MLB 2022 | Arozarena homers swipes bag, Luis Robert out until after break, López won, and more

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

Randy Arozarena. (Photo: AP)

Jul 17, 2022

Rays' Yandy Díaz: Day off Sunday. Díaz (forearm) is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. Diaz was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Saturday's game and although he was reported to be alright, it appears the Rays will give him a day off Sunday ahead of the All-Star break. Isaac Paredes will take over at third base and bat fifth versus the Orioles.

Jul 16, 2022

Rays' Randy Arozarena: Homers, swipes bag Saturday

Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk, and a stolen base in Saturday's loss to the Orioles. Dean Kremer threw an absolute hanger of a curveball to Arozarena in the bottom of the third and Arozarena sent it to left field for a solo home run. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .251 with 11 home runs and 19 stolen bases (19-for-27) over 335 at-bats.

Yuli Gurriel went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Saturday's win over the Athletics.

Gurriel crossed home plate on Martin Maldonado's grand slam after hitting a 101.5-mph two-out single to center field in the bottom of the second. Gurriel is batting .235 with seven home runs and three steals in 298 at-bats.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters on Saturday that Luis Robert (illness) is "still not feeling right" and will be re-evaluated on Monday.

Robert will not play in either of the White Sox' final two contests before the All-Star break and will be re-examined early next week to determine his next steps. The dynamic 24-year-old outfielder was removed from Friday's contest due to lightheadedness and will get some extra time off to rest and recover. Hopefully, he's ready to return following next week's Midsummer Classic.

Rays' Yandy Díaz: OK after hit-by-pitch. Díaz was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Saturday's game, but manager Kevin Cash said Díaz "should be OK," Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The sinker from Jorge López that hit Diaz was clocked at 98.2 mph, but apparently it caught him mostly on the meat of the left forearm. Cash intimated Díaz would have been lifted had the DH spot come back around Saturday, so it's worth keeping an eye out to see if Díaz plays in Sunday's first-half finale.

Yoan López served as the Mets' 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader against the Cubs.

López gave the Mets' bullpen some additional reinforcement heading into Saturday's twin bill against the Cubs at historic Wrigley Field. López earned his first win of the season after pitching 2 innings during the second game of the day. He allowed one unearned run on two hits, two walks a struck out two. The 29-year-old righty has allowed four runs - three earned - on 8 hits with a 8/4 K/BB ratio across 8 2/3 innings (five appearances) this season in the majors.

José Iglesias (neck) was in the Rockies' starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates.

Iglesias was removed from Friday's contest due to neck stiffness, but he felt well enough on Saturday afternoon to get back into Colorado's lineup. He went 1-for-4 in the game with two strikeouts batting seventh in the lineup. He'll benefit from some extra time off during next week's All-Star break to rest up and recover. Over his last six games, he's gone 8-for-23 with a homer, two doubles, 10 RBI and three runs.

Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: Retreats to bench. Hernández wasn't in the lineup Saturday against Atlanta. Hernández rested after he went 1-for-7 with a run and three strikeouts over the last two games. Lane Thomas shifted to left field while Victor Robles started in center.

MLB All-Star Futures Game: Jasson Domínguez crushed a two-run homer on Saturday, leading the American League to a 6-4 victory over the National League in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Domínguez atoned for an untimely error in center field earlier in the contest by clobbering a gargantuan 415-foot blast to left-center field off Giants' left-hander Kyle Harrison in the third inning. The 19-year-old outfielder, who has launched nine homers and also swiped 19 bases in 75 games this season for Single-A Tampa, has the potential to blossom into a legitimate five-category fantasy superstar in a few years.

In the game, Cuba was represented by three players: outfielder Oscar Colás (White Sox-American League), right-hander pitcher Yosver Zulueta (Jays-AL), and second baseman Miguel Vargas (Dodgers-National League). Vargas was the only one of them starting the game and batting fifth in the lineup. He went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored. Colás came in as a pinch hitter and stayed in the game at center field. He went 1-for-2. Zulueta was the third reliever in the game for the American League getting one out with only one pitch to earn the win.