MLB Player News

Flores left Thursday's game after being on the wrist by a pitch, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

He stayed in initially after the hit-by-pitch in the second inning, but was ultimately lifted for Kelly Johnson in the bottom of the third. The extent of the injury is uncertain, but expect the Mets to continue leaning on Johnson at the hot corner if Flores is forced to miss additional time.

Freeman collected MLB's first cycle of 2016 against the Reds on Wednesday, going 4-for-7 with an RBI and two runs in a 13-inning win.

Yeah, it took him extras to accomplish the feat, with Freeman's 11th-inning single to right center making it official. The Braves' first baseman has had two big games in this ongoing four-game series against the Reds, as he also racked up three hits and a homer Monday. However, thanks to Atlanta's sad-sack offense, Freeman's stats remain depressed -- particularly his RBI total, which stands at a meager 22 despite 11 homers, but also his career-low .257 average.

Flores went 2-for-4, including hitting his second home run of the season, and drove in four runs in an 11-2 win over the Pirates on Wednesday.

Flores had just five RBI coming into Wednesday's game, and he nearly doubled it. He's gone 15-for-40 (.375) this month, taking advantage of the additional playing time afforded to him with David Wright sidelined due to a herniated disk in his neck. Wright may opt to undergo surgery, which would keep him out for three months, giving Flores additional value.

Howard is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

With the Phillies' interleague series headed back to Philadelphia, the DH spot is no longer an option so Howard will head back to the bench. Tommy Joseph will start at first base and he'll continue to do so for the foreseeable future, which severely caps any remaining value Howard has.

Carter is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Giants.

Manager Craig Counsell wanted to keep Jonathan Lucroy's bat in the order for Wednesday's afternoon tilt so he slid him to first base, which bumped Carter to the bench. Carter figures to rejoin the lineup for Thursday's series opener against the Dodgers.

Bour is not in the lineup for Tuesday's matchup with the Padres, Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel reports.

Bour is 4-for-19 against lefty pitchers this season, and thus will concede the start at first base to the right-handed Chris Johnson while left-handed starter Drew Pomeranz is on the mound.

Bour pounded out three hits and walked twice while driving in a pair of runs in Monday's win over the Padres.

He also scored a run in the 13-4 rout. The lefty-swinging first baseman continues to be a solid run producer for Miami, batting .251/.325/.469 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI over 175 at-bats. While he continues to lose time against left-handed pitching to Chris Johnson, Bour sees more than enough at-bats to contribute.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with his 12th home run of the season in Monday's win over the Dodgers.

The blast was a solo shot off Mike Bolsinger in the bottom of the first. Goldy now has an RBI in three straight games and is 12-for-28 (.429 average) over the last week. With his slash line up to .282/.428/.498, he's looking more and more like the player fantasy owners have come to love.

Hoskins is hitting .419 with seven home runs and 13 RBI over his last 10 games at Double-A Reading.

Hoskins now has 16 home runs which puts him just one short of matching his total from last season between Low-A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater. The increased power production has come at a bit of a cost, however, as Hoskins is striking out 25.8 percent of the time this season which is around an eight point increase from last year. The 2014 fifth-round pick could see Triple-A later this year if he continues to mash at Reading.

Howard went 1-for-4 with a solo homer while serving as the DH in Monday's 7-0 victory over the Blue Jays.

This is too little too late for the veteran, who has lost his first base job to Tommy Joseph. Howard will probably have one more try to prove his worth as the DH in the second leg of this two-game series Tuesday, but he's likely to be relegated to pinch-hitting duties as the Phillies return home for six games after that.