MLB Postseason 2022 | Gurriel hit a solo shot in G1 of the ALCS, Álvarez & Díaz hitless, and more

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

Yulieski Gurriel. (Photo: Astros de Houston Twitter)

Oct 19, 2022

Yuli Gurriel blasted a go-ahead solo home run off of Clarke Schmidt in the sixth inning on Wednesday night, powering the Astros to victory over the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALCS.

Gurriel broke the tie with a solo shot to left off Clarke Schmidt in the bottom of the sixth inning. The 38-year-old righty is now 6-for-19 with two homers in the 2022 postseason. Gurriel had a down year in 2022, hitting only .242 with eight homers after he compiled 15 round trippers and a .319 batting average in 2021. Nonetheless, Gurriel has nearly 300 postseason at-bats and will look to use that experience to his benefit as the ALCS progresses. Gurriel is having a nice postseason, slashing .389/.389/.722 with a pair of homers and two RBI.

Astros' Yordan Álvarez: Hitless in Game 1 of the ALCS.

Álvarez went 0-for-2 and was walked twice - one intentionally - during Game 1 of the ALCS. Álvarez also struck out once. Regarding the intentional walk, it’s easy to understand the Yankees’ decision, after Alvarez tore Seattle during the ALDS with decisive homers in Games 1 and 2 of the series. The Astros ended up winning the game 4-2.

Aledmys Díaz was the DH and batted seventh for the Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS on Wednesday night against the Yankees.

Díaz went 0-for-4 and will probably be rested for Game 2 of the series tonight. Trey Mancini was benched in the opener of the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.

Oct 18, 2022

Néstor Cortés defeated the Guardians and sent the Yankees to the ALCS on Tuesday afternoon, allowing just one run on three hits over five innings in Game 5 of the ALDS.

Cortés struck out two and walked one in the ballgame. The 27-year-old southpaw was going to be available out of the bullpen for the elimination game, but after Monday's game got rained out Cortés was thrust into the spotlight. Pitching on three-days rest for just the second time in his career, Cortés responded in a huge way -- allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly by Jose Ramírez in the third inning. He got three swings and misses on 61 pitches in the contest, posting a solid CSW of 30 percent. His next assignment, will be taking on the Astros in the ALCS -- most likely in Game 4 on Sunday.

Roenis Elías has elected free agency.

Elías made it back to the majors this season with the Mariners for the first time since the 2019 campaign after undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstructive surgery just prior to the 2021 campaign. The 34-year-old veteran southpaw posted a serviceable 3.52 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 6/3 K/BB ratio across 7 2/3 innings (seven appearances) for Seattle. He'll likely have to settle for a minor league contract this offseason.