MLB Player News

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon has a goal this season: see more pitches at the plate, reports MLB.com. Blackmon is currently on a career-high pace at the plate with a .263 batting average in 10 games. He credits it to his patience at the plate early on.

"I started trying to see a few more pitches in spring training," Blackmon said. "I'm better deep in the count. It's better for the team to go deeper in the count. As a leadoff hitter you give your guys more chance to see the other pitcher's arsenal, and maybe earn a walk here or there."

Sometimes, Blackmon will take cuts just to keep pitchers from finding a rhythm.

"There will be times I'll be very aggressive to keep pitchers honest," he said. "That's by design. I don't always try to see 4.13 pitches. If I notice teams fall into a pattern one way or another, I'll come out of that and start hacking."

Bryce Harper hit his fourth home run of the season in the Nationals' 5-3 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. 

Harper went 2 for 3 with a walk and a game-tying solo homer in the fifth inning. Harper is hitting .279 with seven RBI. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter is off to a fast start, and he thinks he's back to his MVP form of two years ago.

"I feel as close to if not better than I felt in 2013," Carpenter said, per MLB.com. "Everything is kind of clicking right now." 

Carpenter is hitting .378 with a home run, six doubles and seven RBI. His OPS is 1.061. 

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is frustrated with the team's slow start to the season. The Marlins have won three of 11 games to start the season. 

"We're not giving ourselves a chance, it feels like," Stanton said, per the Miami Herald.  "We've got a positive vibe, but it is just not there. The fire is not there, it seems like. You always want to leave it. But you're out there, and it's game time, it's just nothing there -- it seems like."

"The game is nine innings," Stanton continued. "It's not two, three. ... We're not playing nine. There is no campfire to sit around and reminisce on things. We've got to play every night. We've got to go. The work is there. The process, we need to pick up. ... We've got to get it done. There is no, 'Hey, this is going to make us click now. This is going to do it for us now.' We've got to go. There is no time for that."

Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz and left fielderBen Revere were not in the team's starting lineup for Saturday's game at Washington. 

Cameron Rupp got the start at catcher, batting eighth. Darin Ruf got the call in left, batting sixth. 

For the second-consecutive game, Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton connected on an opposite-field home run during Friday's loss to the Mets.

It was his second home run of the season and it was his only hit for the game and the only run the Marlins scored Friday. Stanton finished 1 for 4 with two strike outs.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper hit a three-run home run in the first inning of Friday night's 7-2 victory over the Phillies. 

With Yunel Escobar and Ian Desmond on base, Harper crushed a 1-2 pitch off of Sean O'Sullivan to center field. It was Harper's third home run of the season. 

Harper is now hitting .250/.375/.500 for the season. He finished Friday's game 1 for 2 and drew two walks. 

The combination of a personally difficult matchup and a season-long slump has motivated Giants manager Bruce Bochy to drop first baseman Brandon Belt to sixth in the lineup Friday night for the first time this season.

Belt is 2 for 16 lifetime against Arizona starter Josh Collmenter. He is also 2 for 23 on the year with a slash line of .067/.160/.087.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss gave outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and first baseman Justin Morneau the night off Friday against Dodgers right-hander Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles. Morneau is 0-for-3 lifetime against Kershaw, while Gonzalez has five hits in 30 at-bats against the Dodgers southpaw.

With Gonzalez on the bench, Weiss chose to go with Charlie Blackmon in right field, Corey Dickerson in left field and Drew Stubbs in center field. Wilin Rosario started at first and batted cleanup in place of Morneau.

Struggling Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna has been benched for the Friday night game against the Mets.

Ozuna hasn't had a multi-hit game since the season opener and is 4-for-28 since. He has just one extra-base hit on the year.