MLB 2023 | Luis Robert pops 30th homer, Cortés was nasty vs the Astros, Cano with no issues closing

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

Luis Robert (Photo: David J. Phillip/AP)

Aug 5

Luis Robert Jr. went 2-for-3 with his 30th homer, two steals and a walk Saturday against the Guardians.

Robert went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and two stolen bases in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Guardians. Robert flexed both his power and speed in the victory, kicking off the scoring with a solo homer in the third inning and swiping a pair of bags in the fifth. The talented outfielder has already reached career-best marks with 30 homers and 14 thefts through 108 games on the campaign. Robert is probably going to wind up this season with as many homers as his first three years combined (36 in 924 PA). He’s now up to 14 steals, too, and it looks like he could record just the second 30 HR-20 SB season in White Sox history. Magglio Ordóñez had 31 homers and 25 steals in 2001. Robert and Shohei Ohtani are the only players in the majors so far this season to notch at least 30 long balls and 10 steals.

Néstor Cortés fanned eight while allowing just one run in four innings Saturday against the Astros.

Cortés did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing one run on one hit and one walk over four innings against Houston. He struck out eight. Cortés walked José Altuve to open the game before striking out the side, all swinging, to get out of the inning. The lefty would then give up a solo home run to Altuve in the third, though it was the only hit he allowed over his four innings of work, while posting a season-high eight strikeouts. Cortés even struck out the side in order before heading to the bench and he's now fanned at least five batters in each of his last four starts. Cortés averaged 93.0 mph with his fastball today, that’s the highest mark of his career and 1.5 mph than he was averaging before getting hurt this year. Of course, it also might have had something to do with the fact that he knew he was on a pitch count of 65. The Yankees certainly have to feel good about what they saw out of Cortés in his return to the rotation following the shoulder injury.

José Abreu was not in the Astros’ starting lineup for Saturday’s game against the Yankees.

It appeared to be a regular day off as the 36-year-old has played in 35 consecutive games. Abreu hasn't had a day off since June 23. He is hitting .216 with two home runs over his last 10 games. The 36-year-old has been a massive disappointment this season, hitting .239/.296/.351 with ten homers and 56 RBI across 450 plate appearances.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 1-for-3 with a home run on Saturday against the Twins.

Gurriel Jr. homered in the second inning off Kenta Maeda for his 18th homer of the season. He also walked. The 29-year-old outfielder is hitting .253/.302/.470 with 18 homers and 60 RBI across 407 plate appearances.

Oscar Colás homered on Saturday.

Colás that was demoted to Triple-A at the beginning of May and the was recalled on July 4, has slumped the all year. On yesterday's game, he went 1-for-4 with his second homer of the season off Noah Syndergaard. Colás has been a disappointment for Chicago, batting .219/.259/.284 with 2 homers and 11 RBI across 167 plate appearances.

Jorge Soler with two RBI Saturday.

Soler went 1-for-3 with two walks in Saturday's 9-8 loss to the Rangers. The veteran slugger added two RBI and two runs. Soler extended his hitting streak to eight games in the process, and with 26 homers and 59 RBI through 107 contests, he remains on pace for his best power numbers since his 2019 campaign with the Royals.

Yennier Cano closed the game Saturday. Cano closed Saturday's 7-4 victory against the Mets, pitching a ninth inning of one hit. He had two strikeouts. The 29-year-old was called upon to close out the game with Felix Bautista seemingly unavailable to pitch and was effective one again. Cano faced four hitters and used 19 pitches - 12 strikes - without giving up a run in his 49 appearance this year. He now has a 1.01 WHIP and 49:9 K:BB over 53.1 innings.

Andy Ibáñez late addition to lineup. Ibáñez was a late addition to Saturday's lineup against the Rays, batting sixth and manning second base. This was Ibáñez's second start against a righty since July 24. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in a 4-2 victory against the struggling Rays.

On Saturday, Yoán Moncada was absent from the lineup and entered the game late.

Yoán Moncada was missing from the lineup for the Chicago White Sox against the Cleveland Guardians Saturday. Originally, Moncada was on regular rest, with Zach Remillard filling in at third base and batting ninth, but he entered the game late and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.