MLB 2022 | Cionel earned first career save, Adolis continues hot, and more

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

Cionel Pérez (Photo: Baltimore Orioles Twitter)

Jun 12, 2022

Cionel Pérez threw a scoreless ninth with a three-run lead for his first career save Sunday against the Royals.

Jorge López and Dillon Tate had both worked the previous two days. That would have made Félix Bautista the favorite for the save today, but he was needed to put out a fire that Bryan Baker started in the eighth. That left the ninth for Pérez, and he earned his first save in his 68th career appearance. Pérez wasn't at his best, throwing only 12 of his 23 pitches for strikes, but he got the job done to record his first big-league save. Despite his 1.40 WHIP, the lefty has limited runs and has a 0.93 ERA in 19.1 innings, lowering his career ERA from 6.04 to 4.63.

Adolis García went 3-for-4 with two walks and a steal Sunday against the White Sox.

García went 3-for-4 with two walks, a stolen base and a run scored in an 8-6 victory Sunday over the White Sox. It would have been nice if he had finished with more than one run scored and no runs batted in, especially given that the Rangers finished with eight runs, but García did the best that he could. He has nine hits, including two homers, in his last four games. García reached five times Sunday and stole a base and scored a run in the 12th inning. It was his fourth straight multi-hit effort and the 11th time he's done so in his last 20 games, while he's hitting .310/.341/.571 in that span with six homers and five stolen bases. He has a reasonable chance to join the 20-20 club this season after hitting 32 homers and swiping 16 bags a year ago.

Nat's Yadiel Hernández struggles continue.

Hernández is just in a bad, I will say a month, the Cuban outfielder played the left-field but went 0-for-2 with one strikeout and three left on base. He is slashing .261/.308/.395 for the season but in his last 15 games, his line is depressing at .221/.277/.337 with 14 strikeouts and 3 RBI. It was a promising year for the veteran outfielder and he still has time to recover before the season is over, maybe the All-Star break will benefit him.

White Sox's José Abreu: No much to say from Sunday's game.

Abreu is steady in his performance and maybe the All-Star break will help him to regain his form. The veteran first baseman went 1-for-5 on Sunday's 8-6 loss against the Rangers, with a walk and a strikeout. Abreu is slashing .251/.351/.408 for the year with 7 HR and 24 RBI but in his last 15 games, he has a line of .310/.429/.448 with 2 HR and 5 RBI. His production will have to increase in order to guide a White Sox team that is just not playing good baseball right now.

White Sox's Norge Vera: Excellent in season debut. Norge Vera made his season debut for Single-A Kannapolis on Thursday, giving up two hits and one walk while striking out three in 2.2 scoreless innings. According to White Sox Daily, Vera was sitting at 94-95 mph with his fastball and touched 98 mph. As a former seven-figure international signee with big stuff, Vera could rise up prospect rankings quickly if he can build off this successful debut.

Randy Arozarena doubled in a run, got hit by pitches twice, and swiped two bases Sunday versus the Twins.

Arozarena went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, two stolen bases and two runs scored in Sunday's 6-0 win over the Twins. He was also hit by a pitch twice. Arozarena got on base three times the hard way, though it's encouraging he didn't have to leave the game after either of the errant pitches. He's notched five of his 12 steals this season in the last 10 games, showing a little more willingness to run after a quiet start to the year in that regard. The outfielder is slashing .268/.318/.442 with seven home runs, 31 RBI, 29 runs scored, 14 doubles, and two triples through 242 plate appearances.

Astros' Yulieski Gurriel: Double #18 against the Marlins. Marlins' Jorge Soler: Hitless.

Yulieski Gurriel went 1-for-3 with a walk and his double #18 of the season, in a 9-4 win against the Marlins on Sunday. In the same game, from the Marlins, Jorge Soler went hitless (0-for-4) with a strikeout.

Rockies' José Iglesias: Back with two hits.

After sitting for the second double header game on Saturday, José Iglesias was back in the Rockies' lineup on Sunday against the Padres. Iglesias then went 2-for-4 adding his RBI #17 of the season and lifting his BA to .309. The shortstop is slashing .309/.353/.382 for the year, with 13 doubles and 19 runs.

White Sox's Luis Robert: Steals another base. Robert went 1-for-5 with a stolen base, a run scored, and a walk, in an 8-6 loss Sunday against Texas. Robert singled and scored in the first inning and was intentionally walked in the 10th. He has stolen four bases in his last five games. However, the 24-year-old has just three extra-base hits in his last 18 games and is slugging .299 in his last 77 at-bats.

Astros' Yordan Alvarez: Racks up three hits. Alvarez went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Sunday's 9-4 win over the Marlins. Alvarez delivered an RBI single in the fourth inning and a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Through 10 games in June, the designated hitter has already posted five three-hit efforts, picking right up where he left off after ending May strong. The 24-year-old is up to a .311/.402/.628 slash line with 17 home runs, 41 RBI, 38 runs scored, seven doubles, and two triples through 54 contests. His 1.030 OPS is just 37 points shy of his career-best mark from his rookie year, though it remains to be seen if he can push it even higher in 2022.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBI, and a walk versus the Tigers on Sunday.

Gurriel is 13-for-28 with seven RBI in his last seven games, raising his average from .235 to .268.