MLB Player News

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was hitless for the second straight game Wednesday, going 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts against the Braves in a 9-2 loss.

Howard missed play last April while recovering from injury but started the 2010 season on fire, hitting .524/.522/.952 in his first five games. He'll look to get his season on track against Kris Medlen Thursday.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman capitalized on his excellent career numbers against starter Roy Halladay to finish Wednesday's 9-2 win with two hits, a walk, a run and three RBI. He's 5-for-7 with one home run and six RBI in the team's first two games.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman heads into Wednesday's showdown with the Phillies with a favorable history against starter Roy Halladay. Freeman is batting .467 (7 for 15) with three homers, nine RBI and two walks in his career against Halladay.

Freeman homered on opening day against the Phillies, going 3 for 4 with three RBI. Freeman's opening-day home run comes after a torrid spring, in which Freeman hit .342 (26 for 76) with seven homers and 16 RBI in 26 games.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman had a productive night at the plate in Monday's season opener against the Phillies. He went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBI in the 7-5 win.

Freeman launched a two-run homer off starter Cole Hamels in his first at-bat before driving in Andrelton Simmons with a single his next time up. He added another base hit in the seventh inning.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo wasted little hitting his first home run on 2013 in Monday's season opener against the Pirates. He took the first pitch he saw from starter A.J. Burnett deep for a two-run shot in the opening frame.

Rizzo finished 1 for 4 in the 3-1 win.

"I don't really remember the pitch or where I hit it or whatever," Rizzo said. "It was just kind of blacked out there for a second but it was nice to get the win and get on a good note."

The Diamondbacks and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt have agreed to a five-year, $32 million contract extension, FOXSports.com reports. Goldschmidt, who is entering his second full season with Arizona, was not eligible for arbitration until after the 2014 season. He is hitting .414 with two homers and 14 RBI in 27 games this spring.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman went 1-for-2 against Houston right-handed starter Lucas Harrell and grounded back to lefty reliever Luis Cruz in Atlanta's 2-0 win over the Astros Thursday. The performance illustrates Freeman's spring splits perfectly. He's hitting .420/.436/.900 with seven home runs in 50 at-bats against right-handed pitching this spring but only .192/.222/.192 with no home runs in 26 at-bats gainst lefties.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt continued his hot spring in Thursday's game against the Rangers, doubling in his two at-bats to push his spring line to .414/.493/.603. Goldschmidt, who has six hits in his last 10 at-bats, appears more than ready for the regular season to begin.

Donovan Solano returned to the Marlins lineup Thursday after a week of dealing with back tightness. The second baseman went 0 for 3.

But the big news for Solano was his placement in the lineup -- second, directly in front of Giancarlo Stanton. If the Marlins use Thursday's lineup during the regular season -- a good chance, as these late-spring lineups usually reflect managers' preferences -- Solano looks a lot better as a second-base sleeper in deeper leagues because he should be scoring often if he can reach base in front of Stanton.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 1 for 3 in Thursday's Grapefruit League finale against Toronto. His final spring line is .338/.359/.675 in 77 at-bats, including seven home runs and five doubles.

Although it's inadvisable to take too much out of Howard's spring numbers, it's good to see him get through 77 at-bats without faltering physically, and he hit for excellent power even considering the favorable spring atmosphere and quality of pitching. We'll have to see if he can make consistent contact against major-league pitching -- he struck out in 33 percent of plate appearances last season, a mark he'll need to drastically improve if he's to make these spring results carry over to summer success.