Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 21, 2022 Yordan Álvarez went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, powering the Astros to a 7-5 victory in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees. Álvarez showed zero signs of rust in his return to the Astros' lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader following a seven-game absence leading into the Midsummer Classic due to lingering right hand soreness. The 25-year-old slugger walloped a solo homer to left field -- his 27th round-tripper of the season -- off Yankees' starter Domingo Germán in the opening frame and also tacked on a two-run double in the ensuing frame. He's hitting .309/.408/.665 with 59 runs scored, 27 home runs and 63 RBI across 321 plate appearances this season. Aroldis Chapman struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless inning on Thursday against the Astros. Chapman was called upon to work the seventh inning with the Yankees trailing by five runs at the time. He fanned Yordan Álvarez and also coaxed a harmless ground ball from Alex Bregman before Kyle Tucker reached on catcher's interference to keep the frame going. He managed to whiff Jake Meyers to extinguish the potential threat. The 34-year-old left-hander has allowed four runs on two hits with an 8/6 K/BB ratio across six innings since returning from the injured list earlier this month. Rangers' Adolis García: Snaps drought. García went 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and a second run scored in Thursday's 8-0 win over the Marlins. García's fifth-inning blast was his first home run since June 25, a span of 19 games, and the multi-hit effort was his first in two weeks. The outfielder worked on his timing over the All-Star break, per Paige Leckie of MLB.com, and the results were immediate. "He seemed like he was in his legs a little more," Texas manager Chris Woodward said. "He knew that this was going to be a big break for him just to get off his feet, but also get back to work a little bit." Over the two-and-a-half weeks leading up to the break, García had slashed .125/.206/.179 with just two RBI in 14 games. Astros' Aledmys Díaz: Was benched for nightcap. Díaz was out of the lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Yankees. Díaz, who went 1-for-4 with a double in the Astros' 3-2 win in Game 1, will see his streak of three straight starts come to an end. Chas McCormick replaced Diaz in left field for the nightcap, and the two will likely have to battle for one spot in the lineup moving forward with the Astros bringing back designated hitter Yordan Álvarez (hand) from the injured list earlier Thursday. Astros' Yuli Gurriel: Sat down for Game 2. Gurriel is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. Gurriel started the matinee and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout during Houston's victory. J.J. Matijevic, who walked off New York in Game 1 with an RBI single, started at first base in the nightcap. Astros' Yordan Álvarez: Starting in second game of twin bill. Álvarez (hand) will serve as Houston's designated hitter and No. 3 batter in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Yankees, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported. Houston activated Álvarez from the 10-day injured list prior to Game 1, but he was withheld from the lineup for the early contest, as manager Dusty Baker understandably wasn't keen on having the team's top hitter play 18 innings in one day in his first game back from an injury. Álvarez still made a cameo off the bench as a pinch hitter in the Astros' 3-2 win in Game 1, walking in his lone plate appearance. As expected, he'll now re-enter the lineup for what will be his first start since July 9.

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Baseball on Tuesday said it is unable to let former and current major leaguers who defected from Cuba play for their nation in the World Baseball Classic. The Association of Cuban Professional Baseball Players was formed with the goal of gaining entry to the WBC, which will be played next March 8-21. The Baseball Federation of Cuba does not consider players who defected for its national team rosters. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB can't change the eligibility rules, which the national governing body sets. The tournament is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, baseball's international governing body. "There are rules that apply to international events like the WBC in order for them to be sanctioned," Manfred told the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday. "One of those rules is that the federation, the Cuban Baseball Federation, controls who's on their team."

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 17, 2022 Yoán Moncada homered and doubled versus the Twins on Sunday. Moncada went 9-for-20 in the series versus the Twins, raising his average to .213. That might not seem like much, but he spent much of June in the .130s and .140s. He's still not quite hitting for as much power as he's capable of, but he's been quite effective overall for a month now. Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer on Sunday in the Rays' win over the Orioles. Arozarena kicked off the scoring with a colossal two-run shot to straightaway center field -- his 12th long ball of the season -- against Orioles' starter Jordan Lyles in the opening frame. The 27-year-old five-category fantasy stalwart finishes the first half with a solid .254/.314/.431 triple-slash line to go along with 42 runs scored, 12 homers, 43 RBI and 19 stolen bases, which is just one shy of his previous career-high mark established last year. White Sox's Luis Robert: Was out of lineup Sunday. Robert (head) was not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Twins. As expected, Robert will miss Sunday's contest while dealing with lightheadedness. Adam Engel started in center field and batted ninth in the final game before the All-Star break. According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Robert has made no meaningful progress since Saturday, but the upcoming break could provide him with enough recovery time before the