MLB Player News

Angels designated hitter C.J. Cron, who faltered in May after a decent beginning of the season as a starter, is back in the majors.

Cron was promoted Saturday from Triple-A Salt Lake City, where he batted .333 with two home runs. A 6-for-47 slide that lowered his average from .275 to .204 prompted his demotion.

It's expected that Cron will get a chance to improve against right-handed pitching this time around.

"The game plan for C.J. was to get a lot of at-bats this year, not just be strictly platoon," Manager Mike Scioscia said, per the Orange County Register. "If it works out where he’s swinging it well and he’s hitting right-handers too and he matches up well, he’ll get more at-bats. If you want to play more, play better. If C.J. plays well he’ll earn at-bats for sure."

Prior to his demotion, Cron recorded just nine hits in 61 at-bats against right-handers.

A matchup against premier Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner has both second baseman Chase Utley and first baseman Ryan Howard out of the lineup Saturday for the Phillies.

Neither has fared well against Bumgarner. Howard is 2-for-11 with one double lifetime against him while Utley has two measly singles in 12 at-bats.

Utley has been particularly poor against southpaws this season with just a .167 average (8-for-48). Howard, who broke free from a 2-for-32 slide with a home run Friday, is only at .175 (7-for-40) against lefties in 2015.

A.J. Hinch has made good on his promise to give Astros first baseman Chris Carter a rest. He is out of the lineup Saturday in Toronto.

Carter is certainly not sitting due to performance. His 0-for-3 effort Friday ended a 12-game hitting streak in which he lifted his batting average from .157 to .206.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had a big night on Friday against the Nationals. Rizzo had two hits in four at-bats. Both hits left the yard, his 10th and 11th home runs of the season.

Rizzo hit a solo home run in the fourth and a two-run shot in the sixth inning, but it wasn't enough as the Cubs fell 7-5. 

"It's really been incredible to watch," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, per MLB.com. "I have not really seen that level of offensive performance for that length of time. I'm talking the at-bats, the hits, the homers, the two-strike approach. His OPS is ridiculous right now. I know there are other guys out there, but personally, I have not seen anything quite that good."

Rizzo extended his hitting streak to 10 games. During that stretch, he's batting .361 with two home runs and five RBI. 

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. 

Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun went 3 for 4 with a walk in Friday's loss to the Yankees. 

Calhoun scored twice and drove in his 25th run of the season. 

Blue Jays left fielder Chris Colabello extended his hitting streak to 15 games, with a 3-for-4 night in Friday's win over Houston. 

Colabello doubled, his eighth of the year, drove in a run, his 17th, and scored. 

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. 

With the Astros about to embark on a six-game road-trip that begins Friday, manager A.J. Hinch indicated that he will look to get some of his regulars a day off in the coming days.

"Giving some of our everyday players a rest here sometimes by the end of the road trip," Hinch said, per the Houston Chronicle. "We have 20 games in 20 days after this off-day next Thursday. A lot of it is against our division, so I want to keep guys feeling fresh."

Hinch specifies that right fielder George Springer and first baseman Chris Carter are likely to get a rest.

"That might mean Springer or Carter, some guys that haven’t had days off. They might get a rest day here or there. We’ll see how it goes," said Hinch.

The team is in the midst of 13 straight games without an off-day. Carter hasn't had a day off since May 2, and Springer has started all 23 games since returning from a stint on the 7-day DL due to a concussion. 

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.