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:

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 9, 2022 José Abreu went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Saturday in a lopsided victory over the Tigers. Abreu smacked a two-run double off of Garrett Hill in the second inning that extended the White Sox early lead to 6-0. He also singled off of Jason Foley in the seventh. With the two-hit attack the 35-year-old slugger extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Abreu is now slashing an outstanding .295/.379/.465 with 10 homers and 40 RBI on the season. In the same game, Luis Robert went 1-for-3 with his RBI #46, two runs scored and a walk, while Yoán Moncada was 1-for-3 with a walk. Yadiel Hernández went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday as the Nationals lost to the Braves. The 34-year-old outfielder hit a 413-foot solo home run towards right-center field to lead-off the top of the seventh. He has a solid .277 batting average with six home runs and two stolen bases over 220 at-bats. Astros's Yordan Álvarez, Yulie Gurriel and Aledmis Díaz: Three hits combined on Saturday. Álvarez, Gurriel and Díaz went 3-for-12 with three strikeouts on Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the A's. Yordan went hitless in 4 AB with two strikeouts, one day after been stripped on a well deserved spot in the All-Star starter team. The Astros player has been on a tear ever since the season began and has made a case for himself to be an AL MVP contender. Through 73 games this season, Álvarez recorded a .312 batting average, a 1.075 OPS, 26 home runs, and 59 RBI. Despite those numbers, the ever-popular Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels made the starting lineup. Ohtani slashed .258/.344/.490 while recording 18 home runs, and 53 RBI. In the other hand, Gurriel has been picking up his game and went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a strikeout. Gurriel is now slashing .333/.382/.549 during his last 15 games, improving his BA to .237. Aledmis was 1-for-4 with a run scored and his BA is .232 for the season. Jay's Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: Went 1-for-3 against the Mariners. Gurriel was 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts on Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Mariners. Gurriel is now slashing .300/.353/.430 with 5 HR and 35 RBI for the year, in part to his recent resurgence that has him with an amazing slash line of .391/.431/.557 during his last 30 games. Ranger's Adolis García: Hitless on Saturday. Adolis García went 0-for-5 in a 9-7 victory against the Twins on Saturday afternoon. The Cuban outfielder struck out three times, still dealing with a slump that has him slashing .143/.194/.250 in his last 7 games. Ray's Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena: No hits against the Reds on Saturday. Díaz and Arozarena went 0-for-6 with a three strikeout combined on Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Reds in extra-innings. Díaz wasn't in the starting lineup but was pinch-hitting late in the game and was 0-for-1. Arozarena had three strikeouts and left 9 runners on bases. José Iglesias (head) was absent from the Rockies' starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds. No surprise here after Iglesias exited Friday's matchup against the Diamondbacks with a possible concussion following a home-plate collision in the sixth inning. There should be an official update on his status at some point this weekend.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 8, 2022 Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Three hits, stolen base Friday. Gurriel went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 5-2 extra-innings loss to the Mariners. Gurriel provided an RBI single in the second inning and was on the back side of a double-steal fronted by Teoscar Hernández in the fifth. Gurriel also made a great throw to home plate in the bottom of the 10th to prevent the loss in that inning. Seattle tried to win it on J.P. Crawford's line drive single to left field and third base coach Manny Acta made the aggressive decision to send Abraham Toro from second, but Gurriel's throw was on target and Toro was easily tagged out. In his last 30 games, Gurriel has posted 15 multi-hit efforts. The extended surge has him up to a .299/.351/.431 slash line through 76 contests overall. He's a little less impressive in the counting stats with five home runs, 35 RBI, 34 runs scored and three stolen bases, though he's been a little unlucky in the power department with 21 doubles -- he had 28 doubles and 21 homers in 141 games last year. Yuli Gurriel went 3-for-5 with a double and one RBI against the A's on