MLB Player News

Nationals rookie Anthony Rendon said Sunday he's getting more comfortable playing second base and is learning the nuances of the position from hitting coach Rick Eckstein, who is one of two infield coaches for Washington.

"It has been working great. I'm trying to get feedback from anybody that could help me out," Rendon said, per MLB.com. "You never stop learning from this game. That's the crazy thing. I'm trying to do too much. I'm just trying to make the plays."

Eckstein said Rendon has done a nice job transitioning from third base to second base, but he's still learning the position. He's committed two errors in eight games at second base.

"He just has to be out there and play," Eckstein said. "The other day, we had a situation where there was a potential play at the plate, and he wanted to make sure he was in the right spot. We confirmed to him that he was in the right spot. We want to make sure he is backing up the right way, and him and [shortstop Ian Desmond] work together. The more he is out there, the more he is going to learn."

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon hit his first major-league home run in the ninth inning to lift his club to a 7-6 win over the Indians Saturday night.

The rookie homered off Vinnie Pestano to break a 6-6 tie. He fell a triple shy of the cycle as he finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored and a RBI. He is hitting .333 with six RBI in 57 at-bats in the majors.

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon is out of Friday's lineup against Cleveland, the Washington Post reports. 

Rendon is getting a day off with Steve Lombardozzi getting a start at second base. Rendon has a .308/.390/.404 line in 15 MLB games, including .370/.414/.519 in seven games since he was called up for a second time June 5.

The Rockies could use second baseman DJ LeMahieu at shortstop in the wake of Troy Tulowitzki's rib injury, the Denver Post reports.

Although the Rockies have called up Josh Rutledge, who played shortstop last season when Tulowitzki was hurt, LeMahieu played shortstop every day at Triple-A Colorado Springs before coming up to play second base this season. Both LeMahieu and Rutledge have extensive professional experience at both middle infield positions, so the Rockies can use whatever middle infield deployment they (or the players) feel most comfortable with.

Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 1 for 4 and stolen his seventh base of the season in Thursday's game aginast the Nationals.

LeMahieu has put a slow start to June behind him to collect seven hits in 19 at-bats over his last seven games, giving him a .266 batting average in 79 at-bats this season.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit his 14th home run as part of a huge game in Tuesday's win over San Francisco.

Alvarez finished 3 for 3 with two runs and three RBI. The hulking third baseman has been hot for a solid 25 games now -- since he broke out of an 0-for-14 slump May 9, Alvarez owns a .277/.344/.639 line with nine home runs (a pace of 59 over 162 games).

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura stole two bases in the club's loss Tuesday against Miami.

Segura finished 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and a run scored. Segura is up to 19 stolen bases, good for second in the National League but still 10 behind league leader Everth Cabrera. If Segura can keep anything near his .373 OBP over the rest of the season, he'll get plenty of opportunities to keep stealing bases on a regular basis.

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon managed multiple hits for the second straight game during the first game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Twins and has hit safely in all three games since his recall from the minors. Rendon went 2 for 3 with one walk, one double and three RBI in the opener of Sunday's doubleheader.

He's batting .417 (5 for 12) with three doubles and three RBI in three games since his recall.

"He's been swinging the bat good since he's been up here," manager Davey Johnson said.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado won the game for his club with a walkoff solo home run in the ninth inning against the Padres.

Arenado also added an RBI single in the second inning and finished 2 for 5 with one run scored and two RBI in a 10-9 victory. He is hitting .471 (8 for 17) with a home run and two RBI in his last three games played. 

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon made his first major-league start at second base Wednesday in a 10-1 loss to the Mets.

Rendon went 1 for 4 with a double and a strikeout, while batting sixth in the lineup. He made three putouts in the field.