MLB 2022 | Aledmis two-homer night, Yordan on base five times, Cionel scoreless again, and more

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

Aledmis Díaz scoring. (Photo: Astros de Houston Twitter)

Jul 29, 2022

Aledmys Díaz went 3-for-5 with two home runs in Friday's win over the Mariners.

Díaz got the party started by popping a 107.9-mph, 401-foot solo home run towards the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park in the bottom of the second. He came to the dish with a nine-run lead in the bottom of the eighth and sent a 395-foot leadoff home run to left-center field. It was Díaz's first two home run game of 2022 and also his third career multi-home run game. The backup utility player put together a healthy .286/.351/.600 slash line in July and now has eight home runs on the season.

Astros' Yordan Álvarez: Homers, reaches base five times.

Yordan Álvarez went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and two walks in Friday's win over the Mariners. Surprisingly, throwing an 86-mph fastball down the heart of the plate is not how you beat Álvarez. Tommy Milone learned this lesson the hard way on Friday, as Álvarez took him deep for a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth -- his 30th home run of 2022. He also singled home Jose Altuve earlier in the game. The 25-year-old superstar has scored a run in eight straight games. Álvarez leads all of MLB with a superb .423 OBP and his left-handed power bat now has 69 RBI and an OPS of 1.110.

Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: One single on Friday.

Hernández batted sixth on Friday's 6-2 loss to the Cardinals and went 1-for-4 with a strikeout and four runners left on base. The Cuban outfielder slash line is now .270/.311/.417 with 7 HR and 35 RBI in his third year in the Majors.

White Sox's Yoán Moncada, José Abreu and Yasmani Grandal: One hit on Friday.

Moncada, Abreu, and Grandal went 1-for-12 with three strikeouts and 6 runners left on base on Friday's 7-3 loss to the A's. Moncada went 0-for-4 with a strikeout while Grandal had similar performance with 2 strikeouts and Abreu had the only single of the night for the Cuban legion in the game. With his single Abreu reached 48 RBI this year. The veteran first baseman is having another phenomenal regular season slashing .299/.382/.461 with 11 HR and 48 RBI.

Nationals released SS Alfredo Rodríguez.

Rodriguez signed with the Nationals on a minor league contact back in late April and has been cut loose after hitting .200/.231/.267 with one homer and one steal in 42 games this season between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. The 28-year-old Cuban infielder has yet to reach the majors after six seasons in the minors since 2016.

Orioles' Cionel Pérez: Another scoreless inning.

Pérez had his 41st appearance of the year completing one shutout inning in a 6-2 victory against the Reds. Pérez, who walked one batter and struck out two, didn't allow a hit or run during his outing, lowering his ERA to 1.26 for the year. Pérez has been fantastic during his last 15 games, completing 15 innings of 2 ER, 14 SO and an ERA of 1.20.

Yuli Gurriel went 2-for-4 with two runs scored Friday as the Astros took care of the Mariners.

Gurriel came around to score after slapping a 99.1-mph single to right field in the bottom of the third. He also ripped a 104.9-mph single to center field in the bottom of the fourth and scored on an Alex Bregman single a couple of batters later. The veteran first baseman is hitting .288 over 80 July at-bats.

Padres recalled RHP Michel Báez from Triple-A El Paso.

The 26-year-old right-hander registered a 2.93 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 39/9 K/BB ratio over 30 2/3 innings in 23 appearances across three minor league levels. He had been sidelined since undergoing Tommy John surgery last March. Báez has a 3.31 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 16.1 innings over his last 14 appearances in the minors and he may get sent back to Triple-A when Nick Martínez is activated from the paternity list in a few days.

Yankees' Aroldis Chapman: Scoreless against the Royals.

In an 11-5 win against the Royals, Aroldis Chapman completed a scoreless inning of no hits with a strikeout, lowering his ERA to 5.24 for the year. The left-hander is working his way into a different role from the bullpen, and so far has been consistent in three of his last four outings. Chapman lost his closer role to RHP Clay Holmes back in June and is expected to stay like this at least until the postseason.

Ray's Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena: Just one hit combined on Friday.

Díaz and Arozarena went 1-for-7 combined in a 4-1 loss to the Guardians on Friday night. Díaz singled, scored and struck out leaving his BA in .294 for the year. Meanwhile Arozarena went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Arozarena' slash line is .255/.314/.424 with 12 HR, 47 RBI, and 20 steals but what is concerning is his strikeouts that last night reached 101 for the season. In 2021 Arozarena struck out 170 times, a year where he won the ROY Award.

Jay's Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: Hitless on Friday.

Gurriel went 0-for-3 in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Tigers. Gurriel has gone 23-for-60 in his last 15 contests, causing his season slash line to go up to .310/.362/.429 in 90 games overall.

Luis Robert (head) did not start his rehab assignment Friday due to cold symptoms.

The hope is that he will be ready to start in center field for Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday. Robert has been on the shelf since July 22 due to blurred vision and lightheadedness. If he can move past this illness and all goes well on the farm, the toolsy 24-year-old should be activated sometime next week.

Rockies' José Iglesias: Two hit night.

Iglesias went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored on Friday's 5-4 loss to the Dodgers. Iglesias added his double #22 of the year and is in pace to break his own personal record (33 in 130 games in 2017). The slicky shortstop is slashing .303/.345/.404 this year.