Friday. Gurriel had a good day at the plate after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. He knocked three hits, including a double in the sixth inning and an RBI base hit in the seventh. The 38-year-old first baseman is batting .233/.286/.396 with seven homers and three steals across 297 plate appearances. José Iglesias was removed from Friday's contest against the Diamondbacks with an apparent injury. Rockies manager Bud Black said afterwards that Iglesias was dizzy and being evaluated for a possible concussion after being hit in the head during a collision at home plate with Diamondbacks' catcher Josh Herrera in the sixth inning. There should be an update on his status this weekend. In the game Iglesias went 2-for-3 with a run scored lifting his BA to .297 for the year. Rangers' Adolis García: Snaps mini-slump. García went 3-for-4 with a triple in Friday's 6-5 win over the Twins. None of García's three hits had an impact for the Rangers -- not even his fourth triple of the season -- but they were meaningful for the outfielder who snapped an 0-for-12 skid and was 1-for-19 to start July. García is coming off a smoldering June, when he slashed .314/.348/.581 with seven home runs, five doubles, one triple, 18 RBI, six steals and 19 runs over 26 games. Luis Robert blasted at two-run homer on Friday night, but it wasn't enough to power the White Sox to victory over the Tigers. Abreu: Hitting streak is now 13. Robert got the White Sox on the board first with his mammoth 449-foot blast off of Tarik Skubal in the opening inning. He also singled in the ballgame, finishing the night 2-for-5. He's in the midst of a nice stretch at the plate, collecting multiple hits in four of his last six starts to maintain a .346 average while also collecting two home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored. On the season, he's now slashing .291/.321/.436 to go along with 10 long balls, 45 RBI and 11 stolen bases. In the same game, José Abreu extended his hitting streak to 13 games, going 2-for-5 with a run scored and two strikeouts. Abreu's batting average is now .292 for the season. Raisel Iglesias took his third blown save and his fifth loss after giving up three runs in the ninth Friday against the Orioles. Iglesias (2-5) allowed three runs on four hits and no walks while striking out one in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss in Friday's game against the Orioles. Iglesias was called upon to preserve a two-run lead Friday, and he retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, he allowed the next three batters to record hits and was ultimately charged with his first blown save since June 5. The right-handed served a one-game suspension Sunday against the Astros and has given up four runs in 1.2 innings over two appearances since returning to the field. Despite being staked to an early lead, Néstor Cortés lasted just 3 2/3 innings and gave up four runs Friday against the Red Sox. The Yankees scored nine runs in the first four innings, but after Cortés gave up two homers in the fourth, he was pulled before he could qualify for the win. Cortés has given up 17 runs and nine homers over 28 2/3 innings in his last six starts. He still has an excellent 2.74 ERA for the season, but at this point, it's iffy whether he deserves an All-Star nod. Yoán Moncada was absent from the White Sox starting lineup for Friday night's showdown against the Tigers. The slumping 27-year-old dealt with a bruised foot earlier in the week, but this appears to be just a regular day off. Moncada has struggled to a miserable .184/.228/.284 slash line with three homers, 17 RBI, zero stolen bases and a 42/6 K/BB ratio through 38 games on the season. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Major League Baseball Players Association presented an international draft proposal on Friday to Major League Baseball. Passan adds that there are significant differences between the two sides proposals to implement an international amateur draft. The two sides have until July 25 to reach and agreement and it certainly sounds like these negotiations are going to come down to the wire. If they are unable to reach a resolution, the current qualifying offer system for free agents will remain intact. Stay tuned. White Sox's Yasmani Grandal: Homers on rehab assignment. Grandal (back) went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run with two walks in a rehab appearance with Double-A Birmingham on Friday. Grandal was in the lineup for the second consecutive game with Birmingham, and he served as the designated hitter on each occasion. He's gone 3-for-6 with four walks in his two starts, but he is still expected to remain on his rehab assignment through the All-Star break.

