MLB Player News

Marlins manager Mike Redmond told The Miami Herald that second baseman Donovan Solano is making progress and could start his minor-league rehab assignment with Class A Jupiter at the end of the week.

Solano has been out since May 7 with an intercostal strain. He hit .278 with a home run and five RBI before landing on the DL.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo tripled for just the second time in his major-league career Monday, as he drove in two runs in a 7-0 win over the White Sox.

Rizzo brought in two runs on his seventh-inning triple, one inning after he doubled and came around to score on a sacrifice fly. He finished the game 2 for 5 with the two RBI and two runs scored, his third game in a row with at least one of each.

Rizzo is batting .263, while ranking sixth in the National League in home runs (10) and RBI (35). 

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who was in the lineup Monday after missing Sunday's game, told MLB.com that his sore left knee will linger throughout the remainder of the season.

"Right now I'm just looking at it day to day," Howard said. "Sometimes it's a little more, sometimes it's a little less. Obviously that's going to be something. Right now I'm looking at it day to day, and trying to run with the good days."

Howard is hoping to avoid surgery, calling it "the worst-case scenario. I guess kind of if all else fails."

He finished 2 for 5 with two strikeouts Monday and is hitting .259 with six homers and 25 RBI on the year. 

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard dealt with some soreness in his left knee that forced him out of the lineup Sunday, but was back in there Monday against the Red Sox. Howard told reporters he is not planning to wear a knee brace moving forward, despite continuing to deal with issues. He has missed three of the last eight games. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto went deep Monday at home against the Indians. Votto took Nick Hagadone deep in the eighth inning for a two-run shot. 

Votto finished the game 1 for 4 with the two RBI. He's batting .351. Votto has homered five times in his last 10 games with eight RBI over that span. He has nine homers and 25 RBI on the year. 

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera drew his second appearance at DH in 46 starts Sunday against the Red Sox. It was an attempt by manager Terry Francona to make sure the 27-year-old shortstop doesn't get fatigued as the season progresses.

"In the past, there has been talk about him playing himself into the ground and I don't want that to happen," Francona said, per The Plain Dealer. "He's playing really good baseball. He's being really aggressive on the bases. His quad still probably isn't perfect, but he's still really playing the game. ... So you just look for spots to monitor it."

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera extended his hitting streak to five games Saturday with three hits in a 7-4 loss to the Red Sox.

Cabrera went 3 for 5 with an RBI double in the third inning. He scored a run and had two steals. He is hitting .263 but is batting .366 over the last 10 games, with five multi-hit efforts.   

Coming into Saturday's game against the Reds, Cubs manager Dale Sveum was asked whether he had considered giving first baseman Anthony Rizzo a day off, in order to help fix an 0-for-22 slide over his previous five games. Svuem dismissed the notion.

"Not yet," Sveum told MLB.com. "Obviously, it's a thought, but I don't think we're quite there yet."

Rizzo rewarded his manager's patience, going 3 for 3 with two doubles in a 5-2 loss. Rizzo gave the Cubs an early lead with an RBI double, and finished with a run scored, a walk and an RBI.

Svuem told MLB.com before the game that he thought Rizzo's swing had too much movement in it recently, a problem he apparently fixed.

"Everything spirals when you try to do too much," Rizzo said. "That's what I always say is try not to do too much, which is hard to do. It's part of a season. This is one of the worst [streaks] I've ever gone through. You have to keep working and keep battling."

Marlins manager Mike Redmond indicated Saturday that second baseman Donovan Solano, who has been out since May 7 with an intercostal strain, could resume baseball activities at extended spring training Monday, the Palm Beach Post reports.

"If he starts hitting on the field (next week), he’s probably maybe another week away from starting to play some games, if everything goes well," Redmond told the Palm Beach Post.

Solano has hit .278/.333/.324 with a home run and stolen base in 108 at-bats.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is hitless in his last four games after going 0 for 4 in a 4-2 loss to the Pirates Thursday. Rizzo has made 17 plate appearances during his four-game skid and hasn't reached base safely once.

Rizzo's line has fallen to .256/.320/.489 with the slump, but he does have 10 home runs on the year. He'll try to stop his skid this weekend against the Reds.