MLB Player News

Smith is not starting Wednesday against the Pirates, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Smith is hitting an unimpressive .233/.267/.419 in his latest 14-game stint with the Mets. Michael Conforto will slide over to left field Wednesday, with Brandon Nimmo starting in center.

Bour is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

Bour will take a seat as J.T. Realmuto gets a start at first base. Bour's batting average has slipped back to .240 this season, but he's still chipped in with a solid 13 homers in 78 games.

Votto was ejected from Wednesday's game against the Braves in the first inning for arguing balls and strikes.

It was Votto's eighth career ejection, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati. After a slow start to the campaign, Votto is now batting .301/.434/.459 with an NL-leading 61 walks, and his second-half surges in recent years offer hope that the best is still yet to come.

Bell is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Mets.

Bell, a switch-hitter, will sit against the left-handed Steven Matz. Bell has hit slightly better against righties (108 wRC+) than lefties (95 wRC+) thus far in his career, though the split isn't large enough that he absolutely must be platooned. Jose Osuna will start at first base Tuesday.

Bell went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer against the Mets on Monday.

The home run was his first in 77 plate appearances during the month of June. After going deep 26 times in 2017, the 25-year-old still only has five homers in 270 at-bats. He does have three career long balls in four games at Citi Field heading into Tuesday, however. Bell batted second in the lineup for the first time since May 19, 2017 as Pittsburgh looked to jumpstart its flagging offense.

Bour went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Monday's win over the Diamondbacks.

It's his 13th homer of the year but only his third in June, with the other two coming June 17. Bour's power numbers aren't what the Marlins were hoping -- his .196 ISO is over 50 points lower than last season -- but part of the problem is a lack of hittable pitches in a lineup that offers him little-to-no protection. The 30-year-old has already set a new career high in walks (52) despite only playing 77 games so far.

Flores is not in the lineup Monday for the second straight day.

Flores went just 3-for-15 (.200) at the plate over his last four games, so manager Mickey Callaway decided to hold him out in hopes of spurring a turnaround at the dish. Kevin Plawecki will get the start at first base Monday in Flores' place.

Hoskins went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, two runs and a stolen base in Philadelphia's 8-6 defeat to Washington on Sunday.

The 25-year-old has been on an absolute tear since he returned from a brief injury absence with a fractured jaw, with his latest explosive effort bringing his slash line to .320/.417/.640 over 50 at-bats in June. He also added a steal in this contest, which marked his fourth of the season, so that's been an added bonus as he continues to establish himself as one of the league's premier young power threats.

Bour went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk in Sunday's 8-5 win in Colorado.

After hitting a career-high 25 home runs with a .289 average last season, the 30-year-old slugger's 12 homers and .244 average in 250 at-bats this season are certainly disappointing. Aside from his two-homer performance June 17, Bour hasn't hit one since May 27. Still, his .805 OPS isn't far from his career .829 mark.

Goldschmidt will sit for just the third time this season Sunday against the Pirates.

Since his last day off nearly a month ago, Goldschmidt has been on a tear, hitting .386 with a 1.338 OPS and 11 home runs in 22 games. Daniel Descalso will play first base Sunday.