MLB Player News

A wrist ailment continues to sideline Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is not in the lineup Saturday against the Mets.

His wrist remained a problem when he took a few swings Saturday, leading to speculation that he could be out until at least Tuesday, per MLB.com.

Freeman has been down since Wednesday, when his six-game hitting streak was halted.

Freeman is expected to have an MRI on Monday before the team travels to Washington, D.C. for a set with the Nationals. 

"[My wrist] is not worse, it's just not getting better," Freeman said. "I really don't have an answer until I can maybe get an X-ray or an MRI. I just want to know what is wrong."

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was an offensive bright spot for what was an otherwise ugly evening on Friday. Howard launched a three-run home run, his 13th of the year, in the bottom of the fifth innning against the Cardinals, but it wasn't enough to avoid the 12-4 defeat. 

Howard has homered in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season. 

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo provided the only offense for his club on Friday, as the Twins defeated Chicago 7-2. Rizzo popped a pair of solo home runs, his 13th and 14th of the season.

The power-hitting Rizzo now has five home runs over his last 13 ballgames, and is batting .304 overall this season. 

Braves red-hot first baseman Freddie Freeman will cool his heels on the bench Friday night against the Mets after sustaining a right wrist sprain Wednesday. Kelly Johnson will play the position instead.

Freeman hopes he can play Saturday, but admitted there is a chance he will be forced to skip the entire weekend series since his wrist remains sore, per MLB.com.

He had seven home runs and 18 RBI in his previous 19 games before going down.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard hit his 12th home run of the season in Thursday afternoon's 2-1 win over the Orioles. 

Howard hit a two-run homer off of Bud Norris in the sixth inning that ultimately served as the game-winner. He finished the game 2 for 3 and also hit a single. It was Howard's first home run since June 5. 

Howard now has a slash line of .236/.276/.471. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto has returned to the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers. 

Votto did not start Wednesday but did play in the eighth and nine innings, notching a single in his lone at-bat. Votto is hitting .298/.398/.549 this year with 14 home runs and 36 RBI. Votto will bat third against the Tigers. 

As expected, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Red Sox after suffering a right wrist sprain Wednesday. Kelly Johnson started in his absence at first base.

Thursday was just the second time this season that Freeman didn't start. The other time was May 31. 

He is batting .328 with four doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, 14 runs, seven walks, 13 strikeouts and two stolen bases through 16 games in June.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit his 19th home run of the season in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Angels. 

Goldschmidt hit his solo shot in the bottom of the first inning. Goldschmidt finished the game 2 for 4 and is now hitting an incredible .472 over his last 10 games. Goldschmidt has hit three home runs over this span as well. 

For the season, Goldschmidt holds a slash line of .363/.481/.679. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman left Wednesday's game against the Red Sox in the top of the seventh inning with a wrist injury. Freeman was 0 for 3 prior to his departure.

The Braves are calling the injury a right wrist sprain, which has caused Freeman to receive a cortisone shot, and he will not be available for Thursday's series finale. He does hope to play on Friday against the Mets, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo broke an 0-for-20 skin with a two-run home run in the first inning of Wednesday's game against the Indians. The home run, his 12th of the season, but the Cubs up 6-0, but they would go on to put up another 11 on the board to take the 17-0 victory.

Rizzo, who went 2 for 4 with the homer and a double on Wednesday, has cooled down at the plate recently. Over his last 10 games, he's batting .220 (9 for 41), though he still has a solid .303 batting average on the season.