MLB Player News

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard fell a triple shy of the cycle in Saturday's 8-1 win over the Nationals. Howard singled in the first, had an RBI-double in the third, and launched a solo home run in the fifth. On the afternoon, the big guy went 3 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored.

His solo shot in the fifth was his 10th of the season, and he is now hitting .268. At this time last year, Howard was hitting .234, as he looks to continue his rebound campaign in 2015. 

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made good use of the extra rest he got on Thursday. The slugger, who sat out Thursday's game due to rest, went 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBI in his team's 5-4 win against the Cubs on Friday.

Goldschmidt tied the game with a two-run home run in the 10th inning off Cubs' closer Hector Rondon.

In 41 games, Goldschmidt is hitting .331/.429/.623 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI in 151 at-bats.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who was rested on Thursday, is back in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs. But, Goldschmidt is not batting in his typical clean-up spot.

Instead, he will bat third for the first time this year, while third baseman Yasmany Tomas hits fourth. Tomas got off to a slow start at the plate following his promotion on April 15. But he's been red-hot lately, going 14 for 32 with three doubles and a home run over his last nine games. 

For the second straight game, Marlins first baseman Michael Morse will be out of the starting lineup. Morse will be on the bench for Friday's game against the Orioles, while Justin Bour gets another start at first.

Morse's struggles this season have been well-documented, and they will earn him another night on the bench for the Marlins.

The Mets are seeming less and less likely to deal from their surplus of young pitching, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. There have been numerous on-going talks about the team possibly looking to deal one of their young arms for a shortstop. 

But as Heyman reports, the Mets are not necessarily rushing to go out and get a shortstop. The club is apparently willing to give Wilmer Flores more time to prove himself. They also have a stock of young shortstops in the minor leagues, including Matt Reynolds, Gavin Cecchini and 19-year-old Amed Rosario.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is going to miss Coors Field. Howard homered for the second straight game, going 1 for 4 with the solo bomb in Thursday's loss to the Rockies. Howard's fifth-inning home run was his ninth on the season.

"I mean all that stuff is cool," Howard said about moving up the home-run leaderboard, per MLB.com. "For me, it's just a matter of just getting back to playing ball and just playing my game. That's been my focus all year, is just playing ball. Everything that comes with it, you have good days, bad days, just try to stay even keel and just do what you do."

Howard's bat is really catching fire lately. He now has 13 hits in his last 31 at-bats over his last eight games. 

Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson was held out of the starting lineup Thursday against the Cardinals for the first time in 10 games. With Granderson out of the starting lineup, center fielder Juan Lagares moved into the leadoff spot for the third time this season.

That wasn't the only change to the lineup manager Terry Collins made. He moved shortstop Wilmer Flores into the second spot in the batting order. Flores has started to improve offensively, batting .262 with a .524 slugging percentage, two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI in his last 11 games.

Third baseman Eric Campbell, who hit second the last four games, was moved to seventh in the lineup.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was not penciled into the starting lineup for the first time all season for Thursday's afternoon game against the Marlins. Mark Trumbo, who usually starts in right field, started at first base in Goldschmidt's absence.

Goldschmidt, who had started the first 39 games, has been mired in a bit of a hitting slump for a couple of weeks. Since May 10, he is batting just .200 (7 for 35) in his last 10 games. He has one triple, one home run, two doubles, five RBI, six runs, five walks and seven strikeouts in that span.

"This is more of a mental day off," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said, per the Associated Press. "To ask a guy to play 162 games today is tough to do."

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard hit his eighth home run of the season in Wednesday night's 4-2 win over the Rockies. 

Four of Howard's home runs have now come in the past 15 games. Howard's homer came on a 1-1 pitch to center field in the third inning. He finished the game 3 for 5 and also hit a double and single. 

"He's having good swings," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said, per MLB.com. "He crushed that ball to center tonight. There was no help at all on that."

Howard is now hitting .257/.308/.507. 

After taking Sunday's game off to rest, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and first baseman Ryan Howard were back in the lineup for Monday's game at Colorado, reports CSNPhilly.com. Utley will bat sixth and play second, while Howard returns to the four spot at first base. 

The Phillies are going against right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles, who is 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA. Howard is 3 for 8 with one double in career against Lyles, while Utley is 2 for 6 with one double.

Utley is hitting .280 with three doubles and three RBI over his last eight games. Over his last 11 games, Howard is hitting .361 with three home runs and six RBI.

The Phillies are the favorites (-100) at Colorado on Monday.