MLB Player News

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game. Howard has started the last five games and 77 games on the year. 

He'll be replaced in the lineup by Darin Ruf, who gets his 14th start. 

Braves first baseman Joey Terdoslavich gets his fifth start of the season in Monday's game. Terdoslavich replaces Kelly Johnson, who has flu-like symptoms, per MLB.com.

Terdoslavich hasn't started at first base since June 30. He'll bat sixth in the lineup. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto has felt really comfortable against the Indians during their series. 

Votto recorded his second consecutive three-hit game against Cleveland on Sunday after going 3 for 5 with a double and a RBI.

Over his last three games, Votto is hitting .583 with seven hits, two doubles, a home run and two RBI.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 1 for 3 with a home run during his team's win over the Marlins on Sunday.

Howard hit a solo blast off Marlins starter Dan Haren in what turned out to be a five-run second inning for Philadelphia.

Howard is now on a six-game hit streak, he's hitting .363 with eight hits, two home runs and seven RBI over that stretch.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (wrist) hit and threw Sunday, according to MLB.com. He will be re-evaluated Sunday night.

Freeman, who had two cortisone injections, underwent another MRI, which revealed fluid in his wrist. The Braves still don't have a return date.

Freeman took 30 dry swings Sunday. He said he got close to 100 percent intensity.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went 2 for 4 with two RBI in Saturday's win over the Braves.

Rizzo is now hitting .357 with 10 hits, a home run and five RBI over his last nine games.

Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said first baseman Freddie Freeman could start his rehab assignment Sunday or Monday, reports AJC.com.

"Freddie's going through the rehab, he's feeling better," Hart said. "We're going to attempt to get him out and let him start doing a few more things where he can go live, and maybe get him in some games, and then just see where it goes from here. But there was a level of optimism here in the last couple of days, where it looks like it's starting to work itself out."

Freeman is on the disabled list with a wrist injury and he is not expected to return until the first week of August.

"I think this weekend is going to be big for him in terms of where we're at come Monday," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Can he go down to Orlando and start working himself into some kind of baseball shape. Talking to him, he felt that [the wrist] is kind of turning the corner a little bit on him."

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt went 2 for 3 at the plate with two RBI in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Giants.

Goldschmidt drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning. His second RBI came on another sacrifice fly in the third inning. He also walked once.

Goldschmidt is hitting .268 with one home run and seven RBI in his last 11 games.

Braves general manager John Hart said first baseman Freddie Freeman might not be ready to return to action by the first week of July, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. 

Freeman has been out on the disabled list with a wrist injury since June 23 (retroactive to June 18). There was hope that he would be able to rejoin the team by the end of July, but now it appears the middle of August is the best-case scenario.

"It’s more serious than we expected. I’m hoping he’ll be back before the first of August but he may not be," Hart said. "He’s working hard to get back but it’s a slow-healing injury and it still gives him pain when he swings.

"He dinged it, played four or five days with it, and we gave him a few days off. We gave him an injection and thought he would be back in two or three days but it was no better. We did further tests and found it was more serious than we thought."

The Braves are 10-13 since Freeman went down, scoring just under three runs-per game in that span.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo started at designated hitter in Tuesday's All Star Game, the first Cub to do so since Mark Grace in 1993. 

Rizzo went 0 for 2 in the game and is 0 for 3 in his career. Rizzo played in last year's game as well. 

Rizzo has never started a regular season game at DH in his MLB or minor league career.