MLB Player News

Reds first baseman Joey Votto hit one of his team's four solo home runs in Monday's 4-1 win over the Pirates. He was the only player on his team to collect more than one hit in the game, going 2 for 4 while hitting his 12th home run of the season.

Votto has posted 2-for-4 performances in each of his last two games after going 1 for 13 over his previous four games. He has hit .321 in 265 at-bats.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who has been on the DL since June 4 with a strained right quad muscle, ran in the outfield Monday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Cabrera also hit in the cage for the first time since suffering his injury.

"I feel good, really good," Cabrera said. "I could be a week, but no more than 10 days away. But we have to see how things go. I hope to be back soon."

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard hasn't hit a home run since May 29.

Howard is actually hitting .306 during June, but is still looking for his first long-ball of the month. Howard got off to a hot start this year, clubbing six home runs through his first 32 games of the season. He's slowed down since.

Howard is hitting .265/.314/.440 in 234 at-bats. 

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is in the middle of a slump.

Goldschmidt carried the D-Backs' offense through the first two months of the season, but has struggled of late. Over his last 10 games, Goldschmidt is hitting just .103. He's collected four hits in his last 39 at-bats, according to azcentral.com. Manager Kirk Gibson isn't too worried about Goldschmidt's recent issues, saying "he has had good at-bats. They’re making some decent pitches on him. And he’s not getting hits -- there’s some of that, too. He’s not Superman."

Goldschmidt is hitting .301/.381/.543 in 256 at-bats. 

Astros first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter had two hits, including his sixth double, and scored once in four at-bats Sunday against the White Sox. It was his first multi-hit game since May 18.

Carter hit .184 (14 for 76) with three doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games between multi-hit games.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman hit safely for the 11th time in 13 games Saturday against the Giants. Freeman is batting .320 (16 for 50) with one home run, four doubles and 11 RBI in his last 13 games.

Since May 15, Freeman is batting .342 (39 for 114) in his last 29 games, raising his average from .277 to .312. He also has a .526 slugging percentage, .921 OPS, one triple, four home runs, seven doubles and 26 RBI in that span.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (quad) played catch in the outfield Saturday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Cabrera has been shut down since going on the DL earlier in the month. 

The Indians hope Cabrera can return some time before the All-Star break. 

Cubs manager Dale Sveum shifted first baseman Anthony Rizzo to fifth in the team's lineup against the Mets Friday night and put outfielder Nate Schierholtz in the third spot.

Rizzo finished 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored in a 6-3 win. He is hitting .251 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 65 games.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Milwaukee, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Votto has started all 67 games and has played 63 full games this season. With the Reds playing 14 innings on Thursday, Votto will get a day to rest.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was the only Cubs starter other than the starting pitcher to not pick up a hit in his team's 6-5 win over the Reds Thursday, going 0 for 5 with two walks.

Rizzo has just one hit in 17 at-bats over his last five games and two hits in 23 at-bats over his last seven, dropping his batting average to .243. His last home run came on May 18.