White Sox open their second-half schedule Friday versus the Guardians. Yasmani Grandal (back) went 0-for-2 with three walks on Sunday in a minor league rehab game for Triple-A Charlotte. Grandal has been out since mid-June due to back spasms and appears close to returning to the White Sox' lineup following the All-Star break. The 33-year-old on-base machine has played in six rehab games for Triple-A Charlotte over the last week. Yordan Álvarez hit Sunday for the first time since landing on the injured list. It seems Álvarez was ready to test his sore hand and began hitting for the first time since landing on the 10-day injured list. He'll likely be re-evaluated over the All-Star break. Álvarez's inflamed right hand will prevent him from partaking in All-Star festivities during the upcoming week, so rather than heading to Los Angeles for the Midsummer Classic, the 25-year-old slugger will remain in Houston to receive treatment. Baker said that he's hopeful to have Álvarez available for the Astros' doubleheader with the Yankees on Thursday to open the team's second-half slate, but Álvarez's availability for either contest will hinge on how his hand responds to hitting activities over the next few days. White Sox' José Abreu: Keeps hitting. Abreu is not stopping at the plate and on Sunday he went 2-for-5 with a run scored in a win 11-0 over the Twins. Abreu elevated his BA to .304 for the year and his slash line over the last 15 games is an amazing .390/.431/.576. Abreu ended the first half of the 2022 season slashing .304/.387/.470 with 105 hits including 11 HR, 24 2B and 46 RBI. He is in pace to another fantastic season with the White Sox uniform. Rays' Yandy Díaz: Day off Sunday. Díaz (forearm) was not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. Díaz was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Saturday's game, and although he was reported to be alright, but the Rays gave him a day off Sunday ahead of the All-Star break. Isaac Paredes took over at third base and batted fifth versus the Orioles. Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: Hitless on Sunday. Yadiel Hernández was back in the Nats lineup for Sunday's game against the Braves and the Cuban outfielder went 1-for-0 with a strikeout and a walk. Hernández was removed from the game in the sixth inning for pinch hitter Lane Thomas. Orioles' Cionel Pérez: Settles for hold. Pérez walked one and struck out one in two-thirds of an inning, earning a hold in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings win over the Rays. Pérez was brought in to protect a two-run lead in the 11th inning, but he put a man aboard and faced only the minimum three batters. Joey Krehbiel then got the final out to secure the save. With five holds and two runs allowed in eight appearances in July, Pérez continues to function in a setup role. He has a 1.45 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 28:12 K:BB across 31 innings overall while notching one save, 14 holds and a 4-1 record in 37 outings. As it stands, Pérez is the Orioles' top high-leverage lefty.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 17, 2022 Rays' Yandy Díaz: Day off Sunday. Díaz (forearm) is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. Diaz was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Saturday's game and although he was reported to be alright, it appears the Rays will give him a day off Sunday ahead of the All-Star break. Isaac Paredes will take over at third base and bat fifth versus the Orioles. Jul 16, 2022 Rays' Randy Arozarena: Homers, swipes bag Saturday Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk, and a stolen base in Saturday's loss to the Orioles. Dean Kremer threw an absolute hanger of a curveball to Arozarena in the bottom of the third and Arozarena sent it to left field for a solo home run. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .251 with 11 home runs and 19 stolen bases (19-for-27) over 335 at-bats. Yuli Gurriel went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Saturday's win over the Athletics. Gurriel crossed home plate on Martin Maldonado's grand slam after hitting a 101.5-mph two-out single to center field in the bottom of the second. Gurriel is batting .235 with seven home runs and three steals in 298 at-bats. White Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters on Saturday that Luis Robert (illness) is "still not feeling right" and will be re-evaluated on Monday. Robert will not play in either of the White Sox' final two contests before the All-Star break and will be re-examined early next week to determine his next steps. The dynamic 24-year-old outfielder was removed from Friday's contest due to lightheadedness and will get some extra time off to rest and recover. Hopefully, he's ready to return following next week's Midsummer Classic. Rays' Yandy Díaz: OK after hit-by-pitch. Díaz was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Saturday's game, but manager Kevin Cash said Díaz "should be OK," Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The sinker from Jorge López that hit Diaz was clocked at 98.2 mph, but apparently it caught him mostly on the meat of the left forearm. Cash intimated Díaz would have been lifted had the DH spot come back around Saturday, so it's worth keeping an eye out to see if Díaz plays in Sunday's first-half finale. Yoan López served as the Mets' 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader against the Cubs. López gave the Mets' bullpen some additional reinforcement heading into Saturday's twin bill against the Cubs at historic Wrigley Field. López earned his first win of the season after pitching 2 innings during the second game of the day. He allowed one unearned run on two hits, two walks a struck out two. The 29-year-old righty has allowed four runs - three earned - on 8 hits with a 8/4 K/BB ratio across 8 2/3 innings (five appearances) this season in the majors. José Iglesias (neck) was in the Rockies' starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates. Iglesias was removed from Friday's contest due to neck stiffness, but he felt well enough on Saturday afternoon to get back into Colorado's lineup. He went 1-for-4 in the game with two strikeouts batting seventh in the lineup. He'll benefit from some extra time off during next week's All-Star break to rest up and recover. Over his last six games, he's gone 8-for-23 with a homer, two doubles, 10 RBI and three runs. Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: Retreats to bench. Hernández wasn't in the lineup Saturday against Atlanta. Hernández rested after he went 1-for-7 with a run and three strikeouts over the last two games. Lane Thomas shifted to left field while Victor Robles started in center. MLB All-Star Futures Game: Jasson Domínguez crushed a two-run homer on Saturday, leading the American League to a 6-4 victory over the National League in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Domínguez atoned for an untimely error in center field earlier in the contest by clobbering a gargantuan 415-foot blast to left-center field off Giants' left-hander Kyle Harrison in the third inning. The 19-year-old outfielder, who has launched nine homers and also swiped 19 bases in 75 games this season for Single-A Tampa, has the potential to blossom into a legitimate five-category fantasy superstar in a few years. In the game, Cuba was represented by three players: outfielder Oscar Colás (White Sox-American League), right-hander pitcher Yosver Zulueta (Jays-AL), and second baseman Miguel Vargas (Dodgers-National League). Vargas was the only one of them starting the game and batting fifth in the lineup. He went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored. Colás came in as a pinch hitter and stayed in the game at center field. He went 1-for-2. Zulueta was the third reliever in the game for the American League getting one out with only one pitch to earn the win.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 15, 2022 White Sox's José Abreu: Hot stretch continues. Abreu went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Twins and on Friday went 1-for-3 with a walk. Abreu has been excellent across his last 25 games, as he's tallied at least one hit on 23 occasions and multiple hits 14 times. In that span, he's maintained a .403 batting average with two home runs, 13 RBI and 16 runs scored. As a result of the hot stretch, Abreu has maintained a 146 wrC+ and .373 wOBA across 386 plate appearances for the season. Luis Robert was removed from Friday's contest against the Twins in the second inning after feeling light-headed. He's considered day-to-day. That's about as good of news as you can get regarding the superstar outfielder's status, thankfully he isn't dealing with an injury. He should be able to return to the lineup on Saturday or Sunday. Rangers' Adolis García: Hitless against the Mariners on Friday. Adolis went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Friday's 8-3 loss to the Mariners. The Cuban outfielder is in a long slump that has seen him with a slash line of .145/.217/.242 in his last 15 games including 23 strikeouts and only 4 RBI. José Iglesias was pulled from Friday's battle against the Pirates due to stiffness in his neck. Iglesias had been 0-for-2 prior to exiting in the fifth inning. The 32-year-old shortstop is considered day-to-day. On the season, he's hitting a terrific .302/.342/.407, though that has come with only three homers, 33 RBI and a pair of stolen bases in 75 games. Jorge Soler went 0-for-3 with a walk on Friday in his return to the Marlins' lineup. Solver returned to the Marlins' lineup on Friday against the Phillies after missing nearly a month due to bilateral pelvic inflammation. The 30-year-old power-hitter should be a full-go coming out of next week's All-Star break. Jay's Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: One hit on Friday. In a 8-1 victory against the Royals on Friday, Gurriel went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Gurriel is now hitting .386 in his last 15 games, and is slashing .303/.353/.431 for the year with 5 HR and 36 RBI. Ray's Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena: Hitless against the Orioles. Díaz and Arozarena went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts and a walk combined, on Friday's 5-4 victory against the Orioles. Díaz was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout while Arozarena did not look good facing Orioles pitchers going 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. Díaz BA is now bordering the .300 with a .299 mark while Arozarena is hitting just .248 for the year. Yankees' Aroldis Chapman: Allowed a run on Friday. Aroldis Chapman pitched the seventh inning in the Yankees 5-4 loss to the Red Sox in extra-innings Friday night. The Cuban reliever allowed a solo homer to give the Sox a 4-3 lead, but also struck out two batters with no walks. After the homer, Chapman retired the next three hitters he faced, and ended the inning with four of his seven pitches against Rob Refsnyder over 100 mph, simply a good sign. Yuli Gurriel was not in the Astros starting lineup for Friday night's matchup against the Athletics. It was just a day of rest for the 38-year-old first baseman. J.J. Matijevic started in his place and batted seventh against left-hander Cole Irvin on Friday evening in Houston.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 14, 2022 Rays' Randy Arozarena: Steps out of lineup. Arozarena is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Arozarena will take a seat for the first time since July 1, and he had a .239/.340/.522 slash line with three home runs and seven RBI during that 12-start stretch. Luke Raley, Brett Phillips and Josh Lowe will start from left to right in the outfield in Thursday's series finale. Jul 13, 2022 José Iglesias went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and six total RBI in Wednesday's 10-6 win over the Padres. Iglesias started out his monster RBI night in innocuous fashion, driving in a run on a groundout in the fifth inning. And things just rolled from there, as the veteran infielder followed with a three-run home run in the sixth inning and a two-run single in the seventh inning. Making this big performance all the more of a surprise, Iglesias had not driven in more than two runs in 72 games this season prior to