Cubs' Anthony Rizzo 1st in National League to Reach 25 Home Runs

With a pair of home runs in Tuesday's 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres, Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs became the first player in the National League to reach 25 homers this season, per ESPN Stats & Info.

After hitting solo shots in the third and seventh innings of Tuesday's game, the red-hot first baseman has eight homers in July and five over his last four games. He's pushed his season-long slash line to a robust .283/.385/.539, with his .924 OPS good for fifth-best in the National League.

Set to turn 25 on August 8, Rizzo is in the midst of his second full season in the majors after hitting 23 homers in 160 games last year. He's already surpassed last season's total through just 97 games, with 25 home runs representing his new career-high mark.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Rizzo is one of just two National League players with three multi-homer games this season, the other being Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, who ranks second in the league with 23 home runs.

Widely viewed as the preseason favorite to lead the Senior Circuit in homers, Stanton is having a fine year in his own right, with 23 home runs, a league-high 66 RBI and a .294/.394/.547 slash line (.941 OPS) through 100 games.

While he's probably still the favorite in most corners, Stanton will clearly get a run for his money from Rizzo, who hopes to become the first Cub to lead the league in homers since Sammy Sosa slugged 49 in 2002.