The Netherlands also won the second game of the Haarlem Baseball Week. It remained tense against Cuba until the seventh and last inning. It was Roger Bernadina, who hit a homerun giving his team a must needed advantage. That allowed John Polonius and Jiandido Tromp to score. The game ended 5-1. Like Italy in the previous game, the Netherlands took the lead in the first inning. With a good hit by Sharon Schoop (Amsterdam Pirates), and Bernadina scored for the 1-0. Dennis Burgersdijk (HCAW) made his debut starting for the Dutch team. The Cubans tied the score in the second inning via a single by 42-year old Frederich Cepeda. It was Cuba only run in the game. After the fourth inning, starter Burgersdijk was taken off the mound and replaced by Mike Groen (Amsterdam Pirates). The score didn't change again until the sixth inning. Juremi Profar, who was already important on Friday evening, sent Wladimir Balentien to home plate: 2-1. Bernandina was named Player of the Game after hitting a 3-run homer in the seventh inning. Daily Results (Jul 9, 2022): USA 0, Japón 1 (8 Inn) | Box | Play-by-Play Netherlands 5, Cuba 1 | Box | Play-By-Play Sunday's Games (Jul 10, 2022): 6:00 am (ET) | Italy vs. USA 9:30 am (ET) | Curacao vs. Netherlands 1:30 pm (ET) | Cuba vs. Japan Standings:

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 7, 2022 Yordan Álvarez homered in a victory on Thursday over the Royals. Álvarez now is up to 26 homers on the season with a solo shot off Kris Bubic. The slugger has also hit .312 with a whopping .655 slugging mark, and if not for some other impressive performances in the American League, might be the favorite for the AL MVP. As long as he can stay on the field, Álvarez is going to be among the best hitters in the sport. Yasmani Grandal (back) went 1-for-3 with an RBI on Thursday in his minor league rehab assignment debut for Double-A Birmingham. Of course, Grandal also walked twice in the contest. The 33-year-old on-base machine is working his way back from lower back spasms that sent him to the injured list back in mid-June. The defensive wizard isn't expected to rejoin the White Sox' lineup as their primary catcher until after the All-Star break later this month. White Sox's José Abreu and Luis Robert: One hit each on Thursday. Abreu and Luis Robert went 2-for-8 combined in a 2-1 loss to the Tigers on Thursday night. Abreu struck out twice while Luis Robert added his double #11 of the year and RBI #43. With his only single, Abreu extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Jay's Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: Embarrassed moment in left field. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. helped Dylan Moore homered in an 8-3 loss to the Mariners on Thursday night. Moore hit a deep fly to the warning track in the second inning. Gurriel tracked it down, but as he made a running leap on the track, the ball went into his glove and immediately popped out and over the wall. It was an embarrassing moment for the Cuban outfielder that went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the game. Gurriel's BA is now .294 for the season. Yoán Moncada (foot) was back in the lineup Thursday against the Tigers. Moncada was diagnosed with a bruised foot after leaving Wednesday's game, but X-rays returned negative and he felt well enough to play in the series opener against the Tigers. In the game, Moncada went 0-for-3 and now his BA is .184. Nat's Yadiel Hernández: Hitless against the Phillies. Yadiel went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk on Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Phillies. Yadiel batted fifth, behind veteran Nelson Cruz, and played left field. The 34-old year Cuban outfielder is having a decent season slashing .272/.317/.414 with 5 HR and 32 RBI. Rockies' José Iglesias: Two more singles. Iglesias went 2-for-4 with a run scored on Thursday's 4-3 win over the D-backs. Iglesias' slash line is .292/.335/.383 this year with 2 HR and 23 RBI. The flashy shortstop also continues with his big-time defense, an example was last Wednesday when he completed this insane catch against the Dodgers. Orioles' Cionel Pérez: Another scoreless inning. Cionel Pérez threw another scoreless inning against the Angels in a 4-1 win for the Orioles. Pérez struck out two hitters and threw only 9 pitches, 8 of them for strikes. For many Cionel shows some tantalizing stuff with a fastball velocity ranked in the 89th percentile among MLB pitchers this year, something that you don't normally see out of a 5'11" LHP. Astros' Yuli Gurriel: Sat again Thursday. Aledmis Díaz: RBI #18. Gurriel was out of the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Royals, likely due to an undisclosed injury. Gurriel was on the bench for a second straight contest, and though the Astros haven't provided an explanation behind the back-to-back absences, the 38-year-old is presumably dealing with a physical concern. J.J. Matijevic got the start at first base in Gurriel's stead and batted sixth in the series finale. Late in the game Gurriel pinch hit and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout. In the same game Aledmis Díaz, who played left field, went 1-for-5 with his 4th double of the season and his RBI #18.