The 26-year-old southpaw started the game but got a quick hook after only 24 pitches (15 strikes), with rookie righty Quinn Priester replacing him on the mound to begin the second inning. Falter had delivered a quality start against the Nationals in his last outing, but there's been no indication from the Bucs that his early exit Tuesday was due to any kind of injury, suggesting the move was made for strategic reasons. If Falter and Priester continue to be deployed as a tandem in some fashion, the duo would line up for two more appearances before the end of the regular season, but the lefty has been the far more effective pitcher lately, posting a 2.51 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 10:4 K:BB through 14.1 innings in September.

Finnegan picked up the save Tuesday against the White Sox. He allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out one over an inning.

The White Sox made things interesting in the ninth, cutting the Nats' lead to 4-3, but Finnegan ultimately got Elvis Andrus to fly out, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base. It's been a rocky stretch for Finnegan, who's now allowed eight runs over his last six appearances (5.2 innings). Still, the right-hander appears to have a solid grasp on the closing job in Washington as he improved to 26-for-34 in save chances this season. Through 66.1 innings on the campaign, Finnegan sports a 3.66 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP and 61:24 K:BB.

Kinley (0-3) took the loss in Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Padres. He allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning.

Kinley stepped into the game in the bottom of the ninth with the score 0-0 and managed to strike out two of the first three batters he faced. However, Xander Bogaerts tagged him for a two-run shot to walk it off for the Padres and give Kinley his third loss of 2023. Kinely has yielded mixed results over his last four outings, logging a pair of scoreless saves while giving up four total runs across his other two appearances, including a blown save and Tuesday's loss.

Priester didn't factor into the decision Tuesday as the Pirates were routed 14-1 by the Cubs, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over six relief innings. He struck out two.

Bailey Falter got the start but curiously got the hook after giving up two runs in the first inning, with Priester taking over to begin the second. The rookie right-hander ended up handling his biggest workload in eight big-league appearances -- his previous high was 5.1 frames -- but he also served up his 10th homer, leaving him with a 8.61 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 29:21 K:BB through 38.2 MLB innings. It's not yet clear if the Pirates will continue deploying Falter and Priester together as a tandem in some fashion, but if so the duo would line up for two more appearances before the end of the regular season.