MLB 2023 | Cionel gets a save, Luis Robert adds homer #37, Yandy with multi hit game

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

Cionel Pérez (Photo: MLB)

Sep 19

Working with a four-run lead, Yennier Cano was lifted after getting two outs against the Astros on Tuesday, allowing Cionel Pérez to wind up with a save.

The game should have been over before Cano was removed, but Alex Bregman was gifted ball four on what was clearly a third strike on a check swing, extending the game. With two men on and a save situation in effect, the Orioles put in Pérez, who made quick work of Yordan Álvarez to end the game. Cano and Pérez were both used for a third straight day tonight, the first times this season that the Orioles had used any reliever for three straight days. They’ll surely be off Wednesday, which might give Danny Coulombe or Shintaro Fujinami a chance.

Luis Robert adds three hits, homer. Robert went 3-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and an additional run scored in Tuesday's loss against Washington. It's the first multi-hit game since Aug. 30 for Robert, who's now 4-for-9 with a pair of homers in his last two games after going 0-for-16 with 10 strikeouts in his previous four contests. The 26-year-old outfielder appears to be rounding back into form down the stretch. Robert's been a bright spot overall for Chicago this season, slashing .265/.316/.543 with 37 homers, 88 runs scored, 79 RBI and 17 steals across 584 plate appearances.

Yandy Díaz goes 3-for-4 in win. Díaz went 3-for-4 with a double and one run scored in Tuesday's 6-2 victory over the Angels. The breakout 32-year-old led off Tuesday's contest with a laser line drive into the left-center gap for a double, attentively taking third on an error and scoring on Randy Arozarena's two-run homer. The three-hit performance raised Díaz's batting average to .323, good for second in the AL behind Corey Seager's .333 mark. In his seventh season, Díaz has notched 163 hits, 20 home runs, 73 RBI, 90 runs and a .909 OPS across 575 plate appearances - all career-highs.

Aroldis Chapman got five outs in the seventh and eighth innings to pick up a win in relief Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Chapman (6-4) struck out three over 1.2 innings to earn Tuesday's win over the Red Sox.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy, who told Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday afternoon that he's trying to avoid using Chapman for more than one inning, did just that. Chapman entered the seventh inning with Boston rallying and ended the threat. The reliever managed a perfect eighth before Jose Leclerc picked up the save. The bullpen has blown leads late in two recent games, as Bochy avoided bringing Chapman in before the ninth inning. However, the manager altered course Tuesday, saying "we've got find a way to win ballgames." Bochy took that approach because the Rangers' bullpen has an AL-worst 6.38 ERA since Aug. 16.

Randy Arozarena went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer as the Rays defeated the Angels 6-2 Tuesday night.

Arozarena went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Angels.

The 28-year-old outfielder capitalized on a center-cut meatball from Patrick Sandoval, launching a two-run blast to give Tampa Bay an early lead in the first inning. After a tepid start to September, Arozarena has now hit safely in seven of the last eight games, going 11-for-34 (.324) during that stretch with two home runs, five RBI and four runs. However, his 30.6 percent strikeout rate and 5.6 percent walk rate in that same span suggest he isn't quite locked in at the plate.

Yoán Moncada went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a 4-3 loss to the Nationals Tuesday night.

Moncada put the White Sox ahead 2-1 in the seventh inning with a 412-foot blast off Jackson Rutledge, his ninth homer of the season. The 28-year-old third baseman has put together a strong second half, batting .331 (42-for-127) with six homers and a .925 OPS in his last 35 games. Overall, Moncada's slashing .262/.304/.417 with 38 RBI and 35 runs scored across 329 plate appearances this season.

Daysbel Hernández (forearm) began a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday with Triple-A Gwinnett.

Hernández has been out since early August with right forearm inflammation. The 27-year-old right-hander has made four relief appearances this season in the big leagues.