going supernova against the Padres. While this kind of production is not the norm for Iglesias, he is holding his own in 2022, hitting a solid .301/.340/.405 with three homers, 31 RBI and two steals across 269 at-bats. Aroldis Chapman threw a hitless eighth inning Wednesday against the Reds. Chapman walked a batter, but he came back afterwards with a pickoff. Chapman showed improved velocity tonight, averaging 99.5 mph with his fastball and 88.1 mph with his slider. If the Yankees grow more confident with him, they might eventually resume giving him save chances, allowing them more flexibility in how they deploy Clay Holmes. It's probably not going to happen yet, though. Yuli Gurriel went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a walk in Wednesday's loss to the Angels. Gurriel came through with an RBI single against Shohei Ohtani in the fourth inning to get the Astros on the board. His crew would not score again in the loss. Overall this season, Gurriel is hitting .230/.283/.385 with seven homers and 26 RBI in 80 games. The veteran first baseman holds no fantasy upside. Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: Did not start nightcap. Hernández didn't start the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Mariners. Hernández started in the first game of the twin bill and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Orioles' Cionel Pérez: Continues successful campaign. Pérez threw a scoreless inning in a 7-1 Orioles win over the Cubs. The Cuban left-handed pitcher is 4-1 this year with a 0.90 ERA in 35 games, and 27:11 K:BB ratio with 1.17 WHIP in 30 inning. In his last seven games he has a 0.00 ERA and a ridiculous 0.14 WHIP. he may be a good trading option for the Orioles in the next coming weeks. Luis Robert went 3-for-4 with a double versus the Guardians on Wednesday. In a game without a lot of offense, Robert had the three highest exit velocities tonight, hitting the ball 112, 109 and 103 mph for his three knocks (he struck out in his other at-bat). He also had three hits in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader, and he's had multiple hits in six of his last 11 games. White Sox' José Abreu: Continues his steady production. Jose Abreu went 2-for-4 with an RBI in White Sox 2-1 over the Guardians. Abreu has hit safely in 18 of the last 19 games. He is slashing .417/.444/.600 with two HR and eight RBI in the last 15 games. After a low start of the season, Abreu batted .346 in the month of June and is batting .375 in July. Padres' Adrian Morejón: Yields run in return. Morejón (shoulder) gave up a run on two hits and struck out one in one inning during Wednesday's 10-6 loss to the Rockies. Morejón missed about three weeks with shoulder inflammation. The 23-year-old southpaw has allowed at least one run in three of his four appearances this season, though he's also picked up one win. He's added a 2:1 K:BB with a 4.76 ERA and 1.06 WHIP through 5.2 innings. Morejón is expected to fill a middle-relief role going forward, and his background as a starter could allow him to cover multiple innings. Angels' Raisel Iglesias: Velocity down again in loss. Iglesias (2-6) took the loss against Houston on Tuesday, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one over one inning. His velocity has been down recently, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports. This was the third straight outing in which Iglesias has given up at least one run, and he is 0-2 with a blown save and a 2:3 K:BB across 2.2 innings over that span. Manager Phil Nevin acknowledged that Iglesias' recent velocity drop is "a little bit of a concern," though Nevin also noted that Iglesias will remain the closer, per Blum.

By Yirsandy Rodríguez The Cuban pitching responded again. The offensive slump of the Cuban team has been so disappointing that it has practically left no room to give credit to the positive work of the pitching staff during this 30th Haarlem Baseball Week. For Cuba, except for César García, all the starters averaged at least 54 Game Score points and have total control of the game. However, the poor offensive contribution of the Alazanes de Granma ruled out any credit to the pitching staff. During five consecutive losses, Cuba was able to score in just two of their 35 offensive innings, with four runs and a string of 25 consecutive scoreless innings. With right-hander Yuén Socarrás taking the mound at Pim Mulier Stadium, the Alazanes lineup achieved, at least, one offensive flash in the game against Italy today. After going scoreless in the first third of today's game for the fifth place in the tournament, Cuba broke the streak of consecutive scoreless innings with a decisive three-run rally to secure a 5-1 victory this Thursday*. Box score *In the previous five games during the Qualifying Round, Cuba had scored only four runs: today in just five innings, the team exceeded all the offensive production of the previous 25 innings they played during the scoreless innings streak. In the top of the fourth inning Alexander Ayala's third double of the tournament —the rest of the lineup registered only one—, a walk to Frederich Cepeda, and an RBI single by Guillermo Avilés, opened the score 1-0 against Italian right-hander Christian Paul Scafidi. With Cepeda on third, Scafidi threw a wild pitch that gave Cuba the second run of the inning. Minutes later Dennis Laza grounded out to second moving Avilés to third, and with two outs, Carlos Benítez - in a 1-for-12 mini-slump including four strikeouts and the use of an illegal bat yesterday - singled to centerfield off Scafidi to make it 3-0. It was just what Cuban starter Yuén Socarrás needed. Socarrás, after allowing a single by Alberto Mineo to open the bottom of the fourth inning, struck out two of the following three batters, putting another zero in the score and keeping the 3-0 Cuba lead over the Italian team, led by legendary former Major League catcher Mike Piazza. In the top of the fifth, against reliever Diego Gergolet, the Cuban bats responded again. Ayala walked, Cepeda singled, and then the next two batters, Guillermo Avilés and Dennis Laza were responsible for producing two more runs with back-to-back singles to