MLB Player News

France will start at first base and bat fifth Saturday against the Diamondbacks, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

The 26-year-old was originally stationed on the bench for Saturday's contest, but he'll end up starting at first base with Eric Hosmer a late scratch with a non-COVID-19 illness. France served as the designated hitter Opening Day and went 1-for-4 in the victory.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored during Saturday's 9-1 win versus the Pirates.

The veteran slugger had a strong start to the season as he went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs Friday, and he started the scoring with a 381-foot homer to left field during Friday's opening frame. Goldschmidt will look to keep things rolling Sunday against Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller.

France isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks.

France is expected to start at designated hitter for most of the Padres' games against left-handers this year, but he'll sit Saturday against southpaw Robbie Ray. The 26-year-old went 1-for-4 on Friday, but Wil Myers will take over at designated hitter with Edward Olivares making his MLB debut in right field.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs in a win over the Pirates on Friday.

Teammates Dexter Fowler, Tyler O'Neill and Paul DeJong took care of the big hits for the Cardinals, but Goldschimdt was effective setting the table by getting on base thrice. The slugger will look to complement his impressive power numbers this season with a more consistent on-base presence in a manner akin to Friday, as his Cardinals debut campaign in 2019 featured his lowest batting average (.260) since his initial big-league cup of coffee in 2011.

Hoskins went 1-for-3 with a walk in Friday's Opening Day loss to the Marlins.

The generally unimpressive line was one of the best on the day for the Phillies, who managed just five hits and three walks over the course of the contest. It's perhaps significant that Hoskins hit second, a spot he occupied just 16 times last year while serving as the cleanup man on 127 occasions. Hoskins hasn't slugged over .500 since his debut back in 2017, but he's produced on-base percentages of .354 and .364 the past two seasons, so the move up the order makes some sense.

Rizzo went 1-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 3-0 win over the Brewers.

Rizzo batted second and was productive in a game in which the Cubs only recorded five total hits. The slugging first baseman missed some time in summer camp due to a back issue, but he looks healthy to begin the season. The team might still get Victor Caratini some starts at first to keep Rizzo fresh during the 60-game sprint.

Olson went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a walk during Friday's win against the Angels.

Olson wasted no time turning the first pitch he saw from Hoby Milner into a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning. He marks the first player to hit a walk-off grand slam on Opening Day since Jim Presley in 1986 with the Mariners. Olson is coming off a successful 2019 campaign, during which he batted .267 with 36 home runs and 91 RBI.

Cron went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in the Tigers' 7-1 loss to the Reds on Opening Day.

His homer traveled 447 feet and Statcast had it at 112 mph off the bat. As Andrew Simon of MLB.com notes, the Tigers had one home run over 111 mph all of last year. It seems safe to say Cron isn't budging from that cleanup spot.

Walker (groin) went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in Friday's 7-2 loss to the Padres.

Walker served as the designated hitter in Friday's game after some doubt that he would be ready for Opening Day. The 29-year-old's contribution to the offense came when he knocked in Starling Marte in the ninth inning. Walker swatted 29 homers and supplied 73 RBI while posting a .259/.348/.476 batting line in his first full season in 2019. With the National League adopting the designated hitter in 2020, Walker's bat should be in the lineup almost every day.

Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 7-2 loss to the Padres.

Calhoun sent an offering from Padres reliever Emilio Pagan to deep right-center to get the Diamondbacks on the board in the seventh inning. After a career-best 33 homers and a .467 slugging percentage with the Angels in 2019, Calhoun figures to be a fixture in the middle of manager Torey Lovullo's lineup. The power will have to be enough -- Calhoun hasn't hit over .250 since 2016.