MLB Player News

Joseph (illness) has been scratched from Thursday's lineup, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The young first baseman came down with a case of the cold Thursday, and although he was initially listed on the lineup card, the Phillies have since opted to leave him out for their series finale against the Twins. Andres Blanco will slide over to take Joseph's place at first base Thursday while Cesar Hernandez takes over at second base.

Goldschmidt reached base four times in Wednesday's loss to the Blue Jays, going 2-for-2 with two walks.

Goldschmidt entered June batting .269, but he's now got the average up to .290. A career .298 hitter, Goldschmidt figures to keep the hot hitting going and produce counting stats at an elite level.

Santana went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a steal, two RBI and two runs against the Rays on Wednesday.

He's been banging out base knocks pretty steadily lately, having hit safely in nine of his last 12 outings. Santana's been flashing his power in that time as well, knocking out five homers and driving in 11 runs. He's an odd sort of leadoff hitter, but hey, the former catcher did steal double-digit bases last year and could do so again this season -- he's currently 4-for-5 on the basepaths to go with his sparkling 15 homers.

Calhoun went 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and an RBI in a loss to the Astros on Wednesday.

Owners have come to expect this kind of consistent production from Calhoun, but the stolen base is a nice surprise, as it is just the second time he has swiped a bag this season. It wasn't too long ago that Calhoun was projected to take 12-15 bases in a year, and while that may be a stretch in 2016, he has enough power and plate discipline that anything in the 8-10 range would likely be considered a fantastic benefit. He is now slashing .292/.368/.457 with nine homers in 267 at-bats.

Rizzo left Wednesday's game against the Cardinals due to back stiffness, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Rizzo was scratched from a start earlier this month with back stiffness but returned after missing just one game. The 26-year-old has been scorching hot in June, hitting .287/.473/.758 with six home runs, 17 RBI and 13 runs in 18 games.

Bour went 2-for-3 with a two-run blast in the 3-0 victory over the Braves on Wednesday.

He is slashing .326/.404/.565 with three homers, 10 RBI and nine runs this month. Since June 13, Bour is 10-for-20 (.500) with three extra-base hits. He now has 12 bombs and 36 RBI this season.

Cabrera homered for the second straight day and drove in a pair of runs as part of a 2-for-3 game with a walk and two runs scored in a 4-3 win over the Royals on Wednesday.

Cabrera upped his average to .270 with a pair of hits, and with eight home runs and 24 RBI, he's posted solid shortstop production for deeper formats. His defense has been excellent all season and was on display again Wednesday. There have been rumors that the Mets might sign Jose Reyes when he passes through waivers, but Cabrera is fairly comfortably ensconced at shortstop.

Votto (illness) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

Votto will miss his second consecutive game with an illness while Ivan De Jesus gets the start at first base in his place. After struggling through the first two months of the season, Votto has finally started to look like his normal self. The Toronto native is hitting .338/.482/.508 with two home runs, six RBI, 14 runs and four stolen bases since the start of June.

Howard is back at DH, batting fourth, against Minnesota on Tuesday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

It's likely a temporary move as the Phillies do not normally have the luxury of utilizing the DH position. Howard has started only three of the last 11 games and he's batted 1-for-13 (.077) during that time. His season average has dipped to .145 as well, making the scenario of an option to the minors in the realm of possibilities.

Manager Bryan Price announced that Votto was left out of Tuesday's lineup due to an illness, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Adam Duvall will be seeing action at first base for just the third time this season Tuesday with Votto sitting out. Price referred to Votto's ailment as a "bug," so there is hope that the Canadian native won't be sidelined for long. If Votto is able to return to the lineup Wednesday, Duvall would likely move back to the outfield. Votto could also potentially serve as the DH on Wednesday in an effort to conserve his energy coming off an illness.