MLB Player News

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores didn't perform like an eight-hole hitter Saturday night against Miami. And he didn't perform like a batter with no multi-hit games this season.

Flores slugged a two-run homer to cap a three-run sixth and added a single in the victory. He nudged his average 40 points to .222 in the process and is batting .300 in his last six games.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman went 2 for 4 at the plate in Atlanta's 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays Saturday in 10 innings. 

Freeman cranked an 0-1 pitch from R.A. Dickey over the right field wall in the third inning, driving home Nick Markakis.

"The ball's never gonna do the same thing, so there's no point in seeing a pitch," said Freeman to MLB.com. "He throws between 67 and 80 [mph], so you just try to see one up and hope it doesn't move as much," Freeman said.

He is now hitting .478 in his career against knuckleball pitchers with three home runs.

The Braves will utilize right fielder Nick Markakis as the designated hitter for Saturday's game at Toronto, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

First baseman Freddie Freeman will DH on Sunday with infielder Chris Johnson playing first base.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt homered for the second time in as many days Thursday night against San Francisco.

Goldschmidt took Madison Bumgarner deep for a three-run home run in the fifth inning. He finished 1 for 5 with a walk, two runs scored and three RBI in a 7-6 win in 11 innings. He is hitting .324 (12 for 37) with four homers and 12 RBI in 10 games.

Goldschmidt has homered in at least back-to-back games 14 times in his career. He's has only hit a home run in three straight games once. He'll get a crack at it Friday night against Jake Peavy and the Giants. He has a home run in two at-bats against the right-hander.

The idea of the Phillies trading struggling first baseman Ryan Howard at some point this season is starting to look doubtful, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman on Friday.

Howard is off to a rough start, and was bumped down to the No. 7 spot in the batting order. He is hitting .167 (5 for 32) with three doubles and one RBI in eight games. Scouts believe that Howard's timing has been off this season.

"He looks lost," one scout said. "Sometimes big guys just lose it, just like that."

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores went 1 for 4 with a three-run home run in his team's 7-5 win over the Marlins Thursday.

"Tonight was a big step forward for him," Collins said of Flores after the game, per MLB.com. "It was huge for us, and also for Wilmer. There has been a lot written about how high expectations are for him offensively, and you have to live up to expectations. I think tonight might really jumpstart him."

Flores came up with two men on and his team down three runs in the fifth inning and was able to tie the game with his first home run of the season. He has hit .172/.250/.310 while collecting four runs. His three RBI Thursday were his first of the season.

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg bumped struggling first baseman Ryan Howard down to seventh in the batting order for Thursday's contest against the Nationals. Howard batted cleanup in his first seven games with the Phillies before receiving the night off on Wednesday.

Howard mired in a 4-for-27 slump with three doubles, 10 strikeouts and no walks in seven games. It will be the first time he'll hit seventh in the order since April 21, 2006, per MLB.com.

"I talked to him this afternoon and just told him, 'Hey, it's creating a lineup, trying to win the baseball game,'" Sandberg said. "And so [I told him], 'In the meantime, just keep working.' Howie's doing everything that's asked on the defensive side of the ball, and the offensive side of the ball. If he could get hot, then I'd have some flexibility and choices in the lineup, so that would be the best scenario."

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt wasted little time Wednesday getting Arizona on the scoreboard, as he connected for a two-run homer off Padres starting pitcher Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the first inning. 

"Just trying to put the ball in play," he said, per MLB.com. "I was able to get a ball kind of up and out, over, and get enough of it to get it out of there."

The home run marked the 500th hit of Goldschmidt's career. However, he wasn't in the mood to talk about the career milestone after the game since Arizona ended up taking a 3-2 loss.

"Honestly, no," he said when asked if the 500 hits meant anything to him. "I wouldn't have known unless you said something or somebody said something to me after the game. Just out there, we're trying to get wins, and we weren't able to do it tonight."

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run during Wednesday night's 3-2 loss to the Padres. 

Goldschmidt hit his homer in the first inning, which also scored Ender Inciarte. Goldschmidt went 2 of 4 in the game, also hitting a single. His other two at-bats ended in strikeouts. 

The home run was Goldschmidt's third of the season and he now has totaled nine RBI. 

He has a slash line of .344/.447/.656 through Arizona's first nine games of the season. 

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run home run during Wednesday night's 5-0 win over the Reds. 

Rizzo hit his homer in the first inning, scoring himself and Dexter Fowler. Rizzo finished the game 1 for 4. He now holds a slash line of .240/.429/.360.