MLB Player News

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been moved up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order for Tuesday's matchup with the Pirates, while Jorge Soler has been bumped down one spot and is batting third.

It's the third time in a row that manager Joe Maddon has used this configuration against a lefty, with Rizzo batting behind Soler in the team's last eight matchups with a righty. The lefty first baseman actually performed better against lefties last season, hitting .300/.421/.507 with eight home runs in 140 at-bats, and the trend has carried over this April.

The Cubs are favorites (-117) against the Pirates Tuesday.

Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna is serving as the cleanup hitter Tuesday for the fourth straight game.

Ozuna opened the season in the No. 6 spot before moving to the fifth slot a week ago. He then shifted to the cleanup role Saturday and has remained there since. The center fielder has hit has hit .270/.342/.317 with four RBI in 63 at-bats.

The Marlins are favorites (-112) against the Mets Tuesday, per VegasInsider.com.

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson and infielder Justin Turner each connected on a home run Monday to help lead the Dodgers to a 8-3 victory over the Giants.

Pederson hit a solo shot off George Kontos in the sixth inning for his third home run of the season. Pederson also doubled to finish the game 2 for 3 with two RBI.

"He made a great play in the first," manager Don Mattingly said of Pederson after the game, per MLB.com. "Then the double, the home run, even the walk late [in the eighth inning]. It's tough for a young player to take a 3-2 pitch sometimes. That walk gets J.T. [Justin Turner] up there at a good time."

Meanwhile, Turner broke the game open in the eighth inning when he connected on a three-run home run off Yusmeiro Petit. Turner was pinch hitting when he belted the home run. It was his first of the season.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon knows outfielder Jorge Soler is anxious to take his cuts at the plate, but he wants his young player to stay patient and not make unnecessary changes, according to MLB.com.

"Seriously, when you're walking, you're hitting," Maddon said. "You're not expanding your strike zone, you're not chasing that guy's pitch. He doesn't need to make any physical adjustments -- feet, arms, hands, head. His adjustment has to come from the fact that, 'I'm going to accept my walks.' Once he comes to terms with that, he'll take off again."

Soler is hitting .257 with three home runs and nine RBI and six walks, the fourth most on the team this season.

"The biggest thing I've noticed with him is frustration in other components of his game, and that's what I would like for him to avoid," Maddon said of the young outfielder. "He has shown in the past to be a really patient hitter, who doesn't normally chase, and he has recently."

After going 12-for-24 with 10 RBIs and eight runs scored, Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria was named National League Player of the Week on Monday. He'll look to continue his run Monday against the Mets from the eighth spot in the starting lineup. 

Hechavarria has not had much success against Mets starter Dillon Gee, however, going 1-for-8. Marcell Ozuna, who is batting cleanup, is hitting .417 against Gee. 

Matt Carpenter, who had been one of the keys to the Cardinals offense to start the season thanks to his 12-game hitting streak, saw the run come to an end Sunday despite a couple of loud outs. 

Carpenter, who picked up 22 hits over the 12 games, remains fourth in the NL in hitting at .366 with a league-leading 10 doubles. 

"That's why hitting streaks are so hard," Carpenter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "You have days when you hit balls right at people and you have a day when the pitcher is dictating your at-bats and a day when the umpire is dictating your at-bats. To be honest, that's what it felt like."

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 6-2 loss to the Marlins Sunday.

Harper kicked off the scoring with his second-inning home run, but it wasn't enough for the Nationals to avoid a sweep at the hands of their division rivals. The home run was his first of the week but already his fifth of the season. Harper has hit .270/.420/.524 with five home runs, 11 RBI and 17 walks in 63 at-bats.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt will see more time in left field as manager Bruce Bochy looks for a way to get Belt and catchers Buster Posey and Andrew Susac in the lineup at the same time, CSN Bay Area reports.

Belt drew a start in left field last Sunday for the first time since 2012, and it appears he'll see more work in the outfield moving forward. However, the impending return of right fielder Hunter Pence could also create a playing-time crunch between Belt, Susac and outfielder Nori Aoki.

Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler has struck out 17 times over his last eight games after managing just nine strikeouts in his first eight games, but manager Joe Maddon says there's nothing wrong with his swing, MLB.com reports.

"He was doing really well in the beginning and then he started to expand [his zone]," Maddon said of Soler. "There's nothing wrong with his swing -- he just has to organize his strike zone.

"He's a little bit eager," Maddon said. "He's had a lot of guys in scoring position. He's also done some really nice damage."

Soler has gone hitless in three straight games heading into Sunday's action, giving him a .273/.338/.439 line with two home runs and nine RBI in 66 at-bats.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is in the midst of a 0-15 slump in the past five games he's played in. McCutchen's batting average is down to .175 while striking out five times in this span. 

"That's baseball … it's a game of adjustments," McCutchen said, via MLB.com. "I'll get there, it's a matter of time," McCutchen said. "I'm not focused on the outcome, just on the feeling. And I'm feeling good, so the outcome will be there. Long as I feel good, I'll get good results."

McCutchen and the Pirates take on the Diamondbacks Sunday at 4:10 p.m.