MLB Player News

Barnhart will sit Thursday against Washington.

Barnhart will rest after starting five straight games behind the plate. Tyler Stephenson will take over for him, catching Luis Castillo.

Murphy will sit Thursday against Oakland.

Murphy has settled in as the Mariners' primary catcher down the stretch and owns a .294/.375/.471 slash line over his last 12 games. He'll sit here after starting three straight games behind the plate, with Cal Raleigh set to catch Yusei Kikuchi.

Nola isn't starting Thursday's game against the Giants, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Nola will retreat to the bench for a second straight game. Victor Caratini will start behind the dish and bat eighth with right-hander Yu Darvish on the mound for the Padres.

Diaz will sit Thursday against the Dodgers.

Diaz owns a .999 OPS over his last 10 games. He'll get a rest Thursday, with Dom Nunez set to catch Kyle Freeland.

Smith is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rockies.

Smith has swung a very hot bat lately, posting a .323/.434/.677 slash line with seven homers over his last 20 games. Austin Barnes takes over behind the plate Thursday and will catch Max Scherzer.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cardinals.

Narvaez's off days typically come against lefties, but he'll sit here against righty Adam Wainwright. Manny Pina takes over behind the plate.

Perez isn't starting the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.

Perez has gone 3-for-7 with a homer, two RBI and two strikeouts across his last two appearances, but he'll be out of the lineup for a second straight game. Austin Hedges will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Sanchez launched a pinch-hit two-run homer in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.

The catcher was sent to the plate with two outs in the eighth inning and took reliever Spencer Patton deep, driving in teammate Gio Urshela. It was his 23rd home run of the season and second in three contests. Sanchez has batted .191 with five homers and 11 RBI this month.

Leon went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to the Nationals.

Leon took Washington reliever Ryne Harper deep with one out in the ninth inning to pull the Nationals to within two runs, chasing Harper from the game in the process. It was the fourth homer of the season for the veteran catcher, who hadn't produced an extra-base hit since Aug. 10, a string of 17 straight games. He's hitting just .188 with a .510 OPS in 213 plate appearances this season.

Fortes came off the bench to hit a home run in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 7-5 loss to the Nationals.

Fortes connected for a two-run homer off Washington reliever Ryne Harper in the ninth inning to pull the Marlins to within 7-4. It was Fortes' third long ball in five games since getting the call from Triple-A Jacksonville.