MLB Player News

Reds first baseman Joey Votto provided all of his team's offense in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Padres. Votto drove in both runs on a two-run single in the fifth inning off Tyson Ross.

It was Votto's only hit of the game, and he has now hit safely in six of his last seven games. 

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard belted his 11th home run of the season in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Giants. Howard's two-run blast came in the first inning to give the Phillies the early 2-0 lead. 

Howard, who had two hits in four at-bats on Friday, has been in a deep funk at the plate recently. Even with the two-hit performance, Howard has just five hits in 39 at-bats over his last 10 games. 

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt went 1 for 3 with a walk and a solo home run in his team's 6-2 loss to the Mets.

Goldschmidt wsa able to crank a sixth-inning home run to pull his team to within one run, but they were unable to take the lead over the remainder of the game. The elite first baseman has delivered a .349/.470/.677 line with 16 home runs, 45 RBI and eight stolen bases in 192 at-bats.

Mets infielder Wilmer Flores will remain the team's starting shortstop for the immediate future, ESPN New York reports.

The Mets have decided to shift second baseman Daniel Murphy to third base, bumping Ruben Tejada back across the diamond to second base. Consideration was given toward moving Flores as well, with the shortstop likely heading to second base while Tejada manned shortstop, but the team will stick with Flores at his current position for now. However, the defensive alignment is subject to change.

"I'm going to stay away from the shortstop position right now because it's a firestorm," Collins said about Flores' role.

Flores has hit .250/.277/.415 with eight home runs and 24 RBI in 176 at-bats.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo continues to make great strides hitting left-handed pitchers. After batting .208 in 2012 and .189 against lefties in 2013, Rizzo hit .300 off lefties in 2014 and is batting .429 against southpaws in 2015.

"I honestly just think about being as short as I can (with the swing) against lefties," Rizzo said, per the Chicago Tribune. "I’m not trying to do too much off them.

"It’s all confidence, really. The ball is falling. A couple hits fall, and you feel good. I’m seeing the ball very well off them."

Reds first baseman Joey Votto hit his 10th home run of the season during Wednesday night's 5-4 loss to the Phillies. 

Votto hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that gave the Reds some insurance runs. The Philles responded with four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and ultimately won the game in 11 innings. 

Votto is no hitting .325 over his past 10 games. 

He now has a slash line of .293/.387/.521 for the season. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman added a pinch of power at the plate again on Wednesday, blasting a pair of homers in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to Arizona.

Freeman took Rubby De La Rosa deep for a three-run home run in the second inning. He smacked a solo home run off De La Rosa in the fourth for his final hit of the afternoon. He finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored and four RBI. He is hitting .299 with 10 homers, 33 RBI and a .362 on-base percentage.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt reached base in all five plate appearances in Tuesday's win over the Braves. But he only recorded one hit in the game, his 13th double of the season.

Goldschmidt walked four times on Tuesday, twice intentionally. Its the third time this year, and second time in three days, that he had four walks in a game and his .471 on-base percentage currently ranks tops in the National League. 

He is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, and has reached base safely via a hit or a walk in 13 straight contests. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto drove in two runs in Tuesday's loss to Philadelphia, giving him four RBI in the last three games. 

Votto went 2 for 5 with a double, his ninth. The two RBI give him 26 on the year. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman smacked a two-run home run off Archie Bradley to help send the Braves to a 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks on Monday.

"I always see the ball good here," Freeman said after the game, per MLB.com. "It's a great batter's eye. It's just one of those things that when I come here I hit well. Hopefully, I didn't just jinx myself for the next two games."

Freeman finished the game 3 for 5 with two runs and three RBI. Over his last five games, Freeman is 7 for 19 with three home runs and six RBI.