MLB Player News

Civale retired the final two batters of Thursday's 4-2, 10-inning win over the Cardinals to record his first save of the season.

Civale was the sixth Chicago pitcher used on the afternoon, and he retired his two batters on nine pitches to record just his second career MLB save, with his other one coming last year. The veteran righty has now appeared in three games for the Cubs since coming over via trade from the A's on July 18, and he's allowed two runs across five innings while striking out six. Civale doesn't have a ton of fantasy value at the moment, as he's mostly just bullpen depth with his new team, though he's capable of making spot starts if needed.

Bregman went 2-for-4 with a walk, two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI in Thursday's 4-2, 10-inning win over the Cardinals.

Bregman had a nice series against St. Louis, going 10-for-18 with a home run, three RBI and seven runs scored across the four games. Overall, the veteran third baseman is now slashing .248/.341/.381 through106 contests and seems to be trending upward after a slow start to his tenure with the Cubs. Bregman has also been incredibly durable, as he's now played in all but three of Chicago's games this season.

Interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said Thursday that Anthony (finger) has started swinging a bat again, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Anthony began hitting off a tee this week, and he's built up to 30 swings at a time at the moment. The outfielder has been sidelined since early May while nursing a torn tendon in his right ring finger, and Tracy outlined that "there's no clear next steps yet" in Anthony's recovery. The team is expected to take their time with the 22-year-old, and he will likely remain at his current level of activity for a "little while" according to Tracy. A return to action with the Red Sox in mid-to-late August might be the best-case scenario at this point for Anthony.

Ohtani is not in the starting lineup Thursday against Seattle as a result of left knee soreness, Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani has been dealing with an ongoing knee issue for over a month, and the Dodgers decided to give their superstar a day off. Manager Dave Roberts is "very confident" that the 32-year-old will be back in the lineup for Friday's series opener at home versus Boston.

Kurtz (forearm) will start at first base and bat leadoff Thursday against the Red Sox.

Kurtz made an early exit from Wednesday's contest after taking a pitch off his forearm, but he's been cleared to return to the starting nine after MRI results came back clean Thursday. The 23-year-old slugger owns an .890 OPS through 426 plate appearances on the season, but he's gone just 1-for-12 with a three-run homer and seven strikeouts since returning from the injured list Saturday.

Crawford is not in the lineup Thursday against the Dodgers.

Crawford is beginning the game from the bench for the second consecutive night Thursday. He didn't start in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Dodgers, though he did come off the bench as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning. Weston Wilson is starting at the hot corner while Colt Emerson mans shortstop Thursday.

Gilbert is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Padres.

The Padres are sending southpaw JP Sears to the mound Thursday, so the left-handed hitting Gilbert is taking a seat. It's the third consecutive game Gilbert is beginning the game on the bench, with the last two of those coming against southpaws. While he sits, Grant McCray is starting in center field and batting eighth.

Cavanaugh is not in the lineup Thursday against the Padres.

It's the second straight game coming off the bench for Cavanaugh, though he still served as a pinch hitter Wednesday and delivered an RBI single. Daniel Susac is operating as the starting catcher Thursday and is batting seventh.

Ohtani is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Mariners, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani has appeared in all 11 games as a hitter since the All-Star break despite ongoing soreness in his right biceps and inflammation in his left knee. The issues have caused the superstar to put a pause on pitching, and sitting Thursday is likely just a day for him to rest up. As he sits, Teoscar Hernandez is starting as the designated hitter while Enrique Hernandez is inserted in left field.

Matthews will be called up from Triple-A Memphis to start Saturday against the Blue Jays for his MLB debut, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Matthews was removed as the probable pitcher for Memphis on Thursday, which hinted at his promotion. He has been stellar in Triple-A since the start of June with a 1.55 ERA across 52.1 innings. The left-hander is joining the big club as a sixth starter for now, but a full-time rotation spot could open soon if Dustin May is traded ahead of Monday's deadline.