MLB Player News

Church is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest in Milwaukee.

It will be the first day off since Aug. 23 for Church, who is slashing .295/.340/.400 during that stretch. Victor Scott will grab a rare start in center field and will bat ninth for the Cardinals in Friday's series opener.

Happ is not in the lineup for the first game of Friday's doubleheader in Boston.

Happ is likely to be back in there for the second game of the twin bill, but he'll begin the first tilt on the bench. Tyrone Taylor will play left field and will bat cleanup for the Cubs.

Tatis went 2-for-3 with a walk, one RBI and two stolen bases in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Dodgers.

Tatis is up to 38 steals this season, including seven over his last 16 games. He's also batting .369 (24-for-65) with eight extra-base hits in that span. If Tatis keeps running over the weekend against the Diamondbacks, he'll have a chance to reach 40 steals for the first time. He's batting .289 with an .828 OPS, 25 home runs, 82 RBI, 95 runs scored, 31 doubles and three triples over 157 contests this year.

Happ went 1-for-3 with a walk, a triple and a run scored in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Marlins.

Happ extended his modest hitting streak to four games with his third triple of the season. The veteran outfielder is batting just .228 this month, though he's sporting a strong .353 on-base percentage, which is above his .330 mark for the season. With the Cubs officially clinching their spot in the playoffs with Thursday's win, Happ may get some time off over the next few days, but he should be a lineup regular once the postseason begins.

Carrigg went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer in Thursday's 12-8 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Carrigg made things interesting in the seventh inning Thursday with a three-run, 404-foot blast off Dennis Santana, his 11th homer this season, that cut Colorado's deficit to 12-6. Carrigg's been hot down the stretch, going 17-for-43 (.395) with four long balls in his last 10 games. Overall, the 24-year-old rookie is slashing .276/.340/.469 with 51 RBI, 47 runs scored and 11 steals across 361 plate appearances this year.

Suzuki went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and a strikeout during Thursday's 2-1 win over the Marlins.

Suzuki extended his hitting streak to six games after recording two base hits Thursday. The 32-year-old stepped to the plate in the fifth inning and launched his 26th homer of the campaign off Jack Ralston to tie the game. Suzuki is now slashing .270/.366/.476 with 26 homers, 86 RBI and 79 walks in 625 plate appearances this season.

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.

Scott will spend a week at Driveline Baseball's facility in Tampa, Florida, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

According to Goold, Scott's primary objective with his visit to Driveline will be to adjust his bat path so he can better "impact the ball." Scott also plans to play winter ball. The speedy outfielder was the Cardinals' Opening Day center fielder but has managed just a .190/.269/.252 batting line in 79 games with the big club this season. Scott also slashed only .237/.320/.342 this season during his time at Triple-A Memphis.

Acuna (leg) will start in right field and will bat second in Thursday's game against the Reds.

Acuna exited Tuesday's contest after fouling a ball off his left leg and didn't play Wednesday, but he's ready to roll for Thursday's series finale. The 28-year-old outfielder is sporting a 1.072 OPS with seven home runs in 19 games this month.

Chourio is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest in Philadelphia.

It's the first day off this month for Chourio, who is slashing .295/.344/.477 with four home runs thus far in September. Sal Frelick is getting a start in left field while Chourio rests.