MLB Player News

Howard was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a walk-off solo home run in the Phillies' win over Cleveland in 11 innings Friday night.

Howard is hitting a weak .214 on the year, but he has shown a flair for the dramatic with five home runs and 10 RBI to help the surprising Phillies build a 13-10 record. He'll sit against many tough lefties, and the average is not likely to be much help in fantasy circles, but he can still hit the ball a long way when he connects.

Freeman was 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a losing effort against the Cubs on Friday afternoon.

Freeman has started to hit a bit, logging multi-hit games in five of his last seven starts, including a pair of home runs in his last three. He has his average up to a modest .259 with three home runs and seven RBI, but the 5-18 Braves are going to need others to step up as well if they are going to improve on the worst record in baseball.

The Pirates haven't ruled out Bell as an outfield option in the event of an injury to one of their starters, Pirates Prospects reports. "He has the outfield in his back pocket," GM Neal Huntington noted. "We still want to spend all of our time and energy on first base. He is showing signs of getting better, and will give us more options."

Huntington acknowledged that Bell -- despite gaining muscle mass -- is moving more athletically since his 2012 knee injury. He's currently biding his time behind John Jaso at first base and the outfield trio of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco. Jaso has a history of injury and trips to the DL, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Bell debut at first base in the second half of 2016.

Freeman went 3-for-4 with a walk in Thursday's win against the Red Sox.

Thursday was his fourth multi-hit performance in the last six games, raising his average to .247 through his first 77 at-bats. Freeman's numbers so far have certainly been a disappointment as he's notched just five extra-base hits - only two of which were homers - and six RBI in the first month of the season. The first baseman has loads of talent, but is stuck on the worst team in baseball which limits his production and allows pitchers to work around him. Freeman has earned the right for owners to be patient with him, but the lack of talent around the 26-year-old may be too much to overcome this season.

Freeman went 2-for-4, hitting his first home run since Opening Day against the Red Sox on Wednesday.

It was his first homer in 72 at-bats. The bomb also ended a streak of 15 straight games without a home run for the Braves, which is a new franchise record. Freeman's had a tough start to the year, but he is 5-for-11 (.455) in his last three games and has hit safely in eight of the last 10.

Goldschmidt hit his sixth home run of the season in Wednesday's loss to St. Louis.

Goldschmidt is now tied for the team lead in home runs with Welington Castillo, and he leads the Diamondbacks with 16 RBI. Still hitting just .250, look for Goldy to post MVP-caliber stats as his average continues to rise.

Bour is out of the lineup on Wednesday after sitting out Tuesday's game, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports.

Bour will be sitting out his second straight game since the Marlins are facing another southpaw from the Dodgers' rotation. He will be replaced by Chris Johnson at first base, who is slotted at seventh in the lineup. Throughout the 2016 season, Bour has only five at-bats against left-handers while earning 54 at-bats against right-handers.

Howard is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Nationals, Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice reports.

This comes as no surprise, as the Phillies are primarily playing right-handed hitters against left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Darin Ruf will take over at first base in his place.

Although he's hitting just .247 through 21 games, Goldschmidt has a .935 OPS with five home runs and 15 RBI.

The 15 RBI are tied for the team lead, while the five home runs are good for second. Goldschmidt also has an impressive 22:20 BB:K rate. Goldy is a career .298 hitter, so his average will likely climb, which will only boost his counting stats further. Simply put, it looks like another monster season for the 28-year-old if he stays healthy.

Bour is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers.

Don Mattingly is looking to get as many right-handed bats into the lineup Tuesday to gain a platoon advantage against the dominant southpaw, Clayton Kershaw. As such, Chris Johnson will take Bour's spot at first base Tuesday but Bour will be available off the bench and figures to rejoin the lineup before the end of the series. That said, the Dodgers will start lefty Scott Kazmir on Wednesday, so Bour could be out of the lineup the next two nights.