MLB Player News

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBI in his team's 4-2 victory over the Brewers Wednesday.

Rizzo put the Cubs on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first inning before following up a third-inning Javier Baez home run with a blast of his own. It's his second consecutive game with a home run. Rizzo has hit .278/.378/.507 with 27 home runs and 65 RBI in 442 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 3-2 victory over the Mets.

Cabrera's eighth-inning shot gave the Nationals an insurance run they would end up needing after the Mets plated one runner in the bottom of the ninth. The homer was the 10th of the season for Cabrera but his first since joining the Nationals. He has hit .249/.309/.393 with 44 RBI and seven stolen bases in 417 at-bats.

Bryan Price has estimated that Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who has been out since July 8 with a left quad strain, could begin baseball activities in two weeks at the latest. He has been doing strengthening work on his leg.

"I don't like to throw dates out there, but it's reasonable to think that some time in the next week and a half to two weeks that baseball activity would start up again," Price told MLB.com.

Reds manager Bryan Price won't put an exact date on when first baseman Joey Votto (quadriceps) will begin baseball activities, but he hinted Wednesday a timetable is developing, per MLB.com.

"I don't like to throw dates out there, but it's reasonable to think that some time in the next week and a half to two weeks that baseball activity would start back up again," Price said.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit his 26th home run Tuesday against the Brewers. 

Rizzo struck in the bottom of the sixth. Leading off the inning, Rizzo took the first pitch he saw from Wily Peralta out to left center for the solo shot. It was his only hit of the game. Rizzo finished 1 for 3, with one run scored and one RBI. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto is hoping to begin "baseball activities" soon, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

Manager Bryan Price is hoping Votto will start those activities in late August. It's unclear how soon the club expects Votto to return to action. He was hitting .255/.390/.409 over 220 at-bats prior to the injury. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman slammed the third two-run home run in the first two innings against Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg on Friday night. His 375-foot drive gave his team a 6-0 lead.

Freeman, who has provided consistent production all year, has eight hits in the last five games.

It comes as no surprise that Wilmer Flores is starting ahead of Ruben Tejada on Friday night. The former has apparently supplanted the latter as the top shortstop with the Mets, per ESPN, following a conference between Terry Collins and general manager Sandy Alderson.

Flores has earned consistent playing time since late July, though he has not exactly sizzled at the plate. He has five hits in 21 at-bats without a multi-hit game during his recent stretch.

Phillies embattled first baseman Ryan Howard saved his heroics for his last at-bat Thursday against Houston. He cranked out a grand slam in the eighth inning to wrest victory from the jaws of defeat.

Howard, whose homer came against left-hander Tony Sipp, has two homers and eight RBI in the last three games. Despite the criticism, he's on pace to slug 27 home runs with 106 RBI this season.

Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo has been given the day off for the Thursday game at Colorado. His spot has been taken by Chris Valaika.

Rizzo has just one hit in his last 12 at-bats, but has produced this season to the tune of a .281/.384/.506 stat line with 25 home runs.