MLB 2024 | Yariel makes a strong MLB debut; Lourdes hits a decisive three-run homer; Yuli signs with the Braves

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

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Yariel Rodríguez allowed one run with six strikeouts across 3 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Rockies on Saturday.

Rodríguez was solid in his MLB debut. He tossed a clean first inning with two strikeouts, then worked around a hit and a walk in the second. Brenton Doyle would homer to lead off the third and put the Rockies on the board. Rodríguez would leave in the fourth at 68 pitches after giving up a pair of base hits. He struck out two more in the inning to give him six on the day. The 27-year-old right-hander currently lines up to make his second start against the Padres in San Diego on Friday.

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Lourdes Gurriel Jr. crushed a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning on Saturday, propelling the Diamondbacks to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Cardinals.

The 30-year-old slugger victimized Cardinals’ right-hander Kyle Gibson for his 377-foot (107.5 mph EV) game-changing blast. He also singled in the contest to extend a hit streak to seven contests, during which he is 11-for-30 (.367) with a home run and eight RBI. He finished the night 2-for-4. Gurriel has been one of the top offensive performers in all of baseball over the first couple weeks of the season — slashing .317/.369/.567 with four homers and a whopping 18 RBI.

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In Saturday's win over the Rangers, Yordan Alvarez went 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Adolis Garcia also with two hits.

Alvarez singled in each of his first two at-bats. Additionally, he walked twice and scored a run. During this season, Alvarez has been Alvarez. In his last seven games, he has hit .440 (11-for-25) with 2 HR and 9 RBI. As a whole, he is hitting .328/.423/.574 with four home runs, 12 RBI, and three doubles. As part of a potent Astros lineup, he remains a top bat. Adolis Garcia went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk for the Rangers in the same game. This season, Adolis has slashed .333/.400/.596 with 4 HR and 15 RBI.

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Jorge Soler went 1-for-4 with a homer while scoring a run in a victory over the Rays on Saturday.

Soler hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to make it 8-1. It counts just as much as any other home run, regardless of the outcome. The 32-year-old is slashing .208/.328/.434 with three home runs and four RBIs in his first year with the Giants.

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First save blown by Aroldis Chapman.

On Saturday, the Pirates failed to overcome a blown save from Aroldis Chapman as they fell 4-3 to the Phillies. Right fielder Nick Castellanos hit the walk-off single in the tenth inning to seal the victory. In the seventh inning, Aroldis Chapman walked Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Passed balls and groundouts helped Schwarber advance to third, and a single by Bryson Stott scored him. For Chapman, this was his first blown save this season. In addition, he allowed his first run, although it was unearned.

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Braves signed INF Yuli Gurriel to a minor league contract.

As a Miami Marlin, Gurriel had a .245/.304/.359 slash line with four homers and 27 RBIs in 108 games played in 2023. The 39-year-old veteran infielder will head to Triple-A Gwinnett to wait for an opportunity to ascend to Atlanta’s active roster.

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First extra-base hit of the season for José Abreu.

Ultimately, Abreu and his cast had the night they expected. During the Astros' 9-2 victory over the Rangers, the veteran first baseman went 2-for-4. In addition to his multi-hit performance, Abreu hit his first extra-base hit of the season with a double in the fourth inning, scoring minutes later on Mauricio Dubon's grounder. Additionally, he received a walk and scored another run. As a first baseman, Abreu lined up behind Jon Singleton, who was the DH. It will be interesting to see whether Abreu can turn around a disappointing season with this game.

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Athletics' Aledmys Díaz: Starts running program

Díaz has begun a running program as part of his rehabilitation process, the Associated Press reported. The veteran infielder opened the season on the 60-day injured list, so he's seemingly only in the nascent stages of his ramp-up process. Díaz could eventually require a rehab assignment of maximum length whenever he's deemed ready to test himself in game action, given how long he's been sidelined.

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