MLB Player News

Flores (neck) is not in the lineup Monday against the Nationals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Flores was pulled from Saturday's contest with neck stiffness, and as expected, the Mets will give him his second straight day off to rest. The infielder is expected to only miss a couple of days due to the ailment, so he could rejoin the lineup as soon as Tuesday. For Monday's tilt, Kelly Johnson will take his place at the keystone.

Joseph went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 3-2 loss to the Nationals on Sunday.

Joseph has been splitting time with Ryan Howard at first base, despite comments earlier this month from manager Pete Mackanin saying he would increase Joseph's at-bats over the remainder of the season. Perhaps Sunday's home run will help spark Joseph at the plate. He's hit just .205/.270/.397 with four homers since the beginning of August.

Flores (neck) is expected to miss a couple days, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

Flores continues to recover from a stiff neck, but the issue shouldn't cost him too much time. If the timetable holds true, he would be scheduled to rejoin the lineup either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Flores is still experiencing neck stiffness, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports.

It appears that Flores is feeling much better than he was Saturday, but he's not quite at 100 percent. X-rays revealed no damage to his neck, so consider Flores day-to-day heading into Monday's outing against the Nationals.

Votto went 4-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs in an 8-7 victory over the Pirates on Saturday.

The former MVP is absolutely killing the Pirates this weekend. Votto is 7-for-9 with three RBI in the last two games, both of which were one-run victories for Cincinnati against reeling Pittsburgh. And although his home run Saturday was initially just insurance, it proved to be the difference in the game. Votto has carried his hot August hitting, which saw him post a .394 batting average and 1.107 OPS in the month, into September. In nine games, he is slashing .448/.528/.621 this month.

Flores said x-rays on his neck came back negative, but it remains painful, Adam Rubin of the ESPN.com reports.

Flores was removed from Saturday's game against the Braves after his head-first slide into home plate ended in a collision with Atlanta catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

Flores departed Saturday night's game against Atlanta after a collision at home plate, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports.

Flores went headfirst into home plate, colliding with Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski, and appeared to hurt himself somewhere in the head/neck/shoulder area. Flores, who started the game at first base, left under his own power and was replaced by James Loney.

Flores is out of the lineup Saturday against the Braves, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports.

Kelly Johnson will get the start at second base against righty John Gant as the Mets look to get the platoon advantage Saturday. Flores has been playing almost every day lately and is slashing .296/.340/.520 with six home runs in 106 plate appearances since the start of August.

Carter is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cardinals.

Carter will get a rare day off Saturday after going 2-for-12 over his last four games. Hernan Perez will get the start at first base in Carter's place.

Bell made his second straight start in right field Friday, going 1-for-3 with an RBI groundout.

The Pirates are giving Bell a chance at his regular position with Starling Marte (back) sidelined. He was unable to run down a shallow popup along the right field line, which eventually led to a Cincinnati run. Since Aug. 21, Bell has started 18 of 23 games, compiling a .260/.371/.380 line with one home run and seven RBI.