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 7, 2022 Yuli Gurriel is sitting out a second straight game on Thursday. Houston has been cagey about injury updates all year, so we're left to guess what might be going with Gurriel. J.J. Matijevic is playing first base and hitting sixth Thursday versus the Royals and lefty Kris Bubic. Jul 6, 2022 Yadiel Hernández went 3-for-4 with an RBI double on Wednesday's win over the Phillies. Yadiel went 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 victory over the Phillies. Hernández ripped an RBI double off Aaron Nola in the top of the fourth frame, scoring Juan Soto and giving the Nationals a 1-0 lead. He later singled and scored in the seventh inning and added another double in the ninth frame. The outfielder has now gone 4-for-7 in the first two games of the series against the Phillies after he went hitless in the team's prior series versus the Marlins. Hernández has produced a .341 average with a homer, six doubles, eight RBI and four runs over his last 14 games. The 34-year-old has a .276/.319/.419 slash with five home runs and two stolen bases across 226 plate appearances. Aledmys Díaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Royals. The Astros trailed 5-1 after three innings, but they would plate two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to get back into it, after which Díaz blasted a solo homer off Brad Keller in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-4. Houston's comeback dreams would end there, though. In 150 at-bats this season, Díaz is slashing .227/.275/.347 with five homers and 17 RBI. Randy Arozarena went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI in Wednesday's win over the Red Sox. Arozarena lined a 106.5-mph two-run double towards the left-center field gap in the top of the third. Then in the top of the ninth, his 105.5-mph solo home run pushed the Rays' lead to six runs. He's 8-for-25 (.320) with two home runs and a steal through 25 July at-bats. White Sox's Luis Robert: Slugs ninth homer. Robert went 2-for-4 with a walk, a two-run home run and two runs scored Wednesday against the Twins. Robert took Emilio Pagán yard in the fifth inning to record his ninth homer of the season. Robert has three multi-hit performances in his last four starts, during which he's tallied four RBI and five runs scored. While his power production has been a bit disappointing, Robert has still delivered 11 stolen bases, 40 runs scored, and 42 RBI across 65 games this season. Yandy Díaz went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two walks in Wednesday's win over the Phillies. Díaz scored after lining a 109.3-mph double to left field in the top of the first, walked in the top of the third, walked again in the top of the sixth, and hit a 96.8-mph single to center field in the top of the eighth. Díaz has eight multi-hit games during his 11-game hitting streak. Yoán Moncada has been diagnosed with a bruised foot after being removed from Wednesday's win over the Twins. Moncada initially stayed in the game after fouling a ball off his foot in the fourth inning but eventually departed and underwent X-rays. Mercifully for the oft-injured 27-year-old, they were negative. Moncada will probably miss Thursday's series opener against the Tigers, but he should be back on the field at some point this weekend. Since being activated from the 10-day injured list a week ago, Moncada has started in each of the White Sox's subsequent seven games, going 6-for-29 (.207 average) with two doubles, five RBI, one run and a 0:11 BB:K. Yankees' Aroldis Chapman: Another clean inning. Chapman had another relief on Wednesday's 16-0 win over the Pirates. Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout, using 10 pitches, seven of them for strikes. Chapman lowered his ERA from 4.80 to 4.50. Adolis García was not in the Rangers starting lineup for Wednesday's showdown against the Orioles. The 29-year-old outfielder got a breather with Kole Calhoun, Brad Miller and Leody Tavares manning the outfield against Spenser Watkins and the Orioles. García has had a very productive season from a fantasy perspective, slashing .246/.287/.466 with 15 homers, 51 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Astros' Yuli Gurriel: On bench Wednesday. Gurriel didn't start Wednesday's game against the Royals. Gurriel logged hits in four of the last five matchups and went 4-for-17 with a homer, a double, four runs, and three RBI during that time. Aledmys Díaz started at first base and batted sixth Wednesday. Reds' Vladimir Gutiérrez: Headed to 60-day IL. Reds manager David Bell said Gutiérrez (elbow) suffered a setback during the final pitch of his live batting practice session Tuesday and will be transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. The transaction will open up a spot on the 40-man roster, which the Reds will likely use when they presumably call up another pitcher from the minors for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Pirates. As a result of the move, Gutiérrez won't be eligible for activation until the first week of August, though it's unclear if he'll be ready to go by then.