MLB 2023 | Arozarena knocks in three runs Thursday, Champan and Iglesias secure wins

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

Randy Arozarena (Photo: Julio Cortéz/AP)

Jun 22

Randy Arozarena went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI against the Royals on Thursday in a loss.

Arozarena went 3-for-5 with three RBI in a loss to Kansas City on Thursday. Arozarena singled in a run in the first, and singled in two more in a three-run seventh that got the Rays a brief two-run lead. It was the third three-hit performance in four games for the outfielder, who has gone 9-for-14 with five RBI over that span. Arozarena is hitting .347/.492/.571 in his last 15 games with a .298/.412/.500 season line. The stolen-base attempts have plummeted a bit from his 44 last year -- he only has nine successful attempts so far -- but otherwise he's been exactly what fans expect from him.

Royals' Aroldis Chapman: Collects win. Chapman (3-2) struck out the side in a perfect inning to earn the win Thursday over the Rays. Chapman pitched the eighth inning with the game tied 5-5, and the Royals pulled ahead in the ninth. He's allowed just one run and one hit through six innings in June, but he's also walked six while striking out 15. The southpaw continues to be effective in high-leverage spots with a 2.73 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 48:20 K:BB over 26.1 innings while adding two saves, eight holds and two blown saves this season.

Raisel Iglesias was credited with a win after pitching a perfect ninth in a tie game Thursday.

Iglesias (3-2) earned the win Thursday in Philadelphia after he struck out one and didn't allow a baserunner in a scoreless ninth inning. The veteran right-hander delivered a perfect top of the ninth to preserve a scoreless tie, and he picked up the win since Atlanta outscored Philadelphia 5-1 during the extra frame. Braves scored five times in the top of the 10th to put Iglesias in line of for the win. Iglesias had been scored upon in three of his previous four outings, so a clean inning Thursday was a welcome sight. He has a 4.12 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 24:6 K:BB over 19.2 innings this year and remains the club's primary closer. It's his third win to go along with 10 saves in 21 appearances.

Multi-hit performance by Yandy Díaz

Díaz went 3-for-5 with two runs scored on Thursday against the Royals. Now Díaz has four multi-hit performances in his last ten games, during which he's also tallied 8 runs scored and four RBI. Díaz is slashing .309/.398/.516 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI this year.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. did not play on Thursday.

Gurriel was not in the lineup against the Brewers on Thursday. The fact that Gurriel is resting for a second consecutive game is strange. Recently, he has struggled, hitting 1-for-9 with two RBIs and two strikeouts in the first two games of the series against the Brewers.