MLB Player News

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.

Phillies third baseman Cody Asche is not in Wednesday's starting lineup due to a minor hamstring injury, MLB.com reports.

Manager Ryne Sandberg says the injury isn't serious, so Asche should be ready to return to the lineup within a day or two. He has hit .273/.360/.455 with one home run and three RBI in 22 at-bats.

The Nationals got a boost from infielder Anthony Rendon Tuesday, who accounted for most of the team's offense in a 5-0 win over the Marlins.

Rendon drove in three runs in the game, though all ended up being just insurance runs late. He drove in one in the sixth inning on a single, and then brought two more around with a double in the eighth.

Rendon raised his batting average to .407 with his 2-for-4 performance, while upping his RBI total to eight through seven games.  

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura was not in the team's starting lineup Sunday.

It's unclear whether it's a normal day of rest for Segura, or if the team is still giving him occasional off-days to rest his shoulder. Segura also had a brutal night defensively Saturday, and it's not known whether that played a role in the decision. He should return Monday.