MLB Player News

Hoskins (groin) isn't starting Friday's game against the Pirates.

Hoskins tweaked his groin in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader, and he'll be out of the lineup for at least one contest. Brad Miller will start at first base and bat second.

Abreu (neck) is starting Friday's game against Cleveland.

Abreu was held out of Thursday's contest due to a stiff neck, but he'll play first base and bat third Friday. The 34-year-old has gone 0-for-14 with a run, two walks and three strikeouts across his last four games.

Cronenworth went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Rockies.

The Padres were clinging to a one-run eighth-inning lead when Cronenworth provided some breathing room with a two-run shot to right field off Daniel Bard. The long ball was his first since July 16. Half of his 14 homers came during a 14-game hot stretch between June 11 and June 25.

Votto went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's win over the Cubs.

Votto's power surge over the last two weeks has been incredible and he went yard for a franchise-record sixth straight game Thursday, a span during which he's racked up eight homers and 14 RBI. The veteran first baseman is riding a seven-game hitting streak and has slashed .329/.453/.753 with 10 homers, 24 RBI, 17 runs scored and an 18:26 BB:K across 103 plate appearances this month.

Alonso went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Thursday against Atlanta.

Alonso took Drew Smyly yard in the fifth inning to record his 23rd homer of the season. He's produced at a high level since the All-Star break, racking up six homers, 13 RBI and nine runs scored in 12 starts. For the season, Alonso has a .262/.338/.512 line across 370 plate appearances with 62 RBI and 47 runs scored.

France, who went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Astros on Wednesday, owns a .375 average, .913 OPS and minuscule 9.4 percent strikeout rate in the 53 plate appearances covering his last 12 games.

France also has multi-hit efforts in exactly half of those contests, with the only possible quibble with his numbers being the fact he only has three extra-base hits (two doubles, one home run) during that span. Nevertheless, the hot-hitting infielder now owns a rock-solid .278/.356/.421 slash line on the season, and his respective .331 and .333 averages with men on base and men in scoring position have helped lead to 44 RBI over 93 games.

Guerrero went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a walk Thursday against the Red Sox.

Guerrero launched a three-run shot off Boston reliever Phillips Valdez in the fifth inning to extend Toronto's cushion to 9-0. It was the 33rd home of the year for Guerrero, but his first in the last seven games. Despite that brief power outage, Guerrero is hitting a league-leading .328 with a 1.086 OPS in 424 plate appearances this season and will take a six-game hitting streak into Friday's home matchup with Kansas City.

Tellez went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double, two RBI and three runs scored during Thursday's win over the Pirates.

Tellez cranked an opposite-field 410-footer against Chris Stratton in the seventh to further extend Milwaukee's lead. He also hit an RBI double in the sixth, which would have been a homer in 23 ballparks. The 26-year-old now has four long balls and two doubles while batting .378/.467/.757 across 15 games since recently joining the Brewers.

Cron (groin) is not in the lineup Thursday against the Angels.

Cron will be sidelined for the second straight contest after being removed from Tuesday's game with groin discomfort. Rio Ruiz will start at first base Thursday in his absence.

Hoskins was pulled from Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Nationals after tweaking his left groin, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The 28-year-old appeared to suffer the injury during the fifth inning when he began limping while running out a grounder. He was on the bench for Game 1 of the twin bill and went 2-for-3 with a solo homer in the nightcap before picking up the groin issue. The severity of the injury remains unclear, and Hoskins should be considered day-to-day heading into Friday's series opener against the Pirates.