MLB Player News

Santana went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk in Saturday's 9-1 loss to the Red Sox.

After leading off Friday, Santana was in the five-hole Saturday, and prevented a shutout loss by homering with two outs in the ninth. The 30-year-old has now hit safely in six of his last seven games and tallied five of his eight homers on the season during May.

Manager Pete Mackanin said he might sit Howard against a right-handed pitcher Sunday, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "I might give [Tommy] Joseph a start [Sunday] just to clear Howie's head just a little bit," Mackanin said.

Howard went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts Saturday before he was pinch-hit for in the seventh inning. He's hitting just .161 with eight home runs this season, while his strikeout rate has increased after he had been making small improvements the last three years. He's also been a bit unlucky with a .162 BABIP. For now, the Phillies remain committed to a platoon at first base, but if Howard's struggles continue, the team could start to reduce his role further.

Manager Pete Mackanin said he might give Joseph a start against a right-handed pitcher Sunday, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Mackanin isn't moving away from the platoon at first base with Ryan Howard. Rather, Mackanin wants to get Howard, who is hitting .161 this season, a day to clear his head. Joseph is also expected to start at first base with Howard shifting to DH during the Phillies' three-game series in Detroit starting Monday.

Bour went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer and two walks Saturday against the Nationals.

Bour's eighth homer broke up a tie game in the sixth inning and provided the winning runs for the Nationals. He's now left the yard in three of his last seven contests to raise his slugging percentage to .478.

Flores (hamstring) will begin a rehab stint Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Flores hit the DL earlier in the month with a strained left hamstring, but he appears to be progressing at a fairly quick pace. Barring a setback during rehab, Flores figures to have a good chance to return when first eligible Friday.

Santana went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and a run scored in Friday's 4-2 victory over the Red Sox.

The 30-year-old continues to thrive out of the leadoff spot and has hit safely in seven of his last nine games. Santana has also drawn an outstanding 25 walks in 18 May games and appears to be regaining some of his power stroke as well. His four home runs this month already exceed his April total, while his 10 RBI fall only one short of the 11 he posted in the opening month of the season.

Freeman was 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and four RBI as the Braves defeated Philadelphia on Friday night.

Freeman is hitting a respectable .272 on the year, but despite having eight home runs, he has driven in just 15 as the sputtering Atlanta offense often fails to provide him many RBI chances. Perhaps Ender Inciarte and Gordon Beckham who are just returning from injuries will provide more baserunners in front of him going forward.

Carter was 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a losing effort against the Mets on Friday night.

His two-run shot in the first inning put the Brewers in front, but that was all the offense they could muster. While his batting average (.247) is not a fantasy asset, his 13 home runs and 31 RBI hitting in the middle of the Milwaukee lineup are certainly useful.

Votto accounted for the Reds' two runs Thursday against the Indians with a two-run homer, his sixth of the season.

Votto has had a rough season so far, hitting just .215/.353/.378. He's still walking frequently (15.6%), but his strikeout rate is through the roof, at 26.9%.

Santana went 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run homers and a walk against the Reds on Thursday.

That's as many homers as Santana hit in his last 22 games combined, so it's nice to see the three-time 20-homer man find his power stroke again. Santana's one of the most bizarre hitters in the majors -- he's a switch hitter with the reputation of a borderline star who he strikes out very little while walking plentifully, yet he's also a dead-pull hitter from both sides of the dish who's been an utter disaster against lefties (.167 with no homers). His lack of speed makes it easy for teams to run extreme shifts against him, resulting in a very low BABIP (.229 now) that's not in for as much positive regression as it may seem on the surface. But hey, at least owners in leagues that count walks or OBP are getting their money's worth.