Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki pushed his hitting streak to 10 games Sunday against the Padres. He doesn't have a multi-hit game during his streak, however.

Suzuki is batting .303 (10 for 33) with one double, two RBI, two runs and two walks in his last 10 games (nine starts).

The threat of his impending free agency could be negatively affecting Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, according to the Boston Herald.

Ellsbury is hitting just .241/.303/.335 in 191 at-bats in the final year of his contract. Neither Shane Victorino nor manager John Farrell believes free agency has any impact on Ellsbury's stat line, and Farrell is not going to drop Ellsbury from the leadoff spot. 

Victorino indicated he believes Ellbury will turn things around "He’s really not doing that bad. To be where he’s at right now, he hasn’t put himself in a hole," the outfielder said. 

Mike Napoli admitted there is some extra pressure on players during their walk seasons. "It was more all the outside people. Your family, your friends, they’re like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to have a big year this year.'"

Ellsbury will have a chance to turn things around against White Sox starter Jose Quintana Tuesday. 

Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche had his hitting streak end at 16 games Monday against the Giants. It was the longest streak of LaRoche's career and the longest by a Nationals' player since Ryan Zimmerman's 16-game streak from Aug. 26-Sept. 12 last season, according to MLB.com.

LaRoche is batting .382 (21 for 55) with two doubles, four home runs, nine walks, nine runs and 12 RBI during his hitting streak.

Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller failed to go six innings for the second straight start and for the fourth time in nine starts Monday against the Padres. The right-hander continues to be plagued by high pitch counts.

Miller exceeded 100 pitches for the third time in four May starts and for the fifth time this season. 

"Throwing 20 pitches every single inning is not what I'm here to do," Miller said, per MLB.com. "Facing a good hitting offense on a big league club, it's not going to be easy to just throw it and have then swing at it every single time. Something I have to realize is to get the ball around the zone and hopefully things happen better."

Outside of the complete-game shutout he threw May 10, Miller is averaging more than 17 pitches per inning in his eight other starts.

"There are some nights where they're picking it up a little bit better and fouling it off," manager Mike Matheny said. "They're still not squaring up a lot of them. I think taking some shots down in the bottom of the zone more often may be part of the way to help him because the foul balls are typically the ones at the top."

The Padres have hit 21 home runs in 23 games at PETCO Park in 2013. It's a major feat seeing how they didn't hit their 20th home run until their 49th game in 2012, which occured on July 20, according to MLB.com.

The surge in home runs coincide with the Padres moving in the outfield fences at PETCO Park in the offseason.

The Padres have scored 92 runs in their last 19 games (4.84 runs per game), which is most in the National League in that span. Padres manager Bud Black is certainly appreciative of his team's offensive surge.

"Offensively, I like the mix of players with different skill sets -- there's speed, there's average and there is power," Black said, per MLB.com. "There are a number of guys are getting into their career where their numbers should be stable and even improve. ... There should be a growth in performance."

Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay had his ninth multi-hit game in his last 17 appearances Monday against the Padres. He's batting .414 (24 for 58) with two home runs, four doubles and 15 RBI in that span.

Jay has been thriving since being moved out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. He has hit .215 in 19 games as the leadoff hitter, but he's hitting .250 or better batting second, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth. He's done exceptionally well hitting sixth (.385) or seventh (.407).

"Those numbers for his lack of production in the past were kind of false numbers," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He takes good at-bats. You don’t see him do much different with guys in scoring position. I know the year before last, he was known as a guy who wasn’t driving in runs. I think he’s proved to himself that he’s able to do that when the situation presents itself."

The Giants have begun to discuss replacements in the rotation for Ryan Vogelsong, who will miss 4-6 weeks after fracturing two bones and dislocating a joint in the pinkie finger on his right hand Monday. The Giants don't have to rush to a decision, however, since they won't need a fifth starter until May 28.

Manager Bruce Bochy said long reliever Chad Gaudin would be considered to replace Vogelsong. MLB.com suggests minor-league pitchers Chris Heston, Michael Kickham and Shane Loux could be considered as well.

Rays outfielder Matt Joyce is starting to heat up in May.

Joyce's average is only .265 during the month, but he's been a strong on-base threat, and is showing improved power. Joyce has three home runs this month, but has also added four doubles, bringing his slugging percentage to .531 during the month. 

Joyce will continue to be platooned, and will only face righties. He's been a significantly better hitter against righties over his career, with a .266/.357/.501 slash line in 1,219 at-bats. 

It was another rough night Monday against the Reds for slumping Mets first baseman Ike Davis. He grounded out to leave the bases loaded in the first inning, struck out twice, cost the team a run with an obstruction call and was booed following a double-switch in the seventh inning.

The calls for Davis, who is hitting .152, to be demoted to the minors are getting louder.

"That’s something that certainly we’ve considered as we sit and talk: What’s going to be better for him, what’s best for us," manager Terry Collins said, per the New York Post. "I didn’t really feel last year because of the way we were playing that -- even though he wasn’t swinging -- I wasn’t sure what he was going to get out of going to Triple-A. The fact we’re not playing like we did last year, that’s a bigger factor. We’re trying to work with him, make some adjustments. He came out early and hit extra again. It’s not that he’s not trying, we’re just not getting it done in games."