MLB 2022 | Adolis hit walk-off blast, Arozarena had four hits on Saturday, and more

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources.

Adolis García (Photo: Texas Ranger's Twitter)

Jun 26, 2022

Astros' Yordan Álvarez: Resting Sunday. Álvarez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees. Heading into the week, Álvarez's status was in question after he picked up a hand injury in a July 18 loss to the White Sox, but he returned from a one-game absence to start in each of the Astros' subsequent five contests while going 6-for-19 with four home runs, seven RBI and six runs. The 24-year-old will temporarily put his bid for American League MVP Award on the back burner Sunday while he hits the bench in what looks to be a routine maintenance day.

Astros' Aledmys Díaz: Moving back into utility role. Díaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees. Díaz, who started the last two games after missing four straight contests due to right shoulder soreness, is expected to move back into a utility role on a full-time basis moving forward after the Astros reinstated top shortstop Jeremy Peña (thumb) from the 10-day injured list Sunday. While Pena was sidelined for approximately two weeks, Díaz went 4-for-22 with a double, a walk, two runs and zero RBI while serving as Houston's primary shortstop.

Jun 25, 2022

Adolis García crushed a walk-off solo homer off of Kyle Finnegan on Saturday, powering the Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Nationals.

García led off the ninth inning in a 2-2 ballgame and on the sixth pitch that he saw from Finnegan he clobbered a mammoth 449-foot blast over the center-field wall to send the Rangers home faithful into a frenzy. He finished the day 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. He has been an extremely productive player this season, slashing .257/.295/.491 with 15 homers, 47 RBI and 11 stolen bases on the year. He hit 31 home runs in his rookie campaign last year and is on pace to break that career-high this season. García's bat has been sizzling as of late, evidenced by a .318/.351/.602 slash line in June.

Aroldis Chapman (Achilles) will make another minor league rehab appearance on Sunday for Double-A Somerset.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone added that Chapman could be activated from the injured list following Sunday's minor league tune-up and will also step into a ninth-inning role for the New York. Chapman's impending return and re-elevation to a closing role is a tough break for fantasy managers rostering Clay Holmes, but it seems like the two will be able to split save chances depending on the matchup moving forward.

Astros' Aledmys Díaz: Tallies second double. Díaz went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout Saturday against the Yankees. Díaz returned from a shoulder injury Friday and has started each of Houston's games at shortstop since. He recorded a double in the ninth inning Saturday but was ultimately thrown out at home trying to score on a single by Yuli Gurriel. Díaz's time as Houston's primary shortstop is likely to be short-lived, as Jeremy Peña (thumb) is expected to return Sunday.

Rays' Randy Arozarena: Four hits in win. Arozarena went 4-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Pirates. Arozarena singled and scored in the first inning and doubled in the third frame before later adding an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth. His fourth and final hit came in the seventh inning when he added another single. The doubles were his first extra-base hits since June 12 and he also avoided striking out for the first time in nine games. Arozarena has struggled to be consistent from the plate this season, but the four-hit effort raised his average from .249 to .259.

Yuli Gurriel got the day off on Saturday against the Yankees but came back as a PH and had a RBI.

No surprise here to see Gurriel getting Saturday's afternoon matinee off after Friday's evening showdown. The 38-year-old veteran first baseman has been mired in a bit of a slump offensively, hitting .211 (15-for-71) with two homers and one steal in 20 games since June 1. J.J. Matijevic got the start but Gurriel came back as a PH in the ninth inning and singled off Lucas Luetge, after Aledmis Díaz's double, bringing home Kyle Tucker.

White Sox's Luis Robert and José Abreu: Combined for three hits on Saturday.

Luis Robert and Abreu went 3-for-8 combined on Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Orioles. Luis Robert added a couple of singles while Abreu had his double #16 of the season. Luis Robert's BA is .299 this year while Abreu's slash line is .263/.360/.429.

Yandy Díaz was not in the Rays' starting lineup for Saturday's matchup against the Pirates.

Díaz got a well-deserved breather on Saturday afternoon following 15 consecutive starts since June 8. The 30-year-old infielder has remained a reliable on-back machine this season, slashing .258/.380/.335 with three homers and one steal in 250 plate appearances. Rookie infielder Isaac Paredes was at the hot corner in his place for this one. Díaz came into the game as a PH and went 0-for-1.

Nats' Yadiel Hernández: Went 1-for-2 on Saturday.

Hernández went 1-for-2 in a 3-2 loss to the Rangers. Hernández walked and also was replaced late in the game for pinch hitter Víctor Robles. Yadiel is slashing .273/.320/.393 this year with 4 HR and 25 RBI.

White Sox's Yoan Moncada: Could return Tuesday. Moncada (hamstring) could return from the injured list when first eligible Tuesday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. Moncada missed over a month at the start of the season with an oblique injury and lasted less than six weeks before returning to the injured list, this time with a strained hamstring. His latest issue seems to be less significant than his first, though it remains to be seen if he will indeed make it back after the minimum 10 days.