extend the lead to 5-0. While the core of the lineup was responsible for all runs in the game, the bottom part of the Cuban lineup, featured Benítez, catcher Iván Prieto and right-fielder Alexquemer Sánchez, went 2-for-9 in the game and overall 4-for-42 (.095) in the tournament, including 13 strikeouts. Alexquemer finished the tournament 0-for-13 and, along with Prieto, were responsible for leaving runners in scoring position, failing to drive in any runs after seeing a total of 96 pitches. Cuba's offensive game was pathetic throughout the tournament. Including today's game, the Alazanes ended up showing a low slash line of .220/.273/.247. In addition, they received 30 strikeouts — 25 of them without any contact —, walked just nine times, and no player was able to steal a base or carry the ball out of the park. Unlike the disappointing offensive performance in a tournament where, in general, batting was not outstanding, it is worth giving credit to the Cuban pitchers. In 40 innings they posted an excellent 2.70 ERA, with just four extra-base hits allowed, a .238 OBA, and a .313 OBP. What was the main deficiency? Yes, as always with Cuban pitchers nowadays: lack of control. In 40 innings, the Cuban staff walked 19 batters. Even so, the percentage of strikes was acceptable (63%), and only 23.6% of the walks were starting innings. However, there was another result that continues to illustrate one of the main deficiencies of Cuban pitchers today: they registered only 8.0% of swing failures with their pitches, demonstrating that there is still a lot of room to improve to face a different level of opposition at international levels. Today, Yuén Socarrás deserves all credit for his excellent work, after another disappointing performance in international events by Cuba. Socarrás' work prevented Cuba from total collapse to the bottom of the standings in this edition of the Haarlem Baseball Week. After supporting an unearned run in the fifth inning - due to Carlos Benítez's error when he lost a fly ball that allowed Ricardo Paolini to get on base and an RBI single by Cuban imported Noel González -, Socarrás recovered and was able to retire the next five batters he faced. In the seventh, just two outs away from completing the game, the right-hander from Sancti Spiritus walked the ninth batter, Andrea Sellaroli, and Paolini singled to put two runners on. With already 126 pitches - 80 of them strikes -, 8 strikeouts and 3 walks, Cuba manager Carlos Martí congratulated his starter and called right-hander closer Carlos Santana, who needed only three pitches to force a 64-double play to end the game. After five consecutive losses, Cuba finally was able to win again, although the streak of 10 consecutive losses in the Qualifying Rounds at the Haarlem Baseball Week, is still alive. Yes, it hurts to say it, but let's face it: the Cuban baseball debacle continues. Daily Results (Jul 14, 2022): Cub 5, Ita 1 | Box | Play-by-Play (5th Place) Thursday's Games (Jul 14, 2022): 9:30 am (*) | USA vs. Curacao (Semifinals 1) 1:30 pm (*) | Netherlands vs. Japan (Semifinals 2) (*) Havana and US Eastern Time. Final Standings: - - - - Cuba 1-5 Italy 2-4

It was the 10th consecutive loss for Cuba in the Qualifying Rounds of the Haarlem Baseball Week dating back to the 2018 edition of the tournament. Team Italy shut out Cuba 2-0 at Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. It is the 2nd win over Cuba ever National Baseball Hall of Famer and Team Italy manager Mike Piazza knew it was a must-win game against Cuba on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 in order for the Azzurri elite squad to keep alive the hope of advancing to the Haarlem Baseball Week semifinals. Cuba starting pitcher César García gave up a leadoff hitter to Ricardo Paolini, who was thrown out at third base on a fielder's choice by Noel González to stomp out any scoring opportunity for Team Italy in the top of the first inning. Team Italy starter Gabriele Quattrini held Cuba scoreless for six innings and allowed just four hits with three strikeouts and two walks before handing the ball off in the seventh inning to reliever Mattia Aldegheri, who earned the save. Team Italy took a 1-0 lead In the top of the second inning. Back-to-back singles by Dario Pizzano and Alberto Mineo was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Erick Epifano to advance the runners into scoring position. A fielder's choice by Mattia Mercuri allowed Dario Pizzano to cross the plate. In the top of the third inning, the Team Italy offense was limited to a Vito Frescia single. An RBI single by Noel González off Cuban lefty sidearm reliever Paradelo Aguilar in the top of the fifth inning put Team Italy on top 2-0. Both teams went to bullpen in the seventh inning. Cuba called on reliever Carlos Santana, who pitched an easy 1-2-3 out inning. Team Italy brought in Mattia Aldegheri to pick up the save and secure the 2-0 shutout. It was the 10th consecutive loss for Cuba in the Qualifying Rounds of the Haarlem Baseball Week dating back to the 2018 edition of the tournament. The shutout extended to 25 the consecutive scoreless innings for the Cuban team in the tournament. The Italians will have the chance to return to compete in the semifinals on Thursday, July 14, 2022 if USA defeats Curaçao in Day 6 second game. The two winners of the semifinal contests will go head-to-head in the Haarlem Baseball Week Championship on Friday, July 15, 2022 at 7 pm (local time). The two losers will play in the Bronze Medal Game earlier in the day at 2 pm (local time). (*) Update: Curacao defeated Team USA 3-2 and Italy was eliminated from medal contention having to play, once again, Cuba for the fifth place of the tournament, tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:00 pm (Local time/6:00 am Havana and US Time) Daily Results (Jul 13, 2022): Ita 2, Cub 0 | Box | Play-by-Play USA 2, Cur 3 | Box | Play-by-Play Ned 0, Jap 5 | Box | Play-by-Play Thursday's Games (Jul 14, 2022): 6:00 am (*) | Cuba vs. Italy (5to Lugar) 9:30 am (*) | Netherlands vs. Japan (Semifinals 1) 1:30 pm (*) | USA vs. Curacao (Semifinals 2) (*) Havana Time and US ET. Final Standings (Qualifying Round):

