MLB Player News

Joseph went 3-for-4 with a home run in Tuesday's win over the Marlins.

Batting out of the cleanup spot against lefty Wei-Yin Chen, Joseph went yard to lead off the bottom of the second inning. It was the 24-year-old's first career home run. It sounds like he will be deployed in a platoon at first base for time being, but Joseph may be afforded a few starts against right-handers next week with the DH available in Detroit.

Howard is not in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Marlins, Meghan Montemurro of the News Journal reports.

With left-hander Wei-Yin Chen taking the mound for Miami, Howard and his .490 OPS against left-handed pitching will head to the bench for Tuesday's contest. Tommy Joseph will take over for him at first base.

Joseph could play first base during a three-game series in Detroit next week, Corey Seidman of CSN Philadelphia reports.

The Phillies are scheduled to face seven consecutive right handed pitchers after Tuesday, which might typically keep Joseph on the bench as part of his platoon with Ryan Howard. However, since the series with the Tigers is in Detroit, the DH spot will be available for Howard. Joseph got his first hit in the big leagues Monday and is 1-for-6 with a walk and three strikeouts in two games since his promotion from Triple-A.

Bour's power surge continued on Monday, going 1-for-4 with a home run in the Marlins' victory against the Phillies.

Bour has now homered four times in May and in three of his last five games. The first baseman had just one home run through April 28, but in the last two and a half weeks has six home runs. For the season, Bour is hitting .264 to go with his seven home runs and 19 RBI.

Howard is not in the lineup Monday against the Marlins, Stephen Gross of The Morning Call reports.

Howard will get his second day off in four games as the Phillies go up against left-hander Adam Conley. As was the case Friday against the Reds, Tommy Joseph will take over at first base, and he'll bat fifth in the order behind cleanup man Carlos Ruiz.

Carter went 3-for-4 with a homer, a double, one run and two RBI on Sunday against the Padres.

Carter's 11th bomb of the year gave the Brewers an early lead in a game they'd go on to win. Although it was his first homer in 10 games, he has six bombs this month, and his slugging percentage is at .592.

Rizzo went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer, four RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 8-2 victory over the Cubs.

The lefty slugger has now reached safely in 22 straight games, and is tallying an outstanding .373/.475/.686 slash line in May. Rizzo has raised his average 61 points since the beginning of the month, and is clearly wielding one of the hottest bats in the majors at present. His remarkable month now includes six multi-hit outings, along with seven doubles, three homers and nine RBI.

Bour went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the 7-1 victory over the Nationals on Saturday.

The first baseman has two bombs in his last three games, and three since May 7. During that time, he is 6-for-21 (.286) with six RBI and five runs. Overall, he is slashing .276/.348/.510 with six homers, 18 RBI and 11 runs in 98 at-bats.

Carter is not in the lineup Saturday against the Padres.

Carter will get the day off Saturday, as the Brewers will go with Jonathan Lucroy at first base and Martin Maldonado behind the plate. Carter has struggled of late, going 0-for-20 over his last six games.

Manager Pete Mackanin said he might get Joseph some at-bats against some right-handers, Evan Webeck of MLB.com reports.

Joseph, who went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in his MLB debut Friday, is guaranteed to start against lefties in a platoon at first base with Ryan Howard. Carving into Howard's playing time would only give him more fantasy value.