MLB 2024 | Chapman ejected after his ERA suffered; Yariel will start Friday against the Padres; Cano with consecutive appearance

Cuban Players News for the 2024 Major League Baseball season. A compilation of several sources

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Aroldis Chapman was ejected from the game following a disastrous outing.

Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen has begun to suffer, and if Aroldis Chapman blew a save last Saturday, he took a loss on Monday. In an eighth inning, in which the Mets scored three runs against him, the seven-time All-Star reliever was ejected by plate umpire Edwin Moscoso. The Mets took the lead against Chapman, who struck out catcher Francisco Álvarez and then saw a struck-out McNeil reach first on a wild pitch, a 3-2 walk then a double steal - taking advantage of the Cuban's slow windup - placed runners in scoring position. Then came Bader's double for a 5-3 lead, and Chapman was ejected after an exchange with Moscoso. A Mets run would be added to Chapman's tally in the inning. His immaculate ERA, which rose to 4.76 on Monday, has finally been broken.

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Yariel Rodríguez will start Friday for the Blue Jays.

Sportsnet.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith reports that Rodríguez will start Friday against the Padres. Rodríguez pitched 3.2 innings for the Rockies in his major-league debut, allowing a run with six strikeouts. While Rodríguez will have command issues in MLB because of the selective hitting, he should also be able to dominate with his slider and his velocity. Despite the right-hander remaining in the Blue Jays' rotation for now, his workload will surely be curbed eventually. Plus, he has earned another start before the team has to activate Alek Manoah. In 2023, Rodríguez did not pitch at all and in 2022, he was used as a relief pitcher

in Japan.

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Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena combined for one hit on Monday.

Díaz and Arozarena have not just gotten up from their slow start. While Díaz continued to lead the lineup, Arozarena moved to the third spot.  On Monday, however, Tampa lost 7-3 to the Angels with both players hitting a combined 1-for-8. Díaz produced the only hit and scored a run while striking out. As for Arozarena, he went 0-for-4 with one strikeout and is 2 for 18 with four strikeouts in his last five games.

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Consecutive appearances for Yennier Cano.

The Orioles won 7-4 over the Twins on Monday with Cano making his second appearance in two nights. In the 7th inning, the Orioles bullpen struggled. After Keegan Akin took over in the top of the 7th, he gave up a single and ground-rule double to give the Twins two runners in scoring position despite striking out his first batter. In an attempt to clean up Akins' mess, Yennier Cano couldn't keep the Twins from scoring, cutting the O's lead to 7-4. After limiting the damage in the 7th, the All-Star setup man pitched a scoreless 8th and handed the ball over to Craig Kimbrel in the 9th. As a result, Cano allowed two hits and two strikeouts in 1 2/3 of an inning of relief.  

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On Monday, Yordan Alvarez and José Abreu were hitless.

Both Yordan and Abreu went 0-for-8 in Houston's 6-1 loss to Atlanta on Monday. There was at least one opportunity for Alvarez to help his team. The game was 2-1 and two runners were on base in the seventh inning. Yordan was facing southpaw A.J. Minter and on a 1-1 count, Yordan popped out to shortstop for the third out. As for Abreu, his offensive game is still a mystery. His 0-for-4 performance, batting eighth in the lineup, included two strikeouts. This month of April, he has a dismal .105/.146/.132 offense without a HR and only one RBI with 13 SO. His offensive line is worse this season: .082/.148/.102, which already makes many on the bench and off it impatient.  

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On Monday, Adolis García went hitless.

In Texas' 1-0 victory over Detroit, Garcia went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. García seems to be experiencing a slump, hitting 3-for-10 with no HRs or RBIs and three strikeouts in the last three games. Currently, he is hitting .308/.370/.538 with 4 HR and 15 RBI.

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