MLB Player News

Reds first baseman Joey Votto started a 12th straight game Sunday against the Blue Jays since coming off the disabled list due to a left quadriceps strain. Votto is batting .318 with five doubles, nine RBI, eight runs and seven walks in 11 games since returning to the lineup.

"It's doing well enough. We haven't really had a big regression," manager Bryan Price said, per MLB.com. "It certainly points that over this 16-game stretch without a day off that Joey will get a break. He's playing very well. You see the way he runs the bases and defensively how he breaks to the ball and gets out of the batter's box.

"[But] I know he's not 100 percent. There's still some fatigue and tenderness in his knee, but it's been something he's been able to manage up to this point."

Reds first baseman Joey Votto will receive a day off soon, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

Votto's quad injury has not bothered him, so manager Bryan Price just wants to be cautious. Price mentioned that Votto has not experienced any setbacks since his return. Over 180 at-bats, Votto is hitting .272/.409/.444.

Marlins first baseman Justin Bour has been bumped from the team's starting lineup Sunday.

Bour was set to start at first base, but things changed once Derek Dietrich was promoted. Dietrich will start at second, which pushes Jeff Baker to first base.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went 1 for 4 with a two-run home run in his team's 5-3 loss to the Pirates Saturday.

Rizzo briefly put his team ahead with his fourth-inning home run, but the Pirates were able to take the lead back in the next half-inning. Rizzo has hit .278/.400/.506 with 15 home runs and 42 RBI in 255 at-bats.

 Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman came around to score twice Thursday, in a 3-0 win over the Nationals.

Freeman reached base three times in the game, and put himself into scoring position with a pair of doubles. He scored two runs in the game, the first time he has done so in nine games.

Freeman has at least two hits in three of his last five games, and is hitting .282/.373/.495 on the season. 

First baseman Ryan Howard was one of five Phillies to slam three hits in a Wednesday win in Atlanta, but was just one of two to both score and drive in runs.

Howard doubled and singled twice. His double drove in a run in the second and one of his singles did the same in the fifth. He did end a two-game homer mini-binge, but he has five hits in 13 at-bats in his last three games.

Mets infielder Wilmer Flores drew a start Thursday against the Cardinals for just the seventh time in the last 22 games. However, manager Terry Collins said don't expect Flores to see an increase in starts any time soon.

"We've got to start winning," Collins said in explanation of Flores' sparse playing time, per MLB.com. "We don't have time to develop players right at the moment. You'd like to, for sure. But you can't just say, 'Hey, look, I'm going to sacrifice three or four games as we try and get some of these young guys in the lineup, try to get them going offensively.'

"I understand how it's tough for them to play once every three or four days -- I certainly understand it, I certainly get it. But unless the time comes where all of the sudden we're going to go with our young players and get them better, right now we've got to try to win some games. Not that he can't help us win games -- don't get me wrong. But it's about going with the guys that are really getting it done at the moment."

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 1 for 3 with two walks and a two-run home run in his team's 5-2 win over the Braves Tuesday.

Howard put the Phillies on the board right away, slugging his home run in the first inning and giving his team a lead it would not relinquish. After hitting home runs in consecutive games, Howard has hit .231/.308/.420 with 13 home runs and 45 RBI in 255 at-bats.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard hit his 12th homer in the second inning and drove in the go-ahead run in the 13th inning of Monday's 6-1 win over the Braves. Howard launched a 412-foot solo shot to center and finished 1 for 5 with a walk, two RBI, and two runs scored.

Howard is hitting .230/.302/.409 with 43 RBI in 230 at-bats.

The Marlins announced Monday they recalled first baseman Justin Bour from Triple-A New Orleans and demoted infielder Donovan Solano to the Triple-A club. The Marlins also designated reliever Kevin Slowey for assignment.