MLB Player News

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 1 for 4 with a three-run home run in his team's 5-4 win over the Braves Sunday.

Howard wiped out a 2-0 first-inning deficit with his three-run homer in the bottom of the first, and though the Phillies lost the lead in the third inning, they were able to pull out a victory to take two game out of three against the Braves. Howard has hit just .193/.246/.404 but has three home runs and nine RBI in 57 at-bats.

Braves right fielder Nick Markakis is leading off and shortstop Andrelton Simmons is batting second for the second straight game Sunday.

Both players saw their first appearances in those respective positions in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Phillies and will reprise their roles Sunday. In addition, lefty Kelly Johnson is batting cleanup for the first time this season, with first baseman Freddie Freeman slotting in third for the second straight day (and the third time this season).

The Braves are underdogs (+100) against the Phillies Sunday.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 1 for 3 at the plate Saturday in Philadelphia's 5-2 win over the Braves.

Howard did his damage in the fourth inning when he ripped an 0-1 pitch from Shelby Miller over the center field wall, scoring Jeff Francoeur, his second of the season. Howard is now hitting .189 with six RBI in 53 at-bats this season.

Marlins first baseman Mike Morse is out of the starting lineup on Saturday, for the first time this season. Morse had gotten the call at first base in all 17 games this year. 

Justin Bour, just called up from Triple-A on Friday, gets the start at first base, batting fifth. 

The Marlins are +140 money line underdogs at home against Washington. 

With Christian Yelich on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury, the Marlins could turn to Ichiro Suzuki to fill that void in left field, MLB.com reports.

Suzuki has made seven starts this season for Miami, five of which have come at right field. He is hitting .257 (9 for 35) with a triple and an RBI in 16 appearances.

Although the Marlins don't have a true backup outfielder on the roster, third baseman Martin Prado has some experience as a corner outfielder. Donovan Solano has also seen some playing time at left field back in 2012.

The Marlins placed outfielder Christian Yelich on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain. Yelich has missed the last three games, and the transaction is retroactive to April 20. 

Yelich is hitting .200 with no home runs and four RBI this season. 

To replace Yelich on the roster, the Marlins called up first baseman Justin Bour from Triple-A New Orleans. Bour was hitting .275 for New Orleans this season with one home run and five RBI. 

Bour played in 39 games for the Marlins last season, hitting .284 with a homer and 11 RBI.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, second baseman Chase Utley, shortstop Freddy Galvis and catcher Carlos Ruiz were all held out of the starting lineup on Thursday. All four starters returned to the starting lineup Friday night against the Braves.

Howard moved back to the No. 5 spot in the order for just the second time this season. Utley returned to his regular No. 3 spot, while Ruiz batted seventh, followed by Galviz eighth.

Philadelphia is considered a slight underdog (+105) at home against Atlanta, per VegasInsider.com.

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg chose to rest four of his starters for Thursday's day game against the Marlins.

First baseman Ryan Howard, second baseman Chase Utley, shortstop Freddy Galvis and catcher Carlos Ruiz were all held out of the starting lineup. Darin Ruf started at first base, Cesar Hernandez started at second base, Andres Blanco started at shortstop and Cameron Rupp started at catcher.

Ruiz (.184), Howard (.196) and Utley (.120) are all batting below the Mendoza Line (.200). Galvis is batting .300 (15 for 50) with one double, one triple, one home run and eight RBI through 14 games.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt entered play Wednesday hitting .314 with a 1.073 OPS, the latter of which would be a career-best mark in April. He's slugged five home runs in just 51 at-bats.

"You're going to have two weeks during the year when you hit a few homers and then you're going to go two weeks where you may not have an extra-base hit," Goldschmidt said Wednesday, per the Arizona Republic. "Early on, that's all you have to judge yourself off of, whereas if it happens in August you've built up four and a half months of credibility. It's not really that big of a deal."

Goldschmidt has been swinging more at the first pitch of his at-bats, and three of his home runs have come on first pitches.

"If you try to take pitches, they're going to notice that really quickly and start pumping strikes," Goldschmidt said. "When you're hitting behind in the count and they go to their off-speed pitches or become a little more particular with their pitches."

Goldschmidt will look to continue his hot start as the team continues its homestand with a three-game series against the Pirates beginning Friday.

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores went 2 for 4 at the plate in New York's 3-2 win over the Braves Wednesday. Flores found success early, picking up an RBI single in the second inning to score Eric Campbell.

Then in the seventh, Flores ripped an 0-1 pitch from Cody Martin over the left center field wall for a solo home run, his third of the season. Flores is now hitting .273 with seven RBI in 44 at-bats.