Yainer Diaz slugs 11th home run in win Friday

Rushing was ramping up his throwing program on the field before the game and felt a bit sore, so the Dodgers opted to give him the night off rather than have him serve as the designated hitter. Alex Call replaced him in the lineup and will start in left field while Teoscar Hernandez functions as the designated hitter.

Muncy was in the club’s original lineup, but he was feeling a bit under the weather as game time approached so the Dodgers opted to play it safe and give him the night off. Enrique Hernandez will cover third base in his absence and bat ninth against Cade Cavalli and the Nationals.

The Dodgers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the activation of Bobby Miller (shoulder) on Saturday and Thomas drew the short straw this time around. There’s a chance that with his defensive prowess he could attract interest on waivers.

It sounds like the 25-year-old infielder was going to elect free agency anyways if the Marlins tried to send him outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, so they’ll just set him free instead. Jiménez slashed a miserable .199/.306/.259 in his 194 plate appearances with the Marlins. If he latches on elsewhere, it will almost assuredly have to be on a minor league pact.

Conforto opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 411-foot (103.2-mph EV) solo shot off of Ryan Gusto in the third inning. He also led off the sixth inning with a single and scored on a two-out RBI knock from Michael Busch that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. The 33-year-old outfielder is now hitting .240/.332/.489 with 14 long balls and 38 RBI in 256 plate appearances on the year.

Happ delivered a two-out, two-run single in the third inning that extended the Cubs’ early lead to 3-0. He also singled and walked in the contest. For the season, the 32-year-old outfielder is hitting .221/.326/.416 with 23 homers, 64 RBI and four stolen bases in 577 plate appearances.

Zeferjahn was called upon with the tying run on second base with one out in the eighth inning and he was able to escape that jam unscathed. He then returned for the ninth where he issued a two-out walk to Griffin Conine bot nothing more. On the season, the 28-year-old hurler boasts a 4.06 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and an 87/37 K/BB ratio over 64 1/3 innings while accruing five saves.

Assad also issued five free passes on the day while striking out three. He kept the Marlins off the board through the first three innings, but they scratched out a pair of runs against him in the fourth. Assad then left a man on when he departed in the fifth and that runner ultimately scored as well. The 29-year-old righty got five swings and misses on 88 offerings on the night, posting a CSW of 24 percent. It’s unclear if he’ll stick around to make another start or if he’ll head back to Triple-A Iowa once again after this one.

Conine worked a walk to open the fourth inning and scored the Marlins’ first run as Owen Caissie hit into a fielder’s choice. He then obliterated a 2-1 fastball from Caleb Thielbar for a 430-foot (110.7-mph EV) two-run blast in the fifth that pulled the Marlins to within a run at 5-4. On the season, the 29-year-old outfielder is now slashing .256/.360/.493 with 15 homers, 34 RBI and four swipes in just 250 plate appearances.

The 27-year-old right-hander also issued a pair of walks in the contest while punching out five opposing hitters. The Cubs got to him for three runs in the third inning, including a solo blast off the bat of Michael Conforto. They added on single runs in the fourth and fifth before chasing Gusto. He generated five whiffs on 100 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll carry a 4.23 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 62/22 K/BB ratio (72 1/3 innings) into a tough matchup against the Dodgers on Friday.