MLB 2023 | L. Robert tallies three hits, Chapman makes Ranger’s debut, Iglesias logs 14th save

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

Aroldis Chapman (Photo: MLB)

Jul 2

Luis Robert Jr. doubled, drew a pair of walks and stole a base on Sunday as the White Sox dispatched of the Athletics in Oakland.

Robert Jr. drew a one-out walk in the opening inning and swiped second base, but the White Sox were unable to cash him in. The 25-year-old has been having an outstanding season at the dish — slashing .276/.337/.575 with 24 homers, 46 RBI and eight stolen bases through his first 83 contests. It was confirmed Sunday that Luis Robert was selected as an All-Star for the season, as a result of his excellent work in the first half of the season.

Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4 and slugged his 16th home run of the season in a losing effort against the Mariners on Sunday afternoon.

Arozarena tagged Mariners’ right-hander Luis Castillo for his 359-foot solo shot in the opening inning on Sunday. He also singled and scored on a two-run double by Luke Raley in the third inning. With his two-hit attack, the 28-year-old outfielder is now slashing a terrific .287/.398/.488 to go with 16 homers, 58 RBI and nine stolen bases on the season.

Cionel Pérez snags win Sunday.

Pérez (2-1) earned the win Sunday over the Twins, striking out one in a perfect inning. Perez had allowed at least one baserunner in each of his last 13 appearances, giving up 10 runs (eight earned) on 16 hits and seven walks over 12.2 innings in that span. He was an effective setup man last season, but Perez's regression with walks (4.7 BB/9) has made it a difficult first half of 2023 for the southpaw. He has a 4.45 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 22:16 K:BB over 30.1 innings while adding eight holds through 33 appearances. Perez will still get some late-inning work, but he's no threat to Felix Bautista's closer role, whiel Danny Coulombe has surpassed Perez as the Orioles' top lefty reliever.

José Abreu raps out three hits.

Abreu went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Rangers.

Abreu's hitting came around as he batted .292 in June, and after an 0-for-3 effort Saturday, he bounced back with Sunday's three-hit game. It's just his second three-hit effort of the year, the other being June 14 versus the Nationals. The first baseman is up to a .240/.291/.344 slash line with six home runs, 41 RBI, 26 runs scored and 14 doubles through 80 contests. Making more consistent contact is helping improve his line, but he's still lacking in the power department, though he has an extra-base hit in five of his last eight contests.

Aroldis Chapman worked a scoreless seventh inning against the Astros in his Rangers debut Sunday.

Chapman allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless seventh inning in Sunday's 5-3 loss to Houston. Chapman was acquired by Texas last week and made his debut for the new club. He entered a tied game, and it stayed that way after he left. There may be save opportunities down the road for Chapman, who could serve as a right-handed complement to lefty closer Will Smith.

Adrián Morejón pitched well in his spot start Sunday, throwing three scoreless innings against the Reds.

Morejón did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing two hits and two walks over three scoreless innings against the Reds. He struck out one. Morejón made his first start since 2021 in place of Yu Darvish (illness) and was stretched out to three frames after going fewer than two innings in each of his first four appearances of the season. Morejón hadn’t gotten more than five outs in a game in four appearances since being called up by the Padres, so three innings was pretty much his limit today. He’s allowed three runs with a 6/4 K/BB ratio in seven innings for San Diego. If Darvish is forced to miss extended time, Morejón could receive another starting look, however, it's likely he'll remain in the pen for San Diego.

Raisel Iglesias was perfect in the ninth against the Marlins to earn his 14th save Sunday.

Iglesias picked up the save Sunday against the Marlins. He struck out one over a clean inning. Iglesias tallied his second consecutive perfect inning and has now converted on 12 of his 14 save opportunities in 2023. Though Iglesias has had an up-and-down season, allowing multiple runs in four of his 25 appearances while giving up no hits 14 times, Iglesias is tied for the fifth most saves in MLB since being activated from the injured list on May 5.

Yasmani Grandal was not in the White Sox’ starting lineup for Sunday’s finale against the A’s.

Seby Zavala handled the catching duties as the 34-year-old took a day off. Grandal is hitting .261/.320/.389 with six homers, which is remarkably better than last year, but everyone is missing the 2021 version of Yasmani Grandal.

Yandy Díaz was absent from the Rays’ starting lineup for Sunday’s showdown against the Mariners.

It was just a day off for the 31-year-old first baseman. Díaz’s over-the-fence power has waned as the season has gone on, but he is still producing at the top of the lineup for the Rays. He is hitting .319/.404/.513 with 12 homers and 55 runs scored.

Yordan Álvarez took batting practice at 60 percent intensity on Sunday.

Álvarez told reporters that he hopes to ramp it up more on Monday before he hits on the field later in the week. The 26-year-old superstar has been on the shelf since early June with a right oblique strain. The All-Star Game selection of Yordan Alvarez for the second time in his career was also confirmed on Sunday.

Aledmys Díaz didn't start Sunday.

Díaz was out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox. Díaz went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run Friday to break out of an 0-for-15 slump, and he was on the bench Sunday for the second straight game.

Yuli Gurriel was back on bench Sunday.

Gurriel was out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta. After being struck on the face by a grounder during pregame warmups Thursday, Gurriel missed a pair of games before returning to the lineup for Saturday's 7-0 loss. He went 1-for-3 with a walk in the contest but returned to the bench for the series finale, paving the way for Garrett Cooper to step back in at first base. Even before he was hit in the face, Gurriel had sat out the Marlins' prior two games, so he appears to have moved back into a reserve role after he had been a regular in the lineup for much of June.