MLB Player News

The Carlos Santana experiment appears to be over. His stint as the second hitter in the lineup, which began on May 21, was not a success. He is batting cleanup Monday against the Cubs in the Windy City.

All was well when he lifted his batting average from .213 to .236 in early June, but he has fallen into a deep slump with just four hits in his last 33 at-bats.

The Indians liked him in the second hole because of his propensity to at least reach base via the walk, but his on-base percentage has fallen 24 points in the last eight games.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt continued to be unstoppable at the plate during Sunday's 4-0 win over the Giants.

Goldschmidt went 2 for 3 with two walks and a run scored.

In his las five games, Goldschmidt is hitting a whopping .550 with 11 hits in 20 at-bats.

The Angels recalled outfielder Daniel Robertson from the minor leagues Sunday, reports the Orange County Register.

Robertson can play all three outfield positions and he will replace designated hitter C.J. Cron, who was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday.

"C.J. didn't get as many looks as we hoped," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We didn't see many at-bats for him, especially playing two games in the National League this Wednesday and Thursday [in Arizona]."

Rays shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera connected off Chris Sale in the seventh inning for a two-run home run to propel the Rays to a 2-1 win over the White Sox on Sunday.

The home run was Cabrera's only hit in four at-bats during the game. Prior to Sunday's performance, Cabrera was hitting .190 with no home runs and two RBI in his last 13 games.

"I know he hasn't performed offensively the way he wants to, or is capable of," Rays manager Kevin Cash said, per MLB.com. "But when you can get big knocks like that it erases some of those tough games."

Reds first baseman Joey Votto went deep for the 14th time this season in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Cubs. Votto's home run, a solo shot in the fourth inning, brought the Reds to within a run, but it wasn't enough to avoid the defeat.

After his two-hit performance on Saturday, the slugging first baseman is batting .348 (16 for 46) with five home runs and 12 RBI in 12 games this month.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt continues to hit the ball well, adding two more notches to his ledger in Saturday's victory over the Giants. 

Goldschmidt's fourth-inning single drove in the D-Backs' fourth run, giving him 50 RBIs on the season. And, after going 2-for-4, Goldschmidt now leads the majors in batting average at .355. 

Goldschmidt has nine hits in his last four games to raise his average by 17 points. 

First baseman Carlos Santana got the scoring started for the Indians when he crushed a solo home run off Justin Verlander in the fourth inning on Saturday. Santana's seventh home run of the season brough the Indians to within a run, as they went on to win 5-4 over the Tigers.

The home run was Santana's only hit of the game, though he did draw a walk. He has struggled at the plate this month, batting .200 through 11 games in June.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is back in the starting lineup on Saturday against the Pirates.

Howard was benched for Friday's game and has been out of the lineup for three of the last six games.

Howard is hitting .239 with 11 home runs and 28 RBI in 205 at-bats this season.

The Astros will put a shuffled lineup up against the Mariners on Saturday, the team announced.

Right fielder George Springer will return to the leadoff role after teammate Jose Altuve, who hit leadoff in Friday's game, hurt his hamstring. Rookie shortstop Carlos Correa will bat second, despite not hitting any higher than fifth in the lineup since being called up to the majors.

Jake Marisnik will make his first start in left field, giving Preston Tucker a day off. He will bat sixth in the lineup.

First baseman Chris Carter, who hit a home run out of the ninth spot on Friday, will bat in the cleanup spot on Saturday.

Marwin Gonzalez will fill Altuve's void at second base and bat eighth.

Astros first baseman Chris Carter slammed his 11th home run of the season in a win against the Mariners on Friday.

Carter went 2 for 3 with a solo home run, an RBI, a walk and two runs scored.

Carter is hitting .444 with four hits and four runs scored in his last three games.