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 12, 2022 Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Perfect night at the plate Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored Tuesday as the Blue Jays defeated the Phillies. Gurriel had a couple infield singles and also two doubles, one of which plated what turned out to be the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The outfielder entered June with just a .655 OPS, but that number now sits at .796 following a torrid 35-game stretch. Gurriel is known as a streaky hitter, but when he gets hot, he gets very hot. After slashing a measly .189/.277/.257 over the entire month of May, he followed up with a .355/.394/.505 slash line in June. His scorching hot bat has continued to drive the baseball in July, and the 28-year-old outfielder has now lifted his average to .305 on the season. Gurriel has 35 runs in 2022 and is on pace to surpass his career-high of 62 from last year. Luis Robert went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians. Robert came up to bat with a four-run lead in the top of the ninth and hit a 322-foot three-run home run off of the right-field foul pole -- his 11th home run of 2022. Robert has three home runs over his last seven games. The 24-year-old continues to swing a hot bat, and the multi-hit performance was Robert's fifth in his last 10 games -- a stretch during which he's batting .317 (13-for-41). The surge has boosted Robert's slash line on the season to .290/.323/.438 with 11 homers, 11 steals, 45 runs and 49 RBI through 71 contests. White Sox's Yoan Moncada: Did not play Game 2 on Tuesday. Moncada didn't start Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader versus Cleveland. The struggling infielder went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts against Shane Bieber in the afternoon loss. Josh Harrison will start at third base Tuesday evening. José Abreu went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians. Tim Anderson drew a walk to leadoff the game and Abreu drove him in on his 103.4-mph, 404-foot home run to center field in the top of the first. The veteran is 43-for-113 (.381) with 15 extra-base hits since June 13th. Astros' Aledmys Díaz: On base four times in win. Díaz went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and two walks in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Angels. Díaz hit a two-run home run in the first inning to open the scoring and extend his hitting streak to seven games. In that span, he's gone 11-for-28 (.393) with three of his six homers this season. The versatile 31-year-old is seeing steady playing time in left field, and he's ran with it. He's up to a .241/.295/.382 slash line with 20 RBI, 19 runs scored and a stolen base through 183 plate appearances this year. White Sox's Oscar Colás: Bumped up to Double-A. The White Sox promoted Colás from High-A Winston-Salem to Double-A Birmingham on Tuesday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. Colás will get a few games under his belt at Double-A prior to the All-Star break before likely spending most of the second half of the minor-league season in Birmingham. The 23-year-old outfielder from Cuba, who signed a $2.7 million deal with the White Sox in January, hit .311 with 23 extra-base hits in 268 plate appearances for Winston-Salem. Cardinals' Johan Oviedo: Picks up second win. Oviedo (2-1) allowed a run on two hits and a walk with a strikeout in 1.1 innings, earning the win Tuesday over the Dodgers. Oviedo followed opener Jordan Hicks in this contest. Through five innings in July, Oviedo has yielded two runs, six hits and a walk with six strikeouts. The right-hander owns a 3.32 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 21:6 K:BB in 21.2 innings overall, though he's likely to remain in a multi-inning relief role. He's yet to record a save or a hold in 11 appearances. Raisel Iglesias was saddled with the loss in Tuesday's matchup against the Astros, surrendering one run on two hits over an inning pitched. Iglesias entered for the top of the ninth with the two squads locked in a 5-5 tie. He almost immediately got himself into trouble, issuing a walk to Jose Altuve and allowing a single to Aledmys Díaz. The Astros would pounce on this opportunity via a go-ahead RBI double off the bat of Kyle Tucker. While Iglesias was not stuck with a blown save in this one, he did take the end loss, dropping his record to 2-6 in the process. While Iglesias is still a decent 15-of-18 in save chances this season, he has now allowed at least one run in three straight appearances. Astros' Pedro León: Racks up 10 steals in 12 games. León has hit .324/.519/.568 with two homers, 10 steals and an 11:9 BB:K over his last 12 games for Triple-A Sugar Land. Despite showing some pop and speed throughout the year, León had been struggling to hit for average due to a high strikeout rate -- he went down on strikes at a 30.4 percent clip over his first 61 games while batting just .218. However, ever since going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in consecutive games June 25-26, León has been an entirely different hitter across these last dozen contests, posting just a single multi-strikeout effort while drawing walks at a startlingly strong pace and running wild on the basepaths. White Sox's Yasmani Grandal: Moving rehab to Triple-A on Tuesday. Grandal (back) will shift his rehab assignment to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. Grandal will move one step closer to returning from the 10-day injured list as he joins Charlotte for the conclusion of his rehab assignment. The 33-year-old has been out since early June and is expected to return to the big leagues following the All-Star break. Ariel Miranda was released by the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization. Miranda was the MVP of the KBO last year after registering a 2.33 ERA and sensational 225/63 K/BB ratio with the Bears. He just couldn't stay on the field in 2022 because of shoulder troubles, and Doosan gave the left-hander his walking papers to sign Brandon Waddell as his replacement. Miranda could -- and should -- see interest in a variety of leagues this winter.

