MLB 2022 | Gurriel Jr. and Ibáñez decide, Vladi pitches today

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (Photo: Toronto Blue Jays' Twitter)

May 28, 2022

Vladimir Gutiérrez will take the mound this afternoon (4:10 pm ET) against the Giants. The Cuban RH is 0-6 with an 8.70 ERA this year.

Nationals' Yadiel Hernández: Not starting Game 1. Hernández isn't starting the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rockies. Hernández went 1-for-7 with a double, two RBI, two walks, and a strikeout over his last three games, and he'll take a seat for the second time in the last three contests. Lane Thomas will shift to left field while Victor Robles starts in right.

May 27, 2022

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 3-for-4 and knocked in the go-ahead run in the ninth as the Blue Jays edged the Angels 4-3 on Friday.

It wasn't only Gurriel's first three-hit game of the season, but it was his first multi-hit game of any kind in May. He's disappointed with his .236//291/.340 line to date, which is why he was batting eighth tonight, but he came through big in this one. Ideally, he'll go back to hitting fifth or sixth soon.

Tampa's Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena.

Yandy Díaz went 0-for-3 Friday night against the Yankees in a 2-0 loss. In the same game, Randy Arozarena had one of Tampa's two hits against Jameson Taillon and Clay Holmes all night. Díaz BA is .262 for the season while Arozarena is hitting a similar .59 this year.

Astros' Yuli Gurriel: Consecutive multi-hit efforts. Gurriel went 2-for-4 with a run scored Friday against the Mariners. Gurriel led off the second inning with a single and came around to score. He chipped in another base knock to begin the sixth frame to turn in his second consecutive multi-hit performance. Even so, he has hit just .184 with four RBI and four runs scored across his last 10 games. Overall, Gurriel has maintained a .232/.264/.384 line across 159 plate appearances.

Rangers' Andy Ibáñez: Delivers game-winning knock. Ibáñez went 1-for-1 with a two-run single and scored a run in Friday's 8-5 win over the Athletics. Ibáñez, who had just two hits over his previous 43 at-bats (.047), stepped in as a pinch hitter for Eli White in the ninth inning of an even game and delivered a go-ahead two-run single. He later came around to score an insurance run. Ibáñez is typically out of the starting lineup against lefties, as was the case Wednesday and Friday. With Oakland southpaw, Zach Logue the projected starter Saturday, Ibáñez figures to be on the bench for the third time in four games.

Yoan López will serve his one-game suspension on Friday night against the Phillies.

López appealed the three-game suspension that he received for intentionally throwing at Kyle Schwarber at the beginning of May, and got his sentence reduced to just one game. López was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo yesterday and he's expected to join the Mets bullpen today.

Twins' Yennier Cano: Returns to the minors. Cano was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul after Friday's game against the Royals, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Cano allowed two runs on two hits with a strikeout and a walk over two-thirds of an inning during Friday's victory, and he'll now head back to St. Paul. The 28-year-old surrendered 11 earned runs across 7.1 innings for the Twins after being promoted May 11.

Mariners' Roenis Elias: Contract selected by Mariners. Elias' contract was selected by the Mariners on Friday. Elias spent most of spring training recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in March of 2021, but he was activated at Triple-A Tacoma in mid-April. Elias briefly joined the Mariners as a replacement player last week but has spent most of the season in Tacoma, where he posted a 3.63 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 17.1 innings over 14 appearances (one start). The southpaw converted 14 of 16 save chances for Seattle in 2019, but it seems most likely that he'll pitch mainly in lower-leverage situations to begin his current stint with the major-league club.

Rockies' José Iglesias: Swipes second bag. Iglesias went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base Thursday against the Nationals. Iglesias drove in his 13th run of the season in the second inning on an infield single. He also reached base on an error in the ninth frame and proceeded to steal second base. It was his second swipe of the season, both of which have come in his last three games. Iglesias has maintained a strong .307/.362/.378 line across 138 plate appearances on the season and has recorded at least one hit in 15 of his last 19 starts.