MLB Player News

Rays shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Cabrera was believed to have hyperextended his elbow in Saturday's game, the Tampa Tribune reports. However, manager Kevin Cash said on Sunday that there was nothing wrong with Cabrera and that he simply wanted to get the shortstop a pair of days off in a row with the team not playing Monday. Nick Franklin will get the start at shortstop with Cabrera sidelined.

The Rays are road favorites (-129) in Seattle, per VegasInsider.com.

After a day off Saturday, Chris Carter is back in the lineup at first base for the Astros in Sunday's series-finale against the Blue Jays. 

Carter began the year in a slump but has hit .323 over his past 10 games. For the season, he's hitting .200. 

First baseman Carlos Santana came through with the biggest hit of the afternoon, as the Indians downed the Orioles 2-1 on Saturday. With the scored tied at one, Santana laced a run-scoring double in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead. 

It was Santana's only hit of the season, but it was just what the Indians needed to secure the victory. Santana has now hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, batting .302 with two home runs over that stretch.

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores is out of the lineup Saturday due to what Mets manager Terry Collins said was "general stiffness," per ESPN.com.

"He came in and said he was real, real stiff yesterday," Collins said. "He's stiff again today. As you guys know, those are signs of a little fatigue setting in. We've got enough guys on the DL. So I'm going to give him a day to rest up."," Collins said of his shortstop. 

Flores has a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .249 with eight homers and 24 RBIs. 

Angels designated hitter C.J. Cron, who faltered in May after a decent beginning of the season as a starter, is back in the majors.

Cron was promoted Saturday from Triple-A Salt Lake City, where he batted .333 with two home runs. A 6-for-47 slide that lowered his average from .275 to .204 prompted his demotion.

It's expected that Cron will get a chance to improve against right-handed pitching this time around.

"The game plan for C.J. was to get a lot of at-bats this year, not just be strictly platoon," Manager Mike Scioscia said, per the Orange County Register. "If it works out where he’s swinging it well and he’s hitting right-handers too and he matches up well, he’ll get more at-bats. If you want to play more, play better. If C.J. plays well he’ll earn at-bats for sure."

Prior to his demotion, Cron recorded just nine hits in 61 at-bats against right-handers.

A matchup against premier Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner has both second baseman Chase Utley and first baseman Ryan Howard out of the lineup Saturday for the Phillies.

Neither has fared well against Bumgarner. Howard is 2-for-11 with one double lifetime against him while Utley has two measly singles in 12 at-bats.

Utley has been particularly poor against southpaws this season with just a .167 average (8-for-48). Howard, who broke free from a 2-for-32 slide with a home run Friday, is only at .175 (7-for-40) against lefties in 2015.

A.J. Hinch has made good on his promise to give Astros first baseman Chris Carter a rest. He is out of the lineup Saturday in Toronto.

Carter is certainly not sitting due to performance. His 0-for-3 effort Friday ended a 12-game hitting streak in which he lifted his batting average from .157 to .206.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had a big night on Friday against the Nationals. Rizzo had two hits in four at-bats. Both hits left the yard, his 10th and 11th home runs of the season.

Rizzo hit a solo home run in the fourth and a two-run shot in the sixth inning, but it wasn't enough as the Cubs fell 7-5. 

"It's really been incredible to watch," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, per MLB.com. "I have not really seen that level of offensive performance for that length of time. I'm talking the at-bats, the hits, the homers, the two-strike approach. His OPS is ridiculous right now. I know there are other guys out there, but personally, I have not seen anything quite that good."

Rizzo extended his hitting streak to 10 games. During that stretch, he's batting .361 with two home runs and five RBI. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto provided all of his team's offense in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Padres. Votto drove in both runs on a two-run single in the fifth inning off Tyson Ross.

It was Votto's only hit of the game, and he has now hit safely in six of his last seven games. 

Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun went 3 for 4 with a walk in Friday's loss to the Yankees. 

Calhoun scored twice and drove in his 25th run of the season.