Right-hander Jordan Lucas threw a 1-0 shutout against Cuba, to eliminate the once international powerhouse from medal contention at the 30th edition of the Haarlem Baseball Week. Unlike the American duo of Tanner Hall and Teddy McGraw, who pummeled Cuba with 11 strikeouts in Monday's 2-0 shutout, Lucas used breaking balls and changeups to dominate the entire Cuban lineup. Lucas put out five of the seven leadoff hitters, and the contrast between his fastball (81-85 mph) and his changeup (65-68 mph) was key to eliminate Cuban hitters, allowing only four singles in the seven inning contest. 42-year old Frederich Cepeda went 2-for-3 in the game, and confirmed himself as the most consistent hitters in the team. The rest of the players went 2-for-20 and surprisingly manager Carlos Martí did not make any movements during the game. Granma's 43-year-old veteran left-hander, Leandro Martínez, who started the game, was charged with the loss after completing seven innings of only six hits but did not receive any offensive support. Leandro allowed only one run during his 93 pitches outing. It was in the top of the second inning, when Johannes Jr. Gregori doubled and Rayshelon Carolina led off the scoring with a single to rightfield with already two outs. Both hits came on two strikes, and Carolina's RBI was the Curaçao lineup's only hit with runners on base against Leandro. The team went 1-for-7 with RISP in the game After averaging .174 (4-for-24) against right-handed Jordan Lucas, the Cuban team's BA dropped to .194 (19-98) in the tournament, that also includes a poor .240 OBP and a .224 slugging. The team has only produced three extra-bases - three doubles - two of them by shortstop Alexander Ayala. It is clear that batting average doesn't always define a team's productivity, however, in this case, the team' slump clearly demonstrates the lack of preparation and the terrible state in which most hitters are. The core of the lineup: Alexander Ayala, Frederich Cepeda and Dennis Laza, have 11-for-33 (.333) combined but with just one RBI and eight strikeouts. What about the rest of the lineup? They're hitting .123 (8-for-65) with 18 strikeouts—15 of them with a no-contact swing— and just two walks. Yes, but that is not the worst part of the terrible slump of the Cuban team in the tournament. Cuba has scored runs in just two of the 28 innings they have played during this Haarlem Baseball Week. The bottom of the lineup: Carlos Benítez, Iván Prieto and Alexquemer Sánchez, batting seventh, eighth and ninth, are 2-for-29 with 10 strikeouts and 17 runners left on base. Playing like this is impossible to win baseball games. What is most disconcerting is that this has not been Cuba's only losing streak in Haarlem. In fact, after the four setbacks in this tournament, the Cuban teams have seen their streak extended to nine losses, since their previous presentation in the tournament in 2018, when Cuba finished the Opening Round with a 0-5 record: 1. July 14, 2018: 5-4 against Germany 2. July 15, 2018: 7-1 against Japan 3. July 16, 2018: 7-3 against Italy 4. July 17, 2018: 6-4 against Netherlands 5. July 19, 2018: 12x2 against China Taipei Trying to stop that losing streak Cuba will close out the pool play portion of Haarlem Baseball Week at 12:00 p.m. local/6:00 a.m. (Havana and US Eastern Time) on Wednesday when it takes on Italy at Pim Mulier Stadium. Daily Results (Jul 12, 2022): Jap 9, Ita 0 | Box | Play-by-Play Cur 1, Cub 0 | Box | Play-by-Play Neth 0, USA 10 (6 Inn) | Box | Play-by-Play Wednesday's Games (Jul 13, 2022): 6:00 am (ET) | Italy vs. Cuba 9:30 am (ET) | USA vs. Curacao 1:30 pm (ET) | Netherlands vs. Japan Standings:

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 11, 2022 Yandy Díaz was perfect on Monday. Yandy Díaz went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBI as the Rays topped the Red Sox 10-5 on Monday. It's the first three-RBI game of the year for Díaz and just the seventh of his career, as he's never had nearly as much luck plating runners as he has had getting on base himself. Díaz has 10 multi-hit performances in his last 15 games, slashing an absurd .500/.569/.704 over that stretch with 11 doubles, eight RBI and 11 runs with a 9:4 BB:K. The 30-year-old has a terrific .307/.418/.409 line this season. Yoán Moncada hit a three-run homer Monday in the loss to the Guardians. The homer off Cal Quantrill was Moncada's first in 13 games since coming off the IL and fourth in 42 games this season. Along with the 103-mph homer tonight, he had a 108-mph lineout to right, so maybe his bat is starting to come around. He's batting just .191/.236/.303 for the season. José Iglesias went 1-for-4 with an RBI on Monday in his return to the Rockies' lineup. Iglesias sliced an eighth-inning RBI double to right field off Padres' reliever Nabil Crismatt, jump-starting the Rockies' late rally on Monday evening, which came up just short in the final frame. The 32-year-old shortstop missed a pair of contests following a collision at home plate last Friday against the Diamondbacks, but should be good to go moving forward. With his single on Monday's game, Iglesias has now 1000 singles in the Majors and is just the 19th Cuban-born player to achieve that feat. Iglesias has collected 208 hits since leaving the Orioles for the 2021 campaign. Luis Robert is sitting out the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians. Robert has played in all but one game for the White Sox since returning from the COVID-19 injured list back on May 