MLB Player News

Freeman went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and an additional run Saturday in Atlanta's 9-0 win over Tampa Bay.

Freeman's fifth-inning solo shot -- his 21st of the season -- put the finishing touches on Atlanta's resounding win. With the newly acquired Joc Pederson making his Atlanta debut Saturday as the team's leadoff hitter, Freeman moved down a spot to third in the lineup, which will likely be his home for the foreseeable future. The minor change shouldn't have too much of an effect on Freeman, who has posted a monstrous 1.207 OPS over his last 20 games.

Bell will not start Saturday against San Diego, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Bell has hit much better over his last 24 games, posting a .309/.385/.506 slash line over that stretch while striking out just 12.1 percent of the time, a big improvement on his .215/.273/.413 line and 26.7 percent strikeout rate over his first 50 contests. He'll sit in favor of Ryan Zimmerman on Saturday, but his recent work in the outfield indicates that the Nationals could be looking for a way to get both in the lineup at the same time at some point in the second half.

Calhoun will hit the bench Saturday against the Cubs.

Calhoun has now started just two of four games after returning from a hamstring strain shortly before the break. The veteran outfielder has often found himself in a platoon setup, but both of his recent days off have come against right-handers like Saturday's starter Adbert Alzolay. Josh Rojas will start in right field in his absence.

Freeman went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer, a stolen base and two runs scored in Friday's 7-6 loss to the Rays.

Freeman smoked a two-run homer off J.P. Feyereisen in the fifth to give Atlanta a 5-3 lead and added three singles in the game as well. He reached for the final time in the ninth and ended up stealing his fifth base of the year. The 31-year-old is swinging an extremely hot bat right now. He's hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games and is slashing .437/.518/.690 with four homers, 12 RBI, 13 runs scored and 11:14 BB:K over that span. After a very slow start to the year, Freeman has upped his slash line to .281/.387/.503 with 20 homers, 52 RBI, 60 runs scored and a 55:72 BB:K over 393 plate appearances.

Cron went 1-for-3 with a grand slam and a walk in Friday's 10-4 loss to the Dodgers.

Cron homered with the bases loaded in the third inning off Julio Urias. He drove in all four of Colorado's runs in the game. The first baseman has homered in back-to-back games dating back to before the All-Star break. His 13 long balls rank second on the team behind Ryan McMahon's 16. Cron's 12.1 percent walk rate is double his career mark and he has maintained a strikeout rate right around his career norm. That, and batting at Coors Field, has helped him to a career-high .846 OPS through 279 plate appearances this season.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Giants on Friday.

With the Cardinals down by six in the seventh inning, Goldschmidt clobbered a 440-foot solo shot to center field for what proved to be the game's final run. The long ball extended his hitting streak to 11 games, during which the veteran is slashing .386/.471/.659 with three homers, nine RBI and seven walks.

Wade went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Friday's 7-2 victory versus the Cardinals.

After coming up empty in his first two at-bats, Wade took Adam Wainwright deep to right field in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. The long ball was his eighth in 120 at-bats this season. It was also only his second hit in a rough July during which he is batting .100 (2-for-20) overall.

Rizzo went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in a 5-1 win against the Diamondbacks on Friday.

Rizzo's fourth-inning home run gave Chicago the lead for good and he tacked on a single in the eighth. The long ball was his first of the month and puts the first baseman on pace for a career-low 22 along with his lowest OPS since 2014 at .789.

Cronenworth went 4-for-5, hitting for the cycle while adding four RBI in Friday's 24-8 drubbing of Washington.

Impressively, it took Cronenworth just six innings to complete the second cycle in the majors this year. He lined out in his first at-bat but followed up with a two-RBI double in the second inning. The 27-year-old added an RBI triple in the third, a solo shot in the fifth and an infield single in the sixth to complete the historic feat. Cronenworth is up to 13 homers, 38 RBI, 64 runs scored and four stolen bases while slashing .284/.356/.481 through 388 plate appearances.

Alonso went 1-for-1 with a double, three walks and a run scored in Friday's 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh.

The first baseman reached base in each of his plate appearances, and he scored the Mets' lone run in the fourth inning. Alonso is up to a .253/.337/.484 slash line with 17 home runs, 49 RBI, 39 runs scored and a stolen base through 312 plate appearances. After the three-walk performance Friday, his walk rate is at 9.9 percent, which is actually the lowest mark in his three-year career. He's also trimmed his strikeout rate to 20.8 percent.