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 5, 2022 Aledmys Díaz went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's win over the Royals. In the bottom of the seventh, Díaz connected on a first-pitch fastball from Jackson Kowar and hit a 104.6-mph two-run home run towards the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park. Díaz is slashing .226/.276/.329 with four home runs across 156 plate appearances. Yandy Díaz went 3-for-4 with an RBI single, a run scored, and a walk in Tuesday's win over the Red Sox. In the Rays' four-run top of the sixth, Rene Pinto scored on Díaz's 98.5-mph single. He also led off the top of the first with a 95.6-mph double, and sent a 102.4-mph double to left field in the top of the second. Díaz extended his hit streak to 10 games with the performance. Aroldis Chapman: Effective in second outing. Aroldis Chapman was a different pitcher on Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Pirates. During his second outing after rejoining the Yankees, Chapman pitched a scoreless inning using only 11 pitches, 7 of them for strikes. His best improvement? He was basically throwing strikes and showing his well know speed. Chapman was able to throw three pitches at or over 100mph and his command over the strike zone was impeccable, using his 4-seamer and his slider effectively. It was a good sign for one of the top relievers in the game. Yordan Álvarez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two runs scored, and a walk in Tuesday's win over the Royals. Up by two runs in the bottom of the eighth, Álvarez hit a 363-foot solo home run to left-center field -- his 25th home run of the season. Only Aaron Judge has more home runs (29). Yasmani Grandal (back) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday. Grandal (lower back) said that he'll begin a minor-league rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham on Wednesday, but he doesn't expect to be activated from the 10-day injured list until after the All-Star break, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. Grandal intimated that the White Sox plan to send him on an extended rehab assignment while he looks to regain conditioning in addition to his timing at the plate after being sidelined for the past three weeks with lower-back spasms. He's expected to make most of his initial rehab starts as a designated hitter and is likely to stick around at Birmingham through the weekend. After that, Grandal is then expected to shift his rehab to Triple-A Charlotte at the beginning of next week, when he'll presumably pick up starts behind the plate and at first base. Before the back injury cropped up, Grandal had endured a tough start to the 2022 campaign; he's sitting on a .185/.294/.237 slash line with just two home runs and one stolen base in 201 plate appearances. Adrián Morejón (shoulder) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday with Triple-A El Paso. Morejón landed on the injured list back in late June due to left shoulder inflammation and is expected to rejoin the Padres' bullpen prior to this month's upcoming All-Star break. The 23-year-old lefty has allowed three runs (two earned) over 4 2/3 innings (three appearances) this season at the major-league level. Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: Late addition to lineup. Hernández started in left field and batted eighth Tuesday against the Phillies. The 34-year-old was originally absent from Tuesday's lineup, but he was added to the starting line just before the first pitch after Nelson Cruz (undisclosed) was scratched. Hernández had a .638 OPS over 20 games in June, and he's 0-for-7 through his first three contests of July. he went 1-for-3 in the game. Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Was out of Tuesday's lineup. Gurriel was not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Athletics. Gurriel is in the midst of an eight-game hit streak during which he has a .379/.438/.621 slash line, though he finds himself on the bench Tuesday for the second time in the past four contests. Raimel Tapia played the left field and batted seventh for Toronto.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 4, 2022 José Abreu went 2-for-4 with a homer and a double Monday in an extra-innings loss to the Twins. Abreu went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs scored in Monday's 6-3 extra-inning loss to the Twins. Abreu entered Monday with no homers since June 13. He changed that in his first at-bat by taking Dylan Bundy deep in the second inning. While he hasn't displayed over-the-fence power lately, Abreu hit .366 with seven doubles and seven multi-hit efforts during his homer drought. The first baseman is slashing .290/.380/.462 with 10 homers, 37 RBI, 46 runs scored and 20 doubles through 76 contests. Yordan Álvarez hit a walkoff homer off Scott Barlow to give the Astros a 7-6 victory against the Royals on Monday. Álvarez went 1-for-3 with two walks, a solo home run and a second run scored in Monday's 7-6 win over the Royals. Kansas City worked around Álvarez most of the game, but Scott Barlow gave him a hittable pitch when it mattered most, and the 25-year-old launched it into the seats in right-center field to break a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning. Álvarez has been locked in since mid-June despite missing a few games during that stretch due to minor injuries, slashing .306/.444/.833 over his last 11 contests with six homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs. Jay's Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: On hit on Monday. In a 5-1 loss to the A's, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 1-for-3. It was Gurriel's tenth hit of his last seven games, slashing .400/.464/.680 during that period. José Iglesias connected on a homer in a loss on Monday to the Dodgers. Iglesias went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers. Iglesias opened the scoring in the fifth inning with a solo shot, his second homer of the year. Both of his long balls have come in his last seven contests. The shortstop has made up for a lack of power with consistent contact skills, posting a .293/.337/.384 slash line with 22 RBI, 24 runs scored, two stolen bases and 16 doubles through 66 games. Orioles' Cionel Pérez: Scoreless against the Rangers. Cionel Pérez pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings against the Rangers on Monday in a 7-6 win for the Orioles. Pérez struck out two hitters and didn't face any issues during his 16 pitches outing, 12 of them for strikes. Pérez has a 4-1 record this year exhibiting a 1.03 ERA with 25 SO in 26 1/3 innings. X-rays on Johan Oviedo's right hand came back negative. Oviedo put up his hands in an apparent effort to protect his face from a 111 mph liner off the bat of the Braves' Michael Harris. He accomplished that (and actually got a double play as the ball caromed to the second baseman who doubled off the runner at first) but hurt his hand in the process. He's managed to avoid a fracture, though, and is considered day-to-day. Ray's Randy Arozarena and Yandy Díaz: One hit on Monday. Arozarena and Díaz went 1-for-7 combined Monday in a 4-0 loss to the Red Sox. Arozarena was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts batting seventh in the lineup, while Díaz had just a single in the afternoon game. Astros' Yuli Gurriel: Collected RBI #23. Yuli Gurriel went 1-for-4 in a 7-6 victory against the Royals on Monday, collecting his RBI #23 of the year. Gurriel, playing under a lot of pressure after a difficult offensively 2022 campaign, is slashing .250/.333/.583 in his last seven games for the Astros. Padres' Adrian Morejón: Resumes playing catch. Morejón (shoulder) started playing catch again Friday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. Morejón was placed on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation June 23, but Padres manager Bob Melvin suggested that the issue isn't a major concern. Still, the organization is likely to take a careful approach with the southpaw given the fact that Morejón is 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery. Regarding the shoulder injury, Melvin stated, "I don't think it's anything serious -- he's obviously somebody we're going to be careful with after what he went through." Rangers' Adolis García: RBI #51 of the year. Adolis García went 0-for-3 with a walk on Monday's 7-6 loss to the Orioles, but added his RBI #51 of the year, and is on pace for 100+ this season. García struck out twice but also collected his stolen base #12 and had an outfield assistance in the left-field capturing Jonathan Araúz trying to get to second base. White Sox's Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert: Just one hit against the Twins. Moncada and Luis Robert went 1-for-8 combined on Monday's 6-3 loss to the Twins. Luis Robert was 0-for-4 while Moncada had a single for his RBI #16 of the year.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 2, 2022 Néstor Cortés allowed a run over six innings in Saturday's win over the Guardians. He also scattered three hits and struck out six. Outside of an Amed Rosario solo home run in the bottom of the first, Cortés was in the zone on Saturday (literally). He attacked the strike zone with his three most-used offerings (his fastball, cutter, and slider) and earned a solid 31 percent called plus swinging strike rate. This was the first time in a month that Cortés has completed six innings after a shaky June saw him post a 4.15 ERA in 26 innings across five starts. The southpaw has a 2.44 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 91:19 K:BB in 85 innings through 15 starts overall, and he's projected for a road start in Boston next week. He'll bring a 2.44 ERA into Friday night's road tilt against the Red Sox. Yoán Moncada went 2-for-3 and drove in a run on Saturday as the White Sox topped the Giants. Moncada drove in a run with an RBI single off of Logan Webb in the fourth inning that extended the White Sox lead to 3-1. With his two-hit effort, the 27-year-old is now hitting .189/.238/.295 with three homers and 15 RBI through 33 disappointing ball games. Aroldis Chapman walked three batters and failed to record an out on Saturday in a relief appearance against the Guardians. It's not what you want. Chapman was brought into Saturday's blowout for his first relief appearance since landing on the injured list back in late May with a left Achilles injury and immediately walked the bases loaded. He was lifted from the contest before things got worse and wound up being charged with two runs after departing the contest. Chapman couldn't find the strike zone, he threw just seven of his 19 pitches for strikes. While Chapman didn't issue a walk during his minor-league rehab assignment, he was all over the place before hitting the IL, and until he starts showing some resemblance to his old self, it will be an easy call for manager Aaron Boone to keep Clay Holmes as the top option for saves. Ray's Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena: Combined for 8 hits on Saturday's doubleheader. Díaz and Arozarena played both the doubleheader against the Blue Jays with Tampa winning the contests, 6-2 and 11-5. In the games, Yandy Díaz went 4-for-7 with a double (11) 2 runs scored, an RBI (16), 2 walks, and a strikeout. Meanwhile, Arozarena was 4-for-10 with a double (17), two runs scored, an RBI (34), his stolen bases #18, and three strikeouts. Arozarena slash line is .258/.309/.402 while third baseman Díaz is slashing .280/.397/.364. Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Was on the bench for nightcap. Gurriel wasn't in the lineup for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rays. Gurriel extended hit hitting streak to six games during Saturday's matinee, as he went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. He got a breather for the nightcap while Raimel Tapia started in left field and batted sixth. White Sox's Luis Robert and José Abreu: Just one hit against the Giants. Luis Robert went 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Saturday's 5-3 victory against the Giants, while Abreu was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk, and a strikeout. Luis Robert and Abreu have now identical .285 BA for the year. Angels' Raisel Iglesias: Scoreless inning. Iglesias pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a no-save situation during a 9-1 loss to the Astros. Iglesias struck out two and walked none, lowering his ERA from 3.62 to 3.49 for the year. Iglesias has 15 saves in 2022 and a 0.81 WHIP. Yordan Álvarez (head) was back in the Astros' starting lineup for Saturday's contest against the Angels. Yuli was hitless. Fantastic news. Álvarez cleared concussion protocol and returned to the Astros' lineup on Saturday after missing two consecutive contests for precautionary reasons following a brutal on-field collision with teammate Jeremy Peña earlier this week. The 25-year-old slugger was named the best hitter in baseball last month, batting .418/.510/.835 with nine home runs and 28 RBI across 23 games since June 1. In the game, Álvarez went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts, while in the same game Yuli Gurriel was 0-for-3 with a walk and also a strikeout. Rockies' José Iglesias: Hitless on Saturday. Iglesias went 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Saturday 11-7 win against the D-backs. Iglesias and catcher Brian Serven were the only two Rockies starters to not record a hit on Saturday. Iglesias slash line is now .291/.336/.372 with 1 HR and 21 RBI.

This 30th edition of the Haarlem Baseball Week will again be attended by a Cuban delegation. In the past, this baseball superpower was represented by players who would later become superstars, such as Yuli Gurriel, Yoenis Céspedes, and 2020 American League MVP José Abreu, but this tournament features five-time winner Cuba (1972, '74, '96, '98, and 2012) in the Baseball Week with a roster that consists of players from Cuban national champion Alazanes de Granma, supplemented by other stars from its own league. Until 2017, the Alazanes from the southern province of Granma, of which Yoenis Céspedes, among others, defended the club colors, belonged to the sub-top of Cuban baseball, but with the help of coach Carlos Martí, they broke their title drought that year. Since then, the Alazanes have crowned themselves three more times as national champions, the last of which was recently won. Martí also helmed the national team during the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The team that comes to Haarlem is home to some well-known names for Baseball Week fans. Veteran Frederich Cepeda (he is now 42) returns to the tournament where he has played several times. That Cepeda is still one of the best baseball players on the island, he proved this season by leading the Cuban league in batting average (.410). Another well-known name is that of Ariel Pestano — but make no mistake, this is not the legendary catcher Ariel Pestano who has already traveled to Haarlem several times. That was his father. Ariel Pestano Rosado, now boarding the plane, succeeds his father, Ariel Pestano Valdés, as a Baseball Week veteran. Another interesting player to keep an eye on this tournament is Alazanes de Granma's big man, Carlos Benítez. The reigning champion's second baseman finished third in the batting standings, hitting .379 with an on-base percentage over .500! On the pitching side, Cuba sends RHP César Garcia along. The pitcher of Alazanes finished eighth on the ERA list this season, giving up the fewest home runs of all Cuban starting pitchers. In short, Cuba appears to be back with a strong squad in Haarlem. In recent decades, the Caribbean island has seen its top talents make the crossing to the American Major League at an increasingly younger age. In Haarlem, the island hopes to prove that it is still a breeding ground for baseball talent.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jul 1, 2022 Lourdes Gurriel went 3-for-3 with a homer and three runs scored on Friday, leading the Blue Jays to a 9-2 victory over the visiting Rays. Gurriel started a five-run rally with a leadoff double off of Corey Kluber in the third inning, eventually coming around to score on Bo Bichette's two-run double. He also drew a walk later in that inning. Gurriel then led off the sixth inning with a single and scored on a two-run single by George Springer. He then capped off the victory with a solo shot off of David McKay in the seventh. With the monster afternoon, Gurriel is now hitting .292/.347/.432 to go along with five homers, 34 RBI and two stolen bases on the season. Yordan Álvarez (concussion) remained out of the Astros starting lineup for Friday night's battle against the Angels. Álvarez took the brunt of a nasty collision with teammate Jeremy Peña during Wednesday's game against the Mets. While Peña returned to the lineup on Friday, it sounds as though Álvarez still may need a day or two. The good news -- at least for now -- is that he has yet to be placed on the injured list, signaling that the Astros still believe it's a day-to-day type of situation. Yuli Gurriel went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, two runs scored, and a walk in Friday's win over the Angels. Gurriel went 1-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and two runs scored Friday against the Angels. Gurriel led off the second inning with his seventh home run of the season, and he came around to score one frame later after earning a one-out walk. He still owns a subpar .227/.280/.396 line for the season, but Gurriel has hit .333 with a pair of long balls, four RBI and five runs scored across his last eight games. Randy Arozarena was not in the Rays' lineup Friday. It was a routine day off for Arozarena. Randy hit .240 in June with three home runs, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases. For the season, he's slashing .253/.306/.399 in 73 games. Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: Sitting against lefty. Hernández was not in the starting lineup for Friday's contest with the Marlins. Hernández sat against left-hander Trevor Rogers on Friday after he went 2-for-5 with a homer, a double, and two RBI Thursday. Marlins placed OF Jorge Soler on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 29, with bilateral pelvis inflammation. Soler was a late scratch from Wednesday's game due to the injury and apparently the off day Thursday wasn't enough to get him over the hump. It's not clear at this point how much time he might miss. Yankees activated LHP Aroldis Chapman from the 15-day injured list. Chapman wound up missing five-and-a-half weeks of action with left Achilles tendinitis. Clay Holmes will remain the Yankees' closer for now while Chapman fine-tunes his delivery, and it's possible manager Aaron Boone will just wind up sticking with Holmes in the ninth inning over the long haul.

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources. Jun 30, 2022 Yordan Álvarez (concussion) was not in the Astros' starting lineup Thursday against the Yankees. Álvarez took the brunt of an ugly-looking collision with teammate Jeremy Peña in Wednesday's series finale against the Mets and is still being evaluated for a possible concussion. Álvarez collided with Jeremy Pena (mouth) in left field during Wednesday's contest and was forced out of the game after remaining on the ground for a few minutes. It's unclear whether he suffered a concussion or not, but he was unavailable Thursday. Yordan also received the news that he is an All-Star Finalist for the 2022 edition of the Summer Classic. Ray's Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena: Two hits on Thursday. While Arozarena went hitless on Thursday against the Jays in a 4-1 loss, Díaz collected two hits increasing his BA to .271 for the year. Arozarena also struck out twice and left two runners stranded. Díaz slash line is now Astros' Yulieski Gurriel and Aledmis Díaz: 1-for-5 combined against the Yankees. Gurriel and Díaz went 1-for-5 combined in a 2-1 victory against the Yankees. Gurriel was 0-for-2 with a walk while Díaz went 1-for-3 walked, scored, and struck. Gurriel was in a 6-game hitting streak and he is now hitting .333 (8-for-24) in his last seven games. Díaz got the start in left field because of the concussion protocol that OF Yordan Álvarez and shortstop Jeremy peña are following after their Wednesday collision in the outfield. Jay's Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: One hit on Thursday. Gurriel Jr. went 1-for-4 on Thursday in a 4-1 win against the Rays. Gurriel scored his run #29 of the year and his slash line is now .283/.337/.409. It was also confirmed that Gurriel Jr. is an All-Star finalist for this year's edition of the summer classic. Vladimir Gutiérrez (elbow) will throw a live bullpen session on Friday. Gutiérrez was diagnosed with a Grade 1 UCL tear in his right elbow in June. There's no timetable for a return, but throwing off the mound is obviously a positive development in that regard.