MLB 2023 | Yordan homered again, Soler cranks 25th homer, Arozarena slump continues

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

Yordan Álvarez and José Abreu (Photo: MLB)

Jul 31

Yordan Álvarez goes deep in victory. Álvarez went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Monday's 7-3 win against Cleveland. Álvarez turned the tide of the game in sixth inning, smashing a three-run shot to right field to give Houston its first lead. The long ball was his second in his past three games and gave him at least one hit in each of his five contests since returning from the injured list July 26. During that span, Álvarez has gone 7-for-18 with the two homers, four RBI and five runs scored.

Jorge Soler went 2-for-4 and hit his first homer in 17 days Monday against the Phillies.

Soler opened the scoring in the first inning Monday with a two-run, 415-foot blast off Taijuan Walker. It would prove to be all the offense Miami could muster in an eventual loss. The homer, which came after Luis Arráez singled to lead off the first, provided the Marlins’ only two runs of the game. The home run was Soler's first since July 15 and his 25th of the year. Soler entered the night batting just .198/.261/.331 over his previous 32 games. Still, he was strong enough over the first 2 1/2 months that he still has an .826 OPS for the season. Overall, he's slashing .243/.333/.493 with 57 runs scored and 56 RBI across 430 plate appearances this season.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. shows life in bat. Gurriel Jr. went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in Monday's 4-3 extra innings win over San Francisco. Gurriel's sixth-inning double knotted the game at 2-2, setting up the extra innings. The two hits was the most life seen in his bat in a couple of weeks. The outfielder/DH entered the contest on a 3-for-42 (.071) run over the previous 11 games.

The absence of Adrián Morejón has been prolonged.

After suffering a right knee strain in the second game of a doubleheader on July 15, Morejón was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 16. Morejón's injury was evaluated through imaging, and it was determined that he needed time to recover. Instead of being reinstated yesterday, he is now expected to be out until August 10.

Yulieski Gurriel was out of the lineup Monday.

When the Marlins faced the Phillies Monday in a battle for second place in the National League East, Gurriel was not in the lineup. The 39-year-old has played only 68 games this year, with 61 hits and 20 RBI. In 228 AB, he is slashing .268/.327/.384.

Randy Arozarena slump continues.

Arozarena returned to the regular lineup yesterday to face the Yankees after seeing rest in the previous game in Houston last Sunday. He went 0-for-4 with one strikeout in Tampa's 5-1 win over New York, extending his hitless streak to six games and 20 at-bats. His last hit came against the Orioles last July 22. With one RBI, three walks, and five strikeouts in his last seven games, Arozarena slashes .083/.241/.083 during that span.

Yennier Cano has reached 25 holds.

Yennier Cano looked vulnerable yesterday during a 4-2 victory against the Blue Jays. Cano allowed a Whit Merrifield home run off his slider to bring the Blue Jays within two runs in the eighth inning. Cano got one out, but then issued back-to-back walks and could get no further. Even so, Cano scored his #25 hold of the season, but saw his ERA rise to 1.93 for the year.

Daysbel Hernández struggles again.

For the second time in four appearances since his promotion to the Majors, Hernández did not look good. In a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles, Daysbel gave up a run in the ninth inning to extend Los Angeles' lead to three runs. He allowed an earned run with two hits, along with a walk, which brought his ERA to 7.36 during his short time in the Majors. To be honest, Daysbel has the tools to become a nasty reliever, but he needs consistency to be able to pitch at MLB level.

Abreu went hitless on Monday.

In Houston's 7-3 win over Cleveland, Abreu went hitless. Following the return of Yordan Alvarez, Abreu was shifted to the sixth spot in the lineup and went 0 for 3 with a walk. As a result of an inconsistent season, Abreu is slashing .243/.298/.359 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs for the Astros.