MLB 2024 | Iglesias with first save; Chapman collects third hold; clutch performance by Yandy

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

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Raisel Iglesias records his first save of the season for the Braves.

In a 9-8 win over the Diamondbacks, Iglesias threw a scoreless inning without allowing a hit or a walk. After hitting Eugenio Suárez with a pitch with one out, Iglesias put the tying run on with two outs on a sac bunt. Iglesias, however, avoided the threat by grounding out Gabriel Moreno. With three scoreless appearances in the early going, Iglesias has managed just one save on a five-win Atlanta team. However, today it was Iglesias' 191st save in MLB.

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Yordan Álvarez went 2-for-4 on Saturday. José Abreu hitless again.

Álvarez has struggled a little bit early this season, but his explosive bat can make a huge impact at any time. In a 7-2 loss to the Rangers, he went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a walk for his second multi-hit game of the week. In the same game José Abreu went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the same game to continue struggling at the plate. In the last 15 games, he has gone 2-for-26, struck out nine times, and has no home runs or RBIs. It's been a rough start to the season for Abreu, but he will remain a regular because Houston only has a small pool of alternatives at first base, unless it promotes promising prospect Joey Loperfido.

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Aroldis Chapman collects his third hold for the Pirates.

Chapman picked up the hold against Baltimore on Saturday. In one inning, he struck out two and walked one. A total of 23 pitches were necessary for Chapman to complete his task, 11 of them being strikes. It has been a perfect season for him so far with no runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings and 6 strikeouts.

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On Saturday, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2-for-5 against the Braves.

This year, Gurriel Jr. started off strong with three homers in three straight games, but his bat cooled off for a few games. In addition to scoring one run, he struck out once. Now, in his last 15 games, he is hitting .316/.395/.605 with nine runs scored and 11 RBI.

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Díaz's 2-run single caps late rally.

Despite a blustery Saturday night, Yandy Díaz hit a two-run single to cap a five-run eighth inning to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to an 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. Although Díaz went 1-for-5, he struck out just once. Currently, he is slashing .286/.350/.429 with a home run and nine RBIs. Additionally, Randy Arozarena's troubles continued. In addition to striking out three times, he went 0 for 5. His last three games have seen him go 1-for-14 with six strikeouts.

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White Sox's Luis Robert: Lands on 10-day IL.

The White Sox placed Robert (hip) on the 10-day injured list Saturday. Imaging confirmed that Robert sustained a Grade 2 right hip flexor strain while running the bases in the ninth inning of Friday's loss to the Royals, per James Fegan of SoxMachine.com -- a similar location to his tear in 2021. With Robert likely facing an extended stint on the IL, the White Sox recalled infielder Lenyn Sosa from Triple-A Charlotte.

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Andy Ibáñez didn't start Saturday's game for the Tigers.

In Saturday's game against the Athletics, Ibáñez didn't start. He has a batting average of .308 with three RBIs in 15 plate appearances to start the season, but he was sat against right-hander Paul Blackburn. While moving around the diamond, Ibáñez will focus primarily on left-handed pitching.

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