MLB Player News

Calhoun went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the A's on Friday.

Calhoun's drive in the third inning was the only run the Angels would get off starter Kendall Graveman. Owners have likely given up on the idea that Calhoun will turn into a stolen-base threat, but he has held his batting average near the .300 mark for most of the season, making him a valuable asset as long as he can keep the power coming.

Joseph is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, Stephen Gross of the Morning Call reports.

Joseph will get a day off as he has started each of the last nine games at first base. Ryan Howard will start in his place Saturday, batting fourth. With Zack Greinke opposing the Phillies on the mound, manager Pete Mackanin is stacking the lineup with left-handed hitters.

GM Matt Klentak said the Phillies have no plans to release Howard, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Klentak said Howard has not been a distraction since being demoted to a bench role, and the Phillies still value his power bat coming off the bench. Howard has made just four starts this month, and two of those came as a DH while the Phils were in Toronto. His opportunities will be limited over the remainder of the season.

Santana went 1-for-4 with a game-winning solo homer in Friday's 3-2 victory over the White Sox.

The veteran slugger blasted an 0-2 offering from reliever Nate Jones in the ninth, sending the Indians home winners with his 14th homer. The 30-year-old now four round-trippers over his last five contests, and has reached base safely in six of his last seven games. However, he continues to struggle overall in terms of getting on base consistently, as he's hitting just .226 on the season, with a .332 OBP.

Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with a double, solo homer and two runs in Friday's 10-2 victory over the Phillies.

The 28-year-old slugger extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his fourth multi-hit effort over that span. He's also homered for the second time in the last four games, and drove in a run for the sixth straight contest. Goldschmidt is enjoying his best month of the season in June, hitting .345 (20-for-58) with three homers and 10 RBI.

Freeman went 3-for-5 with a double, a steal and an RBI Friday at the Mets.

Freeman's double in the third inning broke up a tie game, and ended up being all the runs the Braves would need to earn the win over the Mets. He's been on fire the last three games, as he's collected 10 hits in 22 at-bats to raise his batting average 24 points to .272.

Cron is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Oakland.

Cron gets the night off Friday as manager Mike Scioscia rolls out a lineup where Albert Pujols takes over at first base and Jefry Marte serves as the designated hitter. The 26-year-old Cron is mired in a bit of a power drought as he's failed to homer in June, but he's put together a respectable .300/.344/.433 slash line through 11 games this month.

Flores (wrist) can pinch-hit during Friday's game against the Braves, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

According to manager Terry Collins, he believes that Flores will be back in the lineup Saturday and could pinch hit if need be for Friday's contest. Flores was hit by a pitch during Thursday's game and is out of the lineup tonight as Kelly Johnson will man the hot corner.

Flores (wrist) is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Braves.

Flores suffered a wrist injury after being plunked on the hand by a pitch during Thursday's game. He left the contest in the third inning and had X-rays taken on his left hand, which came back negative. Flores could end up missing Saturday's game as well, but will be replaced by Kelly Johnson at third base for Friday's game.

Carter went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run homer Thursday at the Dodgers.

Carter's 18th bomb of the year extended the Brewers' lead to three runs in a game they'd go on to win. He's now connected on five homers this month, and he's slugging .526.