Jose Altuve is on pace for one of the best seasons from a second baseman in the past 50 years.

He is on pace for a .357 average, 27 home runs, 49 doubles, 43 steals, 123 runs and about 9.0 WAR at this point.

Only four second baseman have posted more WAR since the divisional era began in 1969 -- Joe Morgan (1975, 1976), Craig Biggio and Chase Utley.

Kris Bryant hit three home runs and two doubles on Monday night, becoming the first player in Major League history to do so in a single game.

The Chicago Cubs needed almost every one of Bryant's hits in an 11-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

He was so good that he nearly earned a curtain call on the road.

"Guys were pushing me," Bryant said. "I've never been the type to show up the opponent or anybody. I don't think that's ever happened in baseball, and I didn't want to be the first. I'm glad there were a lot of Cubs fans here, but I'm not that guy."

Bryant also became the first Cubs player since 1885 to record five extra-base hits in a game.

"I don't know what happened tonight," he said. "The last couple of weeks haven't been what I wanted, so I figured I'm due. Throughout my life, I've always been that way, whereas when I'm struggling, I tell myself I'm ready for a big game. I guess tonight was the night."

Willson Contreras hit a home run on the first pitch he's ever seen in the Major Leagues in Sunday's game between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Contreras, 24, took A.J. Schugel deep to center field while pinch hitting in the sixth inning of Chicago's 10-5 victory.

According to Elias Sports, he became the eighth Cub and 117th player overall to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat.

"I'd been dreaming of this moment (first at-bat) since I was a kid," Contreras told ESPN's Buster Olney after the game. "I knew it was gone. When I started running the bases it was exciting ... it was amazing. It was the craziest thing, the best feeling I ever had."

Contreras became the first Cubs player to homer on the first pitch he saw since Jim Bullinger in 1992.

The Boston Red Sox have been one of the most efficient basestealing teams in the Major Leagues this season.

Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley, Jr. have combined to go 16-for-16 on stolen base attempts in 2016.

The club has gone 45-for-51 this season with a 88.2% success rate, the highest rate in Major League history.

Currently, the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies hold the record with a 87.9% success rate.

Ichiro Suzuki had two hits on Wednesday night, giving him 4,257 spanning the Japanese and North American Major Leagues, surpassing Pete Rose's record total in Major League Baseball.

Rose said earlier this week that he didn't consider Suzuki's totals an equal.

"It sounds like in Japan they're trying to make me the Hit Queen," Rose told USA Today Sports. "I'm not trying to take anything away from Ichiro -- he's had a Hall of Fame career -- but the next thing you know, they'll be counting his high school hits.

"I don't think you're going to find anybody with credibility say that Japanese baseball is equivalent to Major League Baseball. There are too many guys that fail here and then become household names there, like Tuffy Rhodes. How can he not do anything here and hit [a record-tying] 55 home runs [in 2001] over there? It has something to do with the caliber of personnel."

Suzuki had 1,278 hits for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan's Pacific League, from 1992 to 2000, and the rest with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins.

"Obviously, I've heard of Pete Rose's comments, and he wasn't happy about what they are saying about this record," Suzuki said. "To be honest, this wasn't something that I was a making out as a goal. It was just kind of a weird situation to be in because of the combined total."

The Atlanta Braves went into extra innings on Wednesday, allowing Freddie Freeman to become the first player to hit for the cycle in the Major Leagues this season.

No member of the Braves had hit for the cycle in nearly eight years.

Freeman completed the cycle with a single in the 11th inning against the Cincinnati Reds.

He was 4-for-7 on the night, with two runs scored, two strikeouts and no walks.

Clayton Kershaw has walked just six batters this season as he marches towards history.

The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher has more hits to his credit (seven) than free passes.

Kershaw has a 20.3 strikeout-to-walk-ratio. The record is currently held by Phil Hughes, who had a 11.6-to-1 ratio in 2014.

"What separates Clayton a little bit more is his ability to pitch with conviction," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "He trusts himself, he trusts his weapons. There is no tentativeness when he throws a pitch.

"It’s funny how, even when a pitch that has the same velocity as another pitch, the one that is thrown with conviction just always seems to have that extra aggressiveness, that extra life to it. And as that ball just kind of gets to me in the hitting zone, you can feel that energy behind it versus one that is trying to be placed somewhere."

Byron Buxton nailed Mike Trout at home plate on Tuesday night, rifling a throw from center field that was measured at 99.4 mph.

Buxton pitched in high school and his throw went 240 feet, according to Statcast.

"Scouting reports will tell you that [Buxton]'s got a high-end Major League throwing arm," Paul Molitor said. "It's near the top shelf. You're not going to see Mike Trout get thrown out too often on a base hit up the middle, even though the ball was scorched."

It was the first time Trout has been thrown out on the basepaths this season.

Ichiro Suzuki has 2,977 Major League Baseball hits to go along with his 1,278 hits in nine seasons in Japan.

If you add them up, the Miami Marlins outfielder is one hit shy of tying Pete Rose's major league record of 4,256 hits.

"It sounds like in Japan, they're trying to make me the Hit Queen," Rose told USA Today Sports. "I'm not trying to take anything away from Ichiro -- he's had a Hall of Fame career -- but the next thing you know, they'll be counting his high school hits.

"I don't think you're going to find anybody with credibility say that Japanese baseball is equivalent to Major League Baseball. There are too many guys that fail here and then become household names there, like Tuffy Rhodes. How can he not do anything here and hit [a record-tying] 55 home runs [in 2001] over there? It has something to do with the caliber of personnel."

The Chicago Cubs defeated the Atlanta Braves on Sunday to push their record to 25 games over .500 (43-18) for the first time this season.

"My expectation, honestly, is to play the game right every day," Joe Maddon said. "You do that enough and then you look up and maybe you have a nice lead. I don't have any expectations about leads [at] times of the year. I have goals. I go in increments of five. That's what I focus on more than anything."

The Cubs became the first Major League team since the 2001 Seattle Mariners to win at least 43 of their first 61 games, according to ESPN Stats & Info. They are the 10th team in the divisional era to do so. Seven of the previous nine clubs reached the World Series.

"We’re doing well right now," Jon Lester said. "We're on a good run. It's been fun to be a part of. Obviously the pace we're on is pretty crazy. Hopefully we can stay even-keeled and keep going. I'm sure not a lot of us have answers for what's going on. Enjoy it while we can."