By Juan Páez
Yordan alvarez continues to add exploits to his short MLB resume. The giant, this Saturday, helped the Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 4 × 0 with his 22nd homer in the 2021 season. That homer was the 50th in his career in the majors, which gave him a touch historical and particular to his performance.
Álvarez not only became the fastest Cuban to reach 50 full-back hits so far, but now he also owns that title with the sidereal, doing so with only 184 games played. In the history of his team and before the arrival of the Cuban, Lance Berkman had the record with 231 commitments.
The West Indian slugger was the protagonist of his club’s victory and went 4-1, with the historic hit, his 73rd RBI of the year, one scored and one strikeout (.284 overall). His bombshell came in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 2 × 0. Since August began, Alvarez hasn’t stopped: he’s going 23-8 in six games (.348), including a double, three homers and six made.
Your partner Aledmys Diaz brought in the last two runs for the Astros and, overall, he was 4-2, with his twelfth double, two RBIs (28) and a pair of strikeouts (.283).
POWER UNLEASHED
This Saturday was clear evidence of how much power the Cuban army has, because in addition to Álvarez, four other hitters disappeared the ball from the park. Let’s see who it is …
Let’s start with the current MVP of the American League, Jose Abreu, who put final figures to the victory of the Chicago White Sox 4 × 0 over the Chicago Cubs. The first baseman went 1-for-4, with his 21st homer, 83 RBI, a run scored and a strikeout (.247). Pito has three home runs and five RBIs in his last five games. Your partner Yoán Moncada, 4-1, with a double (20), two RBIs (48) and a strikeout (.256).
The first flies close to Jose Adolis Garcia from July 30 it was a complete savagery from 450 feet away. The hit, which came out at 107.8 miles per hour off Cole Irvin, went through left and center fields, but beyond that it was the start of a good day for Garcia, who was completely off in August. Although the Texas Rangers fell 12 × 3 against the Oakland Athletics, the outfielder went 4-2, with the board (24), three charters (67), a return to the box and a fan (.250). Andy Ibanez, 4-1 (.222).
Since it happened to the Atlanta Braves, Jorge Soler he is on fire with his tree. This Saturday, in the loss of the Braves 3 × 2 against the Washington Nationals, he had a perfect day of 2-2, with his 16 homer, 43 trailer, one scored and two walks (.204). Soler missed it to starter Josiah Gray and has been hitting .360 since arriving in Atlanta, the product of nine hits in 25 valid chances, with three homers and six made. Your partner Guillermo Heredia he missed his only turn (.236).
Finally, Yandy Diaz helped the Tampa Bay Rays win 12 × 3 against the Baltimore Orioles, going 5-1, with his eighth game of the year, an RBI (38), a trip to the diamond and a fan (.253). His full-back hit came in the second inning, to open the scoring for Tampa Bay.
BIG MOMENT
Vladimir Gutierrez He lives his best moment in the Major Leagues. The Cuban right-hander had another superb performance on Saturday as the Cincinnati Reds crushed the Pittsburgh Pirates 11 × 3.
Gutiérrez, who scored his seventh win of 2021 (7-3), threw 6.0 innings of six hits, one earned run, one walk and six strikeouts, all with 99 pitches (65 strikes). Thus, he lowered his overall ERA to 4.15 and completed his third consecutive quality start, a string in which in addition to having three wins, he has a 1.86 ERA in 19.1 innings of work.
This is how it went to the rest of the Cubans who saw action on Saturday’s day in the Major Leagues:
Jose Iglesias (LAA) went 3-1 with a double (18), RBI (39) and scored against the Los Angeles Dodgers. His average was .273.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (TOR) finished 2-0 (.262) and only played the first game of the doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.
Remember that this and all the summaries involving Cuban players can be found by following this link, that is, clicking here.