MLB Player News

Flores is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.

James Loney will start at first base as Flores heads to the bench Wednesday evening. Flores had a great game Tuesday, going 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, but still owns a less than stellar batting average (.259) and on-base percentage (.315) for the season.

Howard is in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the White Sox.

The Phillies are playing in Chicago's American League ballpark, so Howard will be Philadelphia's DH and hit cleanup Wednesday evening. Howard has continued to perform well during his resurgent second half to the season and is hitting .300/.364/.633 with three home runs and 11 RBI over the last 14 days.

Rizzo is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Padres.

He has started every game since July 30, but the Cubs will take advantage of their unmatched depth and huge lead in the standings to give him a day off while still deploying a pretty intimidating lineup Wednesday. Kris Bryant will man first base and hit second while Ben Zobrist steps into Rizzo's typical spot in the three hole.

Gurriel (hamstring) remains out of the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gurriel sustained the injury during his major league debut Sunday, but he's logged just one at-bat -- as a pinch hitter in Monday's game -- since. The hope is that he can return to the lineup within the next few days, and his next opportunity will come Friday, when the Astros open a three-game home set against the Rays.

Abreu went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's win over the Phillies.

Abreu has homered in three straight games and is on absolute fire in August. He has hits in 18 of 19 games this month and now has six home runs to go with five doubles. His batting line for August is up to a robust .373/.427/.680 as he is reminding pitchers why he was one of baseball's most feared hitters in 2014 and 2015.

Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a run scored and driven in along with a stolen base in the Mets' 7-4 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Cabrera also made two spectacular plays in the field to rob St. Louis of hits and runs scored. Maybe it was the golden locks he now has, but whatever the reason, Cabrera was locked in at the plate and in the field Tuesday. He and Jose Reyes combined to go 6-for-9 with four runs scored, two runs driven in and a pair of stolen bases.

Votto went 2-for-3 with two RBI in Tuesday's win over the Rangers.

The veteran slugger has picked his game up over the past week, going 9-for-15 (.600) with multi-hit games in each of his last four starts. Votto had just 22 RBI for all of June and July combined, before busting out for 22 so far in August alone. He's got himself back on pace to challenge the 100 RBI mark, a feat Votto hasn't accomplished since 2011.

Howard is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the White Sox.

Despite the fact that the Phillies are playing in an American League park this week, Howard will still take a seat Tuesday with Philadelphia facing southpaw Carlos Rodon. Carlos Ruiz will serve as the DH instead of Howard, but Howard could draw in Wednesday against James Shields.

Gurriel (hamstring) is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Pirates, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Although it was expected that Gurriel would be starting Tuesday, his return to the Astros lineup will have to wait. In the two games that Gurriel has played since joining Houston, he's 1-for-3 with a walk. In the meantime, Gurriel should be considered day-to-day heading into Wednesday's outing against Pittsburgh.

Bour (ankle) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Tuesday.

The move to place Bour on the 60-day DL opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Oswaldo Arcia, who was claimed off waivers by the Marlins on Tuesday. Bour's recovery from a badly sprained ankle has been a tricky one with plenty of stops and starts along the way, including several expected return dates that had to be pushed back. He has been sidelined since early July, so Bour could still return in September if his ankle cooperates.