MLB Player News

Indians first baseman Carlos Santana homered and drove in three runs during a 6-0 win Saturday against the Orioles. He finished 2 for 3 with one walk.

Santana gave Cleveland an early 3-0 lead with a three-run homer off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the first inning. It was his 21st home run, but his first homer in 17 games.

Astros DH Chris Carter is one home run shy of 30 after belting his 29th home run Saturday at Boston. Carter was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBI.

Carter put Houston ahead 3-0 with a sac fly in the second inning before giving Houston a 6-3 lead with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Unfortunately, Houston would lose the game 10-7.

Carter has been on quite the power surge, homering 16 times in his last 35 games. He has a .741 slugging percentage and 1.123 OPS in that span. Carter is also batting .333 with seven doubles, 31 runs and 39 RBI in his last 35 games.

Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun all but doomed the Rangers to defeat Friday night. He blasted a three-run homer in the fifth inning to turn a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 lead. His team remained ahead the rest of the way.

Calhoun fell just a triple short of the cycle to pace the offense. He has 13 hits in his last 29 at-bats, two home runs in his last three games, and a six-game hitting streak that has raised his batting average to .294, its highest point in more than a month.

If you've owned Chris Carter for any of the last five weeks, you're probably pleased with both him for hitting a bunch of home runs -- 15 in his last 31 games, to be exact -- and yourself for having the foresight to start this player whose batting average only recently eclipsed the Mendoza line.

Considering it's up to a not-so-embarassing .230 now, it feels like ancient history, but it was really only a month ago. In fact, at the start of it all, Carter was batting a ghastly .182 with a .664 OPS. Can a player really change that much that fast? Has Carter?

Yes and no. While he's not the .328 hitter he's been in his last 31 games, he was due for a big correction with the way his season started. And judging by his .262 BABIP, down from .311 last year and .295 the year before, he's still due for more.

Granted, the abundance of home runs might be skewing that number a bit -- they don't count as "balls in play" -- but who's to say he hasn't improved as a power hitter at age 27? He wouldn't be the first. Even with all his limitations, the potential to hit 40 home runs with full-time at-bats would make Carter kind of like another Mark Trumbo. You drafted Trumbo at the start of the year expecting to play him every week, hot or cold, right? I sure did.

So while Carter is sure to cool off at some point, I won't be so quick to drop him, particularly in Rotisserie leagues, when he finally does.

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBI in his team's 7-2 win over the Phillies Tuesday.

Calhoun kicked off a seven-run sixth inning with a solo home run and later delivered an RBI single after the offense batted around in the frame. He's turned in four straight multihit performances. Calhoun owns a .288/.343/.476 line with 12 home runs and 34 RBI in 319 at-bats.

Astros outfielder/first basemen Chris Carter belted two home runs Tuesday against the Twins.

Carter hit a two-run shot in the third inning, and struck again in his next at-bat. With two men on, Carter smashed an 81 mph slider out to left for the three-run homer. It was the sixth time this season Carter has hit more than one home run in a game. He finished 2 for 4, with two runs scored and five RBI. 

He now has 28 home runs on the season -- one shy of his career-high of 29 from last year -- and 66 RBI. His batting average is up to .230 on the season thanks to a .315 clip since July 1.

The Angels announced Sunday they recalled reliever Vinnie Pestano and pitcher Caleb Clay from Triple-A Salt Lake. To clear space on the roster, pitcher Cam Bedrosian and first baseman C.J. Cron were optioned to the minors.

The Twins optioned first baseman Chris Colabello after Friday's game to clear a roster spot for Saturday starter Trevor May.

Colabello hasn't provided much offense since the All-Star break, going 5 for 34 with no extra-base hits. He owns a .229/.282/.380 line with six home runs and 39 RBI in 205 at-bats.

Astros designated hitter Chris Carter, who has shed his all-or-nothing tag with productive hitting recently, continued to roll Thursday in Philadelphia.

Carter smashed two-run homers in the first and third innings to give him five blasts in the last 13 games. But he also added a single and has 34 hits in his last 104 at-bats to raise his average from .182 to .225. and his slugging perentage nearly 100 points to .494.

Astros DH Chris Carter continued his recent surge at the plate with his 22nd home run Saturday vs. Toronto. It was his ninth home run in his last 22 games.

Carter went 3 for 4 with three runs, one double and two RBI in an 8-2 win Saturday. He had an RBI double in the first inning and added a solo home run in the fifth. He even had his second stolen base of the season.

Since July 4, Carter is batting .325 with a .723 slugging percentage and 1.110 OPS in his last 22 games. He has six doubles, 20 runs and 21 RBI in that span.