MLB Player News

Goldschmidt went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Pirates.

Goldschmidt smacked a two-run blast to left field in the first inning, cutting the Cardinals' early deficit to one run. The 31-year-old has pieced together a modest three-game hitting streak, raising his batting average over 25 points during that brief stretch.

Bell went 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, five RBI, a walk and three runs scored Sunday against the Cardinals.

Bell kicked off the scoring in this one in the first inning with a double to right center, plating two runs. He tied the contest in the seventh by smashing a three-run homer. The 26-year-old has been red-hot at the dish of late and has extended his hitting streak to 12 games following Sunday's series finale. Bell also managed to raise his batting average from .299 to .319 following a four-hit performance.

Rizzo is out of the lineup for Sunday night's game against the Brewers due to back tightness, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Saturday's 15-inning game and Sunday's cold weather may have caused Rizzo's back to tighten up, so he'll take a seat for the series finale. The Cubs will justifiably remain cautious with their star first baseman and take advantage of Monday's scheduled off day to give him two full days off his feet. Kris Bryant will move over to first base Sunday as Rizzo steps out of the lineup for the first time this season.

Freeman was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks due to a head cold, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The issue had reportedly bothered Freeman before the Braves arrived in Arizona, but he started the first two games of the series and went 4-for-9 with two extra-base hits in those contests. The Braves will hope that a day of rest coupled with Monday's off day will be all Freeman needs to make a full recovery in time for Tuesday's series opener against the Cardinals. Charlie Culberson will replace Freeman at first base Sunday.

Alonso and the Mets won't play the Marlins on Sunday after the contest was postponed due to inclement weather in New York.

The two teams will make up the postponed game as part of a doubleheader Aug. 5. The Mets will return to action Tuesday for the start of a three-game set in Washington.

Cooper (hand) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Saturday.

Cooper will hope his latest return from the injured list goes better than the previous one, when he appeared in just one game before bruising his hand. He'll head straight into the starting lineup Saturday, batting fifth and playing right field against the Mets, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports. Peter O'Brien (ribs) landed on the injured list in a corresponding move.

Bell went 2-for-4 against St. Louis on Friday, lifting his season batting average to .300.

He also made a key defensive play to help keep the Cards from scoring. Bell ranks eighth in baseball with an average exit velocity of 94.4 mph. He's hit nine homers, something that took him until Sept. 7 to accomplish last year. In fact, the first baseman didn't collect his ninth homer until the last day of May during his 26-homer rookie campaign in 2017. Provided he can stay healthy, the switch hitter is on course to set career highs across the board.

Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 in a loss to the Pirates on Friday.

Goldschmidt accomplished the relatively unlikely feat of generating a second consecutive 3-for-5 performance, a two-game surge that's already served to raise his season average 23 points to .263. The veteran's mini-breakout was a long time coming, as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports Goldschmidt's second-inning run-scoring single Thursday snapped a run of 60 straight plate appearances without an RBI and his ground-rule double later in that contest ended a 13-game stretch without an extra-base hit. Part of the slugger's problems this season have stemmed in a drop in solid contact, with Langosch also relaying that prior to Thursday, his barrel rate (13.0 percent), average exit velocity (89.4 mph) and hard-contact rate (38.9 percent) were all down as compared to 2018.

Votto went 0-for-2 but drew two walks and scored a run in Friday's win over the Giants. He's hitting .206/.333/.333 in 150 plate appearances so far this season, despite hitting the ball with the same exit velocity as he has in the last two seasons, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Votto's hard-hit rate is actually up to 36.1 percent, but he's also striking out 23.4 percent of the time, well above his previous rates. He had two hard-hit balls in the no-hitter by Mike Fiers earlier in the week, including a possible home run stolen by Ramon Laureano. "I really like how I've swung the bat in May, despite getting very few results," he said. "Sometimes that's how the luck goes. I felt I swung the bat very poorly at the very beginning of the year. I started transitioning to what I feel is an everyday, repeatable approach."

Cooper (hand) will take his rehab assignment to Triple-A New Orleans on Saturday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Cooper began his minor-league stint with High-A Jupiter on Wednesday, and he's evidently feeling healthy enough to advance to a higher level of competition. A concrete timetable for his return has yet to be revealed, but it would appear as though he's closing in on his activation from the injured list.