MLB 2022 | Cortés with no-decision, Arozarena belts 13th homer, Díaz's Grand Slam, and more

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

Néstor Cortés. (Photo: USA Today)

Aug 10, 2022

Néstor Cortés logged a quality start in a no-decision against the Mariners on Wednesday, allowing three runs on three hits over his six-plus innings of work.

The 27-year-old southpaw piled up 10 strikeouts on the afternoon while issuing only one free pass. Cortés navigated the first five innings unscathed until he served up a solo homer to Sam Haggerty in the sixth. He then returned for the seventh and allowed the first two hitters to reach before turning the ball over to the bullpen -- and both runs eventually scored. Cortés generated 18 swinging strikes in the contest while posting an elite CSW of 38 percent. He'll carry a tremendous 2.67 ERA and 1.00 WHIP into Tuesday's battle against the Rays.

Randy Arozarena launched his 13th home run Wednesday in Milwaukee.

Arozarena took advantage of a misplaced changeup from Brandon Woodruff in the seventh inning, clobbering it 431 feet to put the Rays ahead at the time. It was his 13th home run of the season and first in the second half.

Astros' Aledmys Díaz: Sitting Wednesday.

Díaz was not in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Rangers. Díaz got a day off after he went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Tuesday's win. Chas McCormick took over in left field and batted seventh versus Texas.

Aug 9, 2022

White Sox's Yoán Moncada: Smacks sixth homer.

Moncada went 1-for-7 with a home run and two RBI across both games of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Royals. Moncada tallied his sixth home run of the season in the second game of the doubleheader. It was his first home run since the All-Star break, and he's hit just .148 with nine RBI and four runs scored across 17 starts. That stretch continues a disappointing season for Moncada, as he's now hitting just .197/.258/.322 across 260 plate appearances.

Astros' Yordan Álvarez: In midst of cold spell. Álvarez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Rangers. Though Álvarez hasn't reported any renewed soreness in his hand after he required a stint on the injured list shortly before the All-Star break, the slugger has nonetheless seen his production taper off of late. While starting in each of Houston's last 10 games, Álvarez has hit .139 with one extra-base hit (a double) and 5:9 BB:K. The Astros will continue to let Álvarez work through his struggles, as he'll stick in the lineup Wednesday as the team's designated hitter and No. 3 batter.

White Sox's Luis Robert: On bench for nightcap. Robert was not in the lineup for Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader at Kansas City, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reported. Robert went 1-for-4 during Game 1 and will head to the bench for Game 2 of the twin bill. Adam Engel will man center field and bat eighth in the nightcap.

Aledmys Díaz went 1-for-4 with a grand slam on Tuesday as the Astros took down the Rangers.

Díaz went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Rangers.

Diíaz's fourth-inning blast off Martin Perez was his second grand slam of the season and helped the Astros dig out of an early 4-0 hole. The 32-year-old was making his third consecutive start at a different position Wednesday, but he'll likely see the bulk of his opportunities in left field moving forward. Chas McCormick looks to be the primary threat to Díaz's playing time, though the Astros could soon give trade-deadline pickup Trey Mancini some exposure to the corner outfield.

Yandy Díaz went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.

Díaz's 106.7-mph, 421-foot two-run home run in the top of the third tied the game up at 2-2. He's batting .277 with six home runs and a steal over 336 at-bats. He entered the game hitless across his last five starts -- spanning 19 at-bats -- and has struggled to a .185 batting average in 14 games since the All-Star break. Even so, Díaz remains the Rays' primary leadoff hitter, and he is hitting .277/.392/.393 across 401 plate appearances for the season.

Yoán Moncada went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in game two of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Royals.

Moncada's 426-foot leadoff home run in the top of the sixth gave the White Sox a one-run lead. The veteran third baseman has an uninspiring .197 batting average in 239 at-bats.

Luis Robert did not play the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Royals.

Robert was out of the White Sox' starting lineup for the opening contest of Tuesday's twin bill in Kansas City, but got the nightcap off to rest and recover heading into Wednesday's series finale.

Rockies' José Iglesias: Three hits in blowout win. Iglesias went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 16-5 win over the Cardinals. Iglesias received a breather Sunday, but it didn't slow him down at the plate. The infielder's three-hit effort Tuesday was already his third in eight games in August, and he's batted .412 (14-for-34) this month. The 31-year-old still isn't much of a power threat with just three home runs this season, but he's maintained a .316/.358/.417 slash line with 41 RBI, 42 runs scored, two stolen bases, and 26 doubles through 94 contests as the Rockies' starting shortstop.