MLB Player News

Civale (5-8) allowed two hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings Thursday, striking out seven to get the win over the Giants.

Civale was brilliant Thursday and delivered his second scoreless outing of the season, both of which have come since being acquired by Milwaukee. It was the right-hander's third career start of seven or more shutout innings and his first since April 2023. Civale has kept his opponents off the scoreboard in two of his last three starts and has a 3.72 ERA in his first nine starts with the Brewers.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a stolen base, and a run in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Giants.

The Brewers pulled out a play straight out of little league on Thursday. With runners on first and third and two outs, Willy Adames took off from first and got caught in a rundown to allow Contreras to score from third. Contreras has now tied a career high with six steals. He remains one of the premier players at his position and carries a .285/.361/.466 slash line with 18 homers through 129 games this season.

Birdsong (3-4) allowed five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out six over 3.2 innings to take the loss versus the Brewers on Thursday.

Birdsong has great stuff, as evidenced by his 60 strikeouts through 49 career innings, but he once again was plagued by control issues Thursday. The rookie walked four batters for his second straight start and has now given up five or more runs in three of his last five outings. Birdsong will want to turn the page on a rough month of August after giving up 18 runs in five starts, and he will take a 5.14 ERA into his next turn through the rotation.

Phillips is likely to be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start Tuesday in Toronto, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

He'll be taking the rotation spot vacated by Taijuan Walker, who has been demoted to the bullpen. Phillips has offered a mixed bag during his 36 major-league innings, throwing a shutout and adding one other scoreless start but getting demoted after allowing 17 runs in 11 frames in August. He could earn additional starts after Tuesday, but Kolby Allard will also become an option once he's eligible to be recalled on Sept. 10.

Manager Rob Thomson said Thursday that Walker will work out of the bullpen going forward, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

After surrendering six earned runs on 13 hits and a walk without recording a strikeout in six innings against the Astros on Wednesday, Walker has now officially lost his place in the Phillies' rotation. He'll serve as a long reliever as he joins Philly's bullpen, and the team will need to recall someone -- likely Tyler Phillips -- from Triple-A to fill the open rotation spot, which is due to pitch in Toronto on Tuesday.

The Cardinals placed Pham on waivers Thursday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Pham got off to a hot start after being acquired by St. Louis at the trade deadline, but he's just 3-for-39 over his last 15 games and has seen his playing time dwindle. The 36-year-old has a .762 OPS versus left-handed pitching and is a career .313/.333/.513 hitter in 31 postseason games, so there would seem to be a good chance a contender scoops him up on waivers. If Pham clears waivers, he will remain with the Cardinals.

Urshela isn't in Atlanta's lineup for Thursday's game against Philadelphia.

Urshela is slashing .290/.313/.355 with two RBI in eight games since joining Atlanta on Aug. 20, though he's been dealing with some groin soreness since hitting an infield single in Tuesday's contest, per Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The injury isn't considered serious, though it will be enough to prevent him from playing Thursday. Luke Williams will pick up another start at the hot corner as a result and bat ninth.

Murphy isn't in Atlanta's lineup Thursday against the Phillies.

Murphy has gone 3-for-18 with eight strikeouts over his last five games, and he'll now take a seat Thursday while Travis d'Arnaud catches for Charlie Morton.

The Mets placed Nunez on the 15-day injured list Thursday due to right forearm tightness, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Nunez just returned from a forearm issue last Friday and is now headed back to the IL following a recurrence of the injury. He missed nearly a month of action the first time around, but it's not clear how long this stint might last. It's a blow to the Mets' bullpen, as Nunez has been excellent this season with a 2.31 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 48:8 K:BB over 35 frames.

The Phillies recalled Marte from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Marte will provide the Phillies with a fresh relief arm. The right-hander holds a 7.13 ERA and 23:14 K:BB over 24 innings this season, although the bloated ERA is mostly the result of one poor outing when he allowed seven runs and recorded just two outs Aug. 10.