MLB Player News

Astros outfielder Chris Carter mashed his seventh home run in Tuesday's win over the Angels.

In typical Carter fashion, the home run was his only hit and it raised his batting average to .209. However, Carter didn't strike out for only the third time in 32 games. He still owns a league-leading 51 strikeouts.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard turned in a solid night at the plate as he slugged his sixth home run of the season during Tuesday's contest against the Giants.

Howard singled in a run in the first inning and took reliever Jose Mijares deep for a solo home run in the ninth inning. He finished 2 for 3 with a run scored and two RBI in a 6-2 victory.

Howard is batting .333 (6 for 16) with four runs scored, three homers and four RBI in his last six games. He is hitting .282 with six homers and 20 RBI in 117 at-bats.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto extended his hitting streak to nine games Tuesday night against the Braves. He went 2 for 4 with a single and a double in the 5-4 win.

Votto is batting .425 (17 for 40) during his streak with four RBI and nine runs scored.

Indians catcher Carlos Santana is at first base Tuesday.

Santana has been fantastic this season, and will remain in the lineup at first. The team is trying to give third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall some time off, and has shuffled their normal lineup.

The Marlins placed second baseman Donovan Solano on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with an left intercostal strain. The move was retroactive to May 4.

Chris Valaika will likely see the bulk of starts at second base in Solano's absence. Valaika has started at second base the last three games for Miami.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been on fire lately, and has improved his strikeout rate.

Rizzo worked to fix a hitch in his swing April 28, and has been strong since. One of Rizzo's biggest issues early in the year was his high strikeout rate, which had pushed his average below .200. Since he fixed his swing, Rizzo has struck out just five times in his last 32 at-bats.

As Ed Gauna pointed out recently, Rizzo is currently enjoying a seven-game hitting streak. After a questionable start to the season, he's starting to live up to his lofty Fantasy potential.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera has struggled to open the year, and is striking out more often.

Cabrera is striking out at a career-high 22.6 percent rate this year. He's also seen his swinging strike rate rise from 7.3 percent to 8.2 percent. Cabrera is hitting just .233/.307/.437 to begin the season. Cabrera is showing slightly increased power, so it could be that he's utilized a slighty different approach early in the year.

Cabrera's average has never been a problem for Fantasy owners in the past, so there's a chance he bounces back from his early struggles. 

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt had a season-high four hits and continued his dominance against Dodgers starting pitcher Chris Capuano during Monday's 9-2 win. Goldschmidt homered for the sixth time this season and drove in three runs, while going 3 for 3 against Capuano.

Goldschmidt is now batting .800 (12 for 15) with three doubles, three home runs and nine RBI in his career against Capuano.

"I think after Goldy got the second hit, Capuano just kind of looked at him and said, 'Oh my gosh.'" manager Kirk Gibson said, per MLB.com. "It's incredible. It's pretty incredible. It's not very common."

Even Capuano is baffled by Goldschmidt's success against him.

"The ball Goldschmidt hit out, I got that one in there and he still hit it out," Capuano said. "It seems like even when I make good pitches Goldschmidt finds a way to get it to the outfield or find a hole. He's got a good approach against me."

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo extended his hitting streak to seven games in Monday's series opener against the Rangers. He went 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBI. Rizzo also walked once in the 9-2 win.

The 23-year-old singled in two runs in the fourth inning before hitting a double in the sixth. Then in the eighth, he had a two-run homer off Derek Lowe for his ninth HR.

Rizzo is batting .464 (13 for 28) during his streak with six RBI.

Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list with discomfort in his left side.

Manager Mike Redmond told MLB.com the 25-year-old has an intercostal issue.

"He's no better. He's the same," Redmond said Monday. "We're going to have to figure out what we're going to do. We're playing short-handed a lot. He can go out there and play defense, but he cannot turn it loose swinging the bat. We're going to have to figure it out, and we may have to make a move."