30. The 24-year-old outfielder, who has 10 homers and 11 steals in 70 games this season, should be back in there for Tuesday's nightcap affair. On Monday, Luis Robert went 0-for-4 with a strikeout leaving his BA in .283 this year. Jorge Soler (pelvis) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Pensacola on Tuesday. Placed on the injured list with a retroactive date of June 29, Soler has avoided setbacks. He took batting practice on Tuesday ahead of the rehab stint. Provided all goes according to plan, he should be activated immediately following the All-Star break and perhaps even as early as this weekend's series against the Phillies. White Sox's José Abreu: Two hits on Monday. Abreu went 2-for-4 with a strikeout and a run scored on Monday, in a 8-4 loss against the Guardians. His BA is now .295 for the year. Reds' Vladimir Gutiérrez: Tommy John surgery on tap. Gutiérrez (elbow) is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery later this month, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Gutiérrez, the Reds and the team's medical staff made the collective decision to have the right-hander go under the knife after he suffered a setback with his strained elbow during a live batting practice session Tuesday. Based on the timing of his upcoming surgery, Gutiérrez will miss the remainder of the 2022 campaign and likely the majority of the 2023 season while recovering from the procedure. He'll become the third Reds pitcher to require Tommy John in the last calendar year, joining Tejay Antone and Justin Wilson. Cardinals' Johan Oviedo: Moves past hand issue. Oviedo (hand) struck out two and worked around two hits over 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen Sunday in the Cardinals' 4-3 win over the Phillies. Oviedo had been pulled from his previous relief appearance July 4 against Atlanta after he was struck on his pitching hand by a comebacker, but a few days of rest was all he needed to heal up. With Sunday's scoreless outing, the 24-year-old lowered his ERA to 3.10 over 20.1 innings at the big-league level this season. Yankees' Aroldis Chapman: Struggles in loss Sunday. Chapman (0-3) took the loss against Boston on Sunday, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out two over one inning. Chapman came on in the sixth inning with the game tied 6-6, and he allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base on a single and two walks. The veteran reliever bounced back to retire the next three hitters -- including two by strikeout -- but a Jeter Downs sacrifice fly allowed the go-ahead run to cross the plate, and New York was unable to score again in the contest. Chapman has allowed three runs and has walked five batters over three innings since returning from the IL on July 1. It seems unlikely that he'll regain the closer role until he gets back on track.

HAARLEM, Netherlands – Tanner Hall (Southern Miss) and Teddy McGraw (Wake Forest) combined to throw a four-hit shutout as the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team slid past Cuba, 2-0, on Monday evening at Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands. Hall started and struck out seven batters in 4.0 scoreless innings to earn the win before handing the ball over to McGraw who was credited with the save after fanning four over the game’s final three frames. The U.S. managed just two hits in the seven-inning contest, but they were back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss) and Wyatt Langford (Florida). Enrique Bradfield (Vanderbilt) also played a big role in the win, stealing two bases and scoring the game-winning run. With the victory, Team USA improves to 2-1 at Honkbalweek Haarlem where it has yielded just one unearned run over the first three games. Cuba falls to 0-3 with the loss. KEY MOMENTS Team USA was the first to put a runner in scoring position, doing so in the bottom of the first when Enrique Bradfield (Vanderbilt) was hit by a pitch, quickly stole second, and moved to third on a fielder’s choice. He was left stranded there, however, after Cuban starting pitcher Juan Rodriguez struck out the next batter to end the frame. Bradfield reached again in the third when he bounced into a fielder’s choice for the second out, but he put his speed to use shortly after, stealing second for second time in three innings. After a walk to Dylan Crews (LSU), Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss) lined an RBI single to right and Wyatt Lanford (Florida) followed with a base hit back up the middle four pitches later to make it a 2-0 lead for the U.S. Cuba tried to mount a rally in the top of the fourth, using three singles to load the bases with just one out. Tanner Hall (Southern Miss) responded with two huge strikeouts to keep the U.S. lead intact. The Cubans took advantage of Team USA’s first error of Honkbalweek Haarlem to get a leadoff baserunner in the top of the sixth. Frederich Cepeda, a 25-year veteran of professional baseball, laced the next pitch through the left side and a balk moments later moved both runners into scoring position with just one out. This time it was Teddy McGraw’s (Wake Forest) turn to buckle down and he did just that, blowing fastballs by the next two batters to strike them both out and defuse the threat. Daily Results (Jul 11, 2022): Cur 3, Ita 5 | Box | Play-by-Play Cub 0, USA 2 | Box | Play-by-Play Tuesday's Games (Jul 12, 2022): 6:00 am (ET) | Japón vs. Italia 9:30 am (ET) | Curazao vs. Cuba 1:30 pm (ET) | Holanda vs. USA Standings: