MLB Player News

Indians catcher Carlos Santana played for the first time since Monday against the Royals Saturday night. After missing time with an illness, he went 1 for 4 with a single in the 3-2 loss.

The 27-year-old is batting .345 with four home runs and nine RBI.

After missing two games with right quadriceps soreness, Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera returned Saturday against the Royals. He went 1 for 4 with a single in the 3-2 loss.

Cabrera is batting .162 with two homers, five RBI and a stolen base.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo notched the second multi-home run game of his career Friday night against the Marlins. Rizzo, who hails from South Florida, belted a pair of long balls in the 4-2 win, including a two-run shot off Wade LeBlanc in the opening frame.

He also touched up LeBlanc for another two-run bomb in the third, accounting for all four of Chicago's runs.

Rizzo, who entered the contest mired in a 1-for-20 slump, finished 3 for 4 with four RBI, two runs scored and a steal.

Rizzo's eight home runs are the most in franchise history for a left-handed hitter during the month of April.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard provided his pitcher all the offense he would need, hitting a three-run home run in his team's 4-0 win over the Mets Friday night. It was the third home run of the season for Howard, who is hitting .282/.300/.459 in 90 plate appearances.

Indians catcher Carlos Santana is back in the Indians lineup Friday, Newsradio WTAM reports.

Santana has been out of the lineup since April 22 due to an illness. Expect him to return to an everyday role (or very close). Santana is hitting .352/.435/.704 with four home runs and seven doubles in 54 at-bats.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is back in the lineup Friday against Kansas City, Newsradio WTAM reports.

Cabrera has been out since April 22 with quadriceps soreness. In 17 games, the 27-year-old is hitting just .156/.229/.281 with 19 strikeouts.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit his fifth homer -- a two-run blast in the fourth inning -- and finished 1 for 4 to lead Arizona to a 3-2 victory over Colorado Thursday. Goldschmidt's home runs this season have come with at least one runner on base leading to 18 RBI, which is tied for fourth in the National League.

Goldschmidt has reached base safely in six consecutive games and all but one of his 22 games overall. He paces the Diamondbacks with a .325 batting average.

Astros left fielder Chris Carter doubled for the first time this season Thursday in his team's loss to the Red Sox, going 1 for 4 as Houston's designated hitter. Carter entered the game with five home runs and even a triple.

Carter has a modest four-game hitting streak and a .222 batting average. He also struck out twice to give him a league-worst 37 strikeouts this season.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto had the only hit of the game for his team in an 8-1 loss Thursday to the Nationals, a solo home run in the fourth inning off Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez. It was Votto's fourth home run in 111 plate appearances this season.

Votto also struck out once and didn't draw a walk but still has a 25:26 K:BB ratio this year.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is not concerned about his high strikeout total this season.

In an interview with MLB.com, Rizzo said he's typically struck out more often early in the year but is able to adjust as the season progresses.

"I need to simplify things more and start slapping the ball around. The home runs are going to come. I need to worry about low line drives instead of trying to hit four home runs in one at-bat," he said.

It seems like Rizzo understands what his issues have been thus far, and will look to make some improvements. While the power has been nice, Rizzo would like to try and get back to the line-drive approach he showed last year.