MLB Player News

Rays shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is back in the lineup in his familiar third spot Wednesday against the Red Sox. He was benched Tuesday in the midst of a slump.

Cabrera has just two hits in his last eight games to weaken his slash line to .189/.218/.245.

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores singled twice Tuesday vs. Atlanta, giving him multiple hits in back-to-back games for the first time this season. 

Flores has hit safely in six of his last seven games after batting .125 through his first five games. He is batting .333 (8 for 24) with one double, two home runs, five RBI and six runs in his last seven games.

Flores is doing most of his damage against right-handed pitchers. He is batting .265 with two home runs and five RBI against righties, as opposed to .167 with one double against lefties.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went 2 for 4 at the plate in Chicago's 9-8 win over the Pirates Tuesday. Rizzo, who was also hit by a pitch, singled twice and scored two runs in the contest. 

Rizzo is swinging a hot bat to start the season, posting a .302/.475/.395 slash line in 43 at-bats to start the year. In five games batting from the two slot, Rizzo 6 for 19 with a home run and three RBI.

The Indians have yet to hit a home run this season with a man on base, but at least first baseman Carlos Santana is contributing solo shots lately.

Santana slugged his second homer in three games to help his team defeat the White Sox. He ripped one off Hector Noesi in the second inning and added a walk and leads the team with three blasts.

The switch-hitter has been the Indians' steadiest regular this season, which isn't saying much. He has hit safely in all but four games and boasts a slash line of .229/.339/.438.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu connected on his fourth home run of the season during Tuesday's loss to the Indians.

Abreu hit the solo shot off Carlos Carrasco during the first inning of the game. Abreu added another RBI in the eighth inning when he singled in Adam Eaton. He finished the game with two hits over four at-bats. He is now batting .275 with nine RBI and six runs scored in 13 games.

Abreu will face Indians starter Corey Kluber in Wednesday's matchup. Abreu is a career .353 hitter off Kluber in 17 at-bats with one home run and three RBI.

Angels designated hitter C.J. Cron cannot be considered hot, but he is certainly not as cold as he was to start the season.

Cron continued his mini-surge with two hits and two runs scored Tuesday in a lopsided defeat of Oakland. He is 6-for-23 after starting the season hitless in 11 at-bats.

His double in the sixth inning against the Athletics kicked off a six-run explosion.

A lousy batting average can turn into a fine one in one game this time of the season. It certainly happened for Angels leadoff hitter Kole Calhoun on Tuesday night in Oakland.

His average soared from .222 to .293, courtesy of a solo home run in the seventh inning and three singles for his first four-hit game since July 10.

Calhoun singled in the first and singled and scored in the second and sixth innings before adding the finishing touches to his evening with the blast. He has scored eight runs in his last seven games.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto uncorked his sixth home run of the season during Tuesday night's 16-10 win over the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Votto took Tyler Thornburg deep in the top of the sixth inning for a solo home run. He added a single and reached base three times. He finished 2 for 5 with a walk, three runs scored, a home run and an RBI. He is hitting .377/.492/.792 on the year.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning to lead Philadelphia to a win over Miami.

Howard went 2 for 3 with a walk. He lifted his average to .208 and recorded his first home run and fourth RBI. 

''It feels good,'' Howard said. ''That's baseball. Sometimes the wind's blowing in, sometimes the wind's blowing out. You keep swinging, and they'll go. They'll do what they're supposed to do.''

After batting third every game this season, slumping Rays shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is absent from the Tuesday lineup against visiting Boston.

Cabrera opened the year with eight hits in 25 at-bats, but is 2 for 27 over the last seven games and has no extra-base hits since April 11.

Tim Beckham is starting at short instead.