MLB 2023 | Abreu, Adolis and Luis Robert homered, Iglesias nails down 13th save, Yandy: three hits

Major League Baseball (MLB) and other Cuban Players News for the 2023 season. A compendium from several sources

José Abreu (Photo: MLB)

Jun 28

José Abreu had a two-run homer, a single and a sac fly against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

Abreu went 2-for-4 with a two run homer and a sacrifice fly in a 10-7 win against the Cardinals. Abreu has five homers in 15 games after hitting just one in his first 61. We wouldn’t expect this outburst to stick around for long, but he also shouldn’t go back to looking nearly as futile as he did in the first two months. He is slashing .235/.284/.338 with 6 homers and 39 RBI for the season but has an offensive line of .276/.258/.517 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in his last seven games. The 2020 American League MVP remains in the midst of a career-worst season, but he's at least shown some signs of life this month, turning in a .822 OPS through 22 games this month.

Adolis García went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and three RBI on Wednesday, powering the Rangers to a 10-0 blowout win over the Tigers.

García finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in this one, spearheading a relentless Rangers’ offensive onslaught that featured 10 runs on 14 hits. He did most of his damage in the late stages of the contest, launching a two-run homer in the sixth inning and also adding an RBI single in the ensuing frame. He’s batting .264/.335/.515 with 60 runs scored, 20 homers, 66 RBI and six stolen bases across 343 plate appearances this season.

White Sox's Luis Robert: Homers again Wednesday. Robert went 2-for-6 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 11-5 win over the Angels. The long ball was his fifth in his last five games, and 10 of Robert's 23 homers on the season have come in his last 20 contests. The outfielder also has multiple hits in three of his last four games as he continues an impressive surge near the midpoint of the campaign. Robert is slashing .270/.324/.567 with 45 RBI, 54 runs scored and four stolen bases through 79 contests overall.

Rays' Yandy Díaz: Racks up three hits. Díaz went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks. This was Díaz's fifth multi-hit effort in his last 11 games, a span in which he's gone 19-for-46 (.413) with three doubles, four RBI and nine runs scored. The infielder continues to hit for a lofty average, which rose to .322 following Wednesday's strong game. He's added a .928 OPS, 38 RBI, 52 runs scored and 16 doubles through 68 contests this season, a vast improvement on his usually lackluster counting stats. Barring a second-half collapse, Díaz is on pace for career numbers nearly across the board.

Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth, striking out two, for a save Wednesday against the Twins.

No shakiness from Iglesias today after he allowed two hits Sunday and two homers Saturday. Iglesias picked up the save in Wednesday's 3-0 victory over the Twins, striking out two over one scoreless inning. Iglesias entered the game with a three-run lead in the ninth and needed only 10 pitches to run through the heart of the Twins' lineup and notch his 13th save. He struck out Byron Buxton on three straight pitches to open the frame before fanning Royce Lewis in the next at-bat, with both hitters falling victim to Iglesias' changeup. The reliever has now converted his last four save attempts and holds a 19:1 KK:BB ratio in June. He’s 13-for-15 saving games.

On Wednesday, Jorge Soler went hitless. Gurriel with another day off.

Soler was hitless in the Marlins' 6-2 win over Boston while Gurriel wasn't even in the lineup. The 0-for-3 performance left Soler with one run, two walks and one strikeout, giving him a .247/.347/.520 line with 21 home runs and 46 RBIs for the year. Despite posting his best season since 2019, Soler is hitting just .200/.349/.340 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs in his last 15 games and .160/.222/.200 without home runs in his last seven.

On Wednesday, Aledmis Díaz went hitless.

Okland faced the Yankees on Wednesday night, and Domingo Germán produced the highlight of the season by pitching the 24th perfect game in Major League history. With such a job from the Yankees' Dominican right-hander, Díaz finished 0-for-3 on the night without much to criticize. As a result of Germán's excellent pitching, Oakland's lineup was kept under control at all times. It took Germán just 99 pitches and 72 strikes to leave his mark on Major League Baseball history.

Miguel Vargas was hitless again.

Vargas returned to the Dodgers' lineup for the first time since June 25 in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to Colorado .During the game, Vargas went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, dropping his batting average to .198.A trip to the Minors seems imminent for Vargas, who has received countless opportunities in the Dodgers' second base defense and in the regular lineup.Despite being a promising young player, he is slashing .198/.301/.371 with 7 home runs and 30 RBI for a team that needs his offense to keep producing.

Yordan Álvarez progressed to hitting off a tee on Wednesday.

Álvarez is expected to be out until mid-July due to a right oblique strain, so it’s a positive sign that he’s already gotten to the point that he can resume swinging a bat and hitting without any issues.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. became an American citizen. Gurriel Jr. was out of the lineup Wednesday versus the Brewers. Gurriel got a breather after he started the first two games of the series, going 1-for-9 with two RBI and two strikeouts. Ultimately, Gurriel was swearing his American citizenship. On his Instagram account, Gurriel Jr. posted a photo with his US citizenship certificate and the words: "One of the most important days in my life!! us"

Yasmani Grandal did not start Wednesday. Grandal wasn't in the White Sox's lineup Wednesday against the Angels. Grandal is 3-for-9 with a home run over his last four games and received a day off Wednesday.