RHP Stephen Strasburg is slated to start on Saturday, manager Dusty Baker said. "But a lot can happen in 48 hours," Baker said. Strasburg is on the disabled list with an elbow injury.

RF Bryce Harper is on the West Coast trip but certainly not in a playing capacity. Harper is out for an indefinite time period with a knee injury. "He's not cleared to do much but he is part of this team," manager Dusty Baker said. "It's not like football where you shelf some guy until he is ready to play." Harper contributed recently to Howie Kendrick being thrust into a starting role in right field. Harper is sharing knowledge with Kendrick about the various angles and nuances of playing that spot.

INF Cory Spangenberg had his eight-game hitting streak snapped. That tied his career high but he couldn't extend it when going hitless in four at-bats and not getting the ball out of the infield.

LF Jose Pirela continues to put his stamp on a starting position. Pirela, who had a double and single on Thursday, has taken hold of the job in left field by hitting safely in eight of his last 10 games, with four doubles and three homers and seven RBIs.

INF Matt Szczur was placed on the family leave list. He will likely join the team next week at St. Louis.

RHP Trevor Rosenthal was placed on the 10-day disabled list with posterior elbow irritation. Rosenthal felt discomfort as he readied for and pitched in the ninth Wednesday. Rosenthal is 3-4 with a 3.40 ERA and 11 saves in 50 games. He has 72 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings.

RF Avisail Garcia was a late scratch in the lineup because of left wrist soreness. Garcia, who is hitting .258, is day-to-day. Alen Hanson started in his place in right field and went 0-for-4.

RHP Chris Beck exited in the fifth inning with a bruised right shoulder. Beck was hit by a liner by Adrian Beltre. He remained in the game and gave up a three-run homer to Nomara Mazara, the next batter, Beck is day-to-day. "It looks like it deflected off his right side," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "There were no visible marks. According to him it just scraped him. He didn't feel like it got him. But we weren't going to take a chance. That area is not where you want to take a chance."

1B Jose Abreu extended his hitting streak to six games by going 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs. Abreu now has 33 multi-hit games for Chicago this season, a team high. The homer was also the 114th of his career, moving him into sole possession of 17th place in club history.

LHP Jake Diekman, who has been on the disabled list all season after having his colon removed, made his first rehab outing of the year. Diekman pitched a perfect inning for Double-A Frisco, striking out two and throwing eight of his 13 pitches for strikes.

OF Nomar Mazara continued his torrid homestand by going 2-for-4 with a homer and five RBIs. Mazara is now 12 for his last 25 with 13 RBIs. He has a five-game hitting streak and has raised his average to .260, the highest it's been since July 14. "I'm just swinging the bat," said Mazara, who has 25 RBIs in the last 19 games. "I'm just going out there, not trying to do too much. When you put the ball in play, like I said before, good things are going to happen. I just come up there, stick to my approach, and try to put a good swing on the ball."

RHP Tyson Ross set a season high by walking six in 4 1/3 innings. Ross struggled with his command throughout the outing, walking at least one in four of the five innings he pitched. The six walks are one shy of his career high. He walked seven on June 16, 2014, when he was pitching for San Diego.

RHP Zach Eflin will hook up with another struggling starter, LHP Matt Moore, when he faces the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. Eflin (5.76) and Moore (5.71) ranks 19th and 20th, respectively, in highest ERA among all major-leaguers with 10 or more starts this season. Eflin has pitched only slightly better in two career starts against the Giants, going 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA.

RHP Aaron Nola had his streak of 10 straight games pitching at least six innings and allowing two or fewer runs snapped Thursday night in a loss to the San Francisco Giants. He was pulled after five innings in the 5-4 loss, having allowed all the San Francisco scoring. The five runs allowed tied a season-high, set twice previously.

INF/OF Pedro Florimon was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before Thursday's series opener against the San Francisco Giants. He grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the Phillies' 5-4 loss. The veteran was hitting .265 with 10 home runs for Lehigh Valley, including .317 against left-handed pitchers. The Phillies will face three consecutive Giants lefties Friday through Sunday.

RHP Pedro Beato was designated for assignment Thursday to create a spot on the 40-man roster for INF/OF Pedro Florimon, who was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Beato retired both batters he faced in his only appearance for the Phillies this season on July 29 against the Atlanta Braves. However, Beato suffered a hamstring injury in the game and hadn't pitched since.

RHP Luke Weaver was recalled from Triple-A Memphis, his third promotion in the past seven weeks. Weaver, 23, a first-round draft pick in 2014, pitched two scoreless innings of relief, with one hit, two walks and one strikeout before a rain delay ended his outing. Over his first two call-ups, Weaver was 1-1 with a 377 ERA in 14 1/3 innings,

LHP Matt Moore hopes to ride the momentum of one of his best starts of the season when he faces the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. Moore allowed just two runs at Washington on Sunday, only the seventh time in 24 starts this season that he gave up two or fewer runs. He also struck out a season-best nine in his seven innings. Moore has gone 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies.

RHP Jeff Samardzija benefitted from a nifty double play after having given up four straight hits in the sixth inning Friday night in the Giants' 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The veteran managed to get through six innings with a one-run lead thanks to a diving stop that 2B Kelby Tomlinson turned into a double play. The Giants' bullpen saved Samardzija's eighth win of the season with three innings of one-hit, shutout ball.

RHP Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless seventh inning in Thursday's win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Attempting to hold a 5-4 lead, he allowed a two-out double to SS Freddy Galvis, but prevented the Phillies from scoring. It was his third consecutive scoreless inning since returning from a strained right protator last Saturday.