MLB Player News

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo continues to make great strides hitting left-handed pitchers. After batting .208 in 2012 and .189 against lefties in 2013, Rizzo hit .300 off lefties in 2014 and is batting .429 against southpaws in 2015.

"I honestly just think about being as short as I can (with the swing) against lefties," Rizzo said, per the Chicago Tribune. "I’m not trying to do too much off them.

"It’s all confidence, really. The ball is falling. A couple hits fall, and you feel good. I’m seeing the ball very well off them."

Reds first baseman Joey Votto hit his 10th home run of the season during Wednesday night's 5-4 loss to the Phillies. 

Votto hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that gave the Reds some insurance runs. The Philles responded with four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and ultimately won the game in 11 innings. 

Votto is no hitting .325 over his past 10 games. 

He now has a slash line of .293/.387/.521 for the season. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman added a pinch of power at the plate again on Wednesday, blasting a pair of homers in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to Arizona.

Freeman took Rubby De La Rosa deep for a three-run home run in the second inning. He smacked a solo home run off De La Rosa in the fourth for his final hit of the afternoon. He finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored and four RBI. He is hitting .299 with 10 homers, 33 RBI and a .362 on-base percentage.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt reached base in all five plate appearances in Tuesday's win over the Braves. But he only recorded one hit in the game, his 13th double of the season.

Goldschmidt walked four times on Tuesday, twice intentionally. Its the third time this year, and second time in three days, that he had four walks in a game and his .471 on-base percentage currently ranks tops in the National League. 

He is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, and has reached base safely via a hit or a walk in 13 straight contests. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto drove in two runs in Tuesday's loss to Philadelphia, giving him four RBI in the last three games. 

Votto went 2 for 5 with a double, his ninth. The two RBI give him 26 on the year. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman smacked a two-run home run off Archie Bradley to help send the Braves to a 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks on Monday.

"I always see the ball good here," Freeman said after the game, per MLB.com. "It's a great batter's eye. It's just one of those things that when I come here I hit well. Hopefully, I didn't just jinx myself for the next two games."

Freeman finished the game 3 for 5 with two runs and three RBI. Over his last five games, Freeman is 7 for 19 with three home runs and six RBI. 

Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria is out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game on Monday. 

Hechavarria started the first 49 games of the season, until a shoulder bruise sidelined him for Saturday and Sunday's games. The injury will keep him out of Monday's lineup as well. 

For the third straight day, Donovan Solano will replace Hechavarria at short. He'll bat eighth in the lineup. 

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is torching pitchers as of late. He went 2 for 5 and extended his hitting streak to five games in his team's 2-1 win over the Royals on Sunday.

Rizzo is hitting .318/.439/.572 with nine home runs and 29 RBI in 173 at-bats this season.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt set a franchise record by reaching base safely seven times in his team's 7-6 loss to the Brewers in 17 innings on Sunday.

Goldschmidt went 3 for 4 with four walks, a home run and an RBI.

Goldschmidt is enjoying an MVP-caliber season, hitting .354 with 15 home runs and 43 RBI in 181 at-bats this season.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run in the ninth inning. 

Freeman, held out of the starting lineup for just the second time this year, entered the game late and went deep in his only at bat, triggering a four-run game-winning rally for the Braves.

"Mental breaks can come on the real off-days," Freeman said to MLB.com. "I'm not a big fan of off-days. I guess it was a good idea today, but hopefully I can carry that momentum of hitting a home run into Arizona."

The homer was his seventh and produced his 26th RBI.