MLB 2023 | Arozarena hit 2 home runs, Álvarez returned with two hits, Vargas added his fifth double

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

Randy Arozarena (Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

April 30

Luis Robert Jr. is not in the White Sox starting lineup for Sunday's finale against the Rays.

Robert is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reports. It's not completely clear at this time whether Robert is out of the lineup due to the tightness in his right hamstring, or if this is a continued punishment for not running hard to first base that saw him removed early in the loss to the Rays on Saturday. Adam Haseley is starting in center field and leading off for the White Sox with Robert out of the lineup.

Rays' Yandy Díaz: Still out Sunday. Díaz (shoulder) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports. Díaz will be out of the lineup for the second consecutive game after he exited Friday's contest with soreness in his left shoulder. The 31-year-old should be available off the bench and will now have Monday's team off day to aid in his recovery before potentially missing more time. Luke Raley will start at first base in Sunday's series finale.

April 29

Randy Arozarena hit two homers and drove in four runs as the Rays topped the White Sox 12-3 on Saturday.

Arozarena went 2-for-5 with two homers and four RBI scored in Saturday's victory over the White Sox. The Rays were down 3-0 and getting no-hit after six tonight, yet it turned into another rout anyway. Arozarena smacked a three-run shot in the Rays' 10-run seventh inning and popped a solo shot in the ninth. Arozarena is hitting .333/.400/.590 with seven homers and 28 RBI, making him a definite candidate for AL Player of the Month honors for April. Arozarena is also on pace to surpass his career-high mark of 20 homers.

Yandy Díaz came off the bench to walk twice against the White Sox on Saturday.

Díaz was again held out of the starting lineup because of shoulder soreness, but he was able to take two plate appearances and play three innings on defense tonight. Díaz left Friday's game against the White Sox with left shoulder soreness. He went 1-for-2 with a run scored before exiting.

Dodgers' Miguel Vargas: One double on Saturday. Vargas went 1-for-4 with his fifth double of the season in Saturday's 1-0 victory against the Cardinals. It was his second consecutive 1-for-4 game after Vargas hit his first homer of the campaign on Friday night. While Vargas has shown good discipline at the plate this season -- he ranks second on the team with 16 walks and has recorded a solid 20.9 percent strikeout rate -- the 23-year-old's overall production has been mild. He's slashing .221/.358/.351 with one home run, five doubles, a triple, 11 runs, eight RBI and one stolen base through 96 plate appearances.

Royals' Aroldis Chapman: Collects win Saturday. Chapman (1-1) struck out two in a perfect inning, earning the win Saturday versus the Twins. Chapman faltered a bit in Arizona, allowing three runs (two earned) over 1.1 innings in two appearances, but he got back on track Saturday. The hard-throwing lefty has pitched well this season with a 1.74 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 19:3 K:BB across 10.1 innings. He's added a save and two holds. Chapman continues to be part of the late-inning mix, though Scott Barlow has seen the bulk of the closing duties on the rare occasions the Royals have a lead to protect.

Astros' José Abreu: Down to sixth in lineup. Abreu was moved down to sixth in the lineup, at least against righties and he went 1-for-4 in a 6-1 loss to the Phillies on Saturday. Abreu began the season hitting cleanup and was moved down to fifth in the lineup for the last four games against righties, and now he slips to his lowest spot since joining the Astros. The veteran first baseman is hitting .243 with a .276 OBP and zero home runs this season. He has hit one home run in his last 81 games. The replacement of Yuli Gurriel with Abreu for this season has always been controversial and Abreu's performance so far shows that.

Yordan Álvarez returned to the Astros' lineup for Saturday's contest against the Phillies.

It's a significant development for the Astros that Álvarez was feeling well enough to get back into Houston's lineup at designated hitter on Saturday evening following a four-game absence due to neck discomfort. In the game, Álvarez went 2-for-3 with a walk adding his double #4 of the season in a 6-1 loss to the Phillies.

The White Sox confirmed that Luis Robert Jr. was pulled from Saturday's game against the Rays due to a managerial decision, and not due to injury. Oscar Colás went hitless.

It was Robert's lack of hustle on a dribbler to the left side of the mound that he would have easily beaten out for a single had he been running to first base that sparked the decision from manager Pedro Grifol. It's certainly not a good look for the 25-year-old outfielder to by lollygagging to first base when the team is in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. It's unclear if this was all the discipline that he'll get, or if he may sit out another game or two. Stay tuned. Robert's spot was filled by Oscar Colás who went 0-for-3 with 3 LOB in an ugly 12-3 loss to the Rays.

The Athletics confirmed that Aledmys Díaz was pulled from Saturday's affair against the Reds due to a left hamstring injury.

He'll head for further evaluation, which should determine the severity of the injury and how much time the versatile infielder may miss. Kevin Smith replaced him at shortstop on Saturday and could be in line for additional playing time if Díaz winds up landing on the injured list.