MLB Player News

Cubs manager Rick Renteria said Tuesday it's time to start playing Mike Olt at third base more often, per The Chicago Sun-Times.

"We’ve talked about gradually getting him into that role," Renteria said. "Do I plan on playing him [Wednesday]? Yes.

"Everything’s very calculated. So I’m going to throw him out there and let him run with it a little bit. We’re still measuring everything; we’re still trying to be kind of guarded, but he’ll be in there (Wednesday) again."

Olt is welcoming the opportunity for more playing time at third base.

"That’d be great," Olt said of getting regular playing time. "I definitely did a lot of work to get myself ready. I definitely feel I’m ready for the task and can build off the last couple games and go from there."

Cubs third baseman Mike Olt continued his all-or-nothing season Tuesday, clubbing his fourth home run of the season in a 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Olt went 1 for 4 in the game and struck out twice, giving him eight strikeouts in the last four games. Still, he clubbed a three-run shot in the fifth inning to provide what would ultimately be the winning margin in the game.

Olt is hitting just .195, but is providing the kind of power that became his calling card in the minors. Of his eight hits in 16 games, four are home runs and five are for extra bases. He has a .195/.250/.512 line in 41 at-bats. 

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit his sixth home run of the season Thurday against the Brewers.

Alvarez managed to find himself on base four times during the game. He singled in the bottom of the fourth, and walked in both the sixth and seventh inning. In the bottom of the eighth, he clubbed a three-run home run off a 93 mph fastball from Wei-Chung Wang.

Alvarez finished the game 2 for 3, with one run scored and three RBI.

Matt Williams certainly can't regret using Anthony Rendon as a full-time starter this season. Rendon has justified that decision - at least so far.

Rendon has hit safely in 13 of 15 games for the Nationals and owns an encouraging stat line of .339/.381/.593. He is the surprising team leader with 12 RBI and is tied for the top with five doubles. His .974 OPS is the best among all starters not named Ryan Zimmerman.

He has also shown a decent eye at the plate and an ability to make consistent contact with 10 strikeouts in 59 at-bats.

Phillies rookie third baseman Cody Asche is sitting again Thursday against a left-hander as he continues to struggle to start the season.

Asche is not in the lineup against Braves southpaw Alex Wood. He is hitless in 11 at-bats against lefties this season, but that is not the extent of his problems. Asche owns a stat line of .184/.279/.316 after a brilliant spring and has not had a hit in 15 at-bats since April 9.

Scuffling Phillies third baseman Cody Asche has been given the night off Saturday against the Marlins. He has been replaced in the lineup by Freddy Galvis.

Ashe is hitless in his last seven at-bats and has not produced a multi-hit game since opening day. He is 4 for 26 since then and has fanned 11 times in 30 at-bats.

A hamstring ailment will not keep Phillies third baseman Cody Asche out of the starting lineup again. He was out Wednesday, but is set to start and bat eighth Thursday against Milwaukee.

Asche, who smacked a double in a pinch-hitting role Wednesday, is batting .304 in 23 at-bats this season.

Cubs infielder Mike Olt snapped out of a season-opening slump Wednesday, clubbing his second home run of the season in a 7-5 win over the Pirates.

Olt doubled his hit total for the season with one game, going 2 for 5 in the win, with both hits driving in runs. He hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to give the Cubs their first lead, and then provided the ultimate winning margin with a sixth-inning RBI single.

Olt is hitting just .158 through the first eight games of the season, but has two home runs and four RBI.  

The Pirates managed to score five runs on just five hits Wednesday against the Cubs, and they all came on solo home runs.

Third baseman Pedro Alvarez got the scoring started with his fifth-inning shot, and he followed that up with one more in the ninth. The Pirates also got a two home-run game out of catcher Russell Martin, while Travis Snider added his own longball in the 7-5 loss.

Alvarez now has four home runs on the season, while Snider and Martin both went deep for the first time in Wednesday's game. 

Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 3 for 4 with two runs, three RBI and his first stolen base of the season in his team's 10-4 win over the White Sox Wednesday.

LeMahieu smacked an RBI double in the sixth inning and drove two more home with a single in the eighth. He has hit .286/.364/.321 with six RBI in 28 at-bats.