Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Gurriel Talk
It’s finally time to see what Yulieski Gurriel can do in the majors.
The 32-year-old Cuban import was recalled Saturday and is expected to make his MLB debut with the Astros on Sunday. Gurriel will likely serve as the team’s designated hitter in their series finale against the Orioles, the Houston Chronicle speculated Saturday.
Gurriel didn’t light the world on fire during his few weeks in the minors — he hit .250/.262/.429 across four different levels — but Astros manager A.J. Hinch said the infielder is ready to contribute for the club.
“Things haven’t been perfect for him,” Hinch said. “We’ve bounced him all around the country but physically — from a baseball standpoint — he’s ready and he’s ready for this challenge. So to add him to this group is certainly exciting for us.
“His baseball readiness — he’s in shape ready to go.”
Gurriel’s history as a hitting machine in the Cuban National Series is well-documented, and a handful of at-bats in the minors doesn’t do much to temper expectations for Gurriel’s time with the Astros. He primarily played third base while in the minors, but he played in left field on Thursday and the Astros have a logjam of good infielders that will force Hinch to get creative to fit everybody in. It could be that Gurriel ends up splitting time between a corner outfield spot and designated hitter, with some starts at third base sprinkled in.
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Gordon Goes Off, Again
Alex Gordon was one of the worst hitters in 2016, until he was one of the best.
The outfielder, who struggled for almost the entire first half and had an even more miserable month of July, homered twice in Saturday’s skunking of the Twins and now has five home runs in as many games. The power binge is part of an 11-game hitting streak during which Gordon has 13 runs scored and eight RBI.
That his overall line sits at .227/.329/.396 through Saturday’s game speaks to how miserable his season had been up until this month. Gordon got out of the gate slow, batting .211/.319/.331 through most of the season’s first two months before he suffered a fractured wrist on May 22. He missed over a month due to the injury, and when he returned it was to similar results offensively.
“All year,” Gordon said. “I was trying to find something.”
He has in recent weeks, resembling the Gordon baseball fans have come to know. After some rough early years, the 32-year-old has average a .281/.359/.450 line with 18 home runs, 72 RBI and 82 runs scored over his past four seasons. That makes this year’s struggles all the more surprising.
“I hope it lasts the whole year,” Gordon said of his newfound offense. “We got a good thing going right now, winning games, having fun. Hopefully, I can keep this up and the team can keep it up, too.”
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National League Quick Hits: Clayton Kershaw (back) said he felt “100 percent” during Saturday’s bullpen session. Kershaw has missed almost two months with a herniated disc in his lower back but has begun to make big strides in his progress. With the way he’s progressing, it would be an upset if he isn’t back in the Dodgers’ rotation early next month. The Dodgers could sure use him with Hyun-Jin Ryu (elbow) and Brandon McCarthy (hip) on the shelf … Charlie Blackmon (toe) is not in the Rockies’ lineup Saturday against the Cubs. Blackmon missed Friday’s game with a bruised toe and got another day off on Saturday. Blackmon is still considered day-to-day … A.J. Ramos (finger) will be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday. Brian Ellington will be optioned to Triple-A New Orleans in the corresponding move. Ramos missed the minimum 15 days with a fractured right middle finger. He’s been excellent for the Fish this year and should immediately step into the closer role upon his return. Fernando Rodney will move back to the eighth inning … Pirates placed 3B Jung Ho Kang on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder injury. Kang got hurt on a slide Friday against the Marlins. The injury will cost him 2-4 weeks. Kang’s roster spot will be absorbed by first base prospect Josh Bell … Yoenis Cespedes ripped two homers in Saturday’s win over the Giants. He also doubled and came within feet of a third home run on a deep flyout to left field. Cespedes was hampered by a quad injury earlier this month but obviously that’s no longer an issue. The 30-year-old now sports an impressive .293 average with 24 HR and 62 RBI through 341 at-bats this year … Brandon Finnegan took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and settled for throwing seven shutout innings of work in an 11-1 beatdown of the Dodgers on Saturday. Finnegan walked two and struck out eight, with Adrian Gonzalez‘ leadoff single in the seventh inning scuttling any chances of seeing history. Still, it was a dominant performance from a pitcher who has shown at points that he can be dominant as a major league starter. The win improved Finnegan to 8-9 with a 4.32 ERA and 1.37 WHIP through 25 starts … Robbie Ray was dominant for seven innings, punching out 13 batters while allowing only one hit and one walk in a 2-1 victory over the Padres on Saturday. Could this be a breakout game for the young left-hander? He has been fanning batters at an elite rate all year but does not have the wins and ERA to match. He is a must-own in all leagues despite his 7-11 record and 4.31 ERA. The 24-year-old is poised for better things. He has 174 strikeouts and 50 walks in 140 innings … David Phelps struck out nine over six scoreless innings in a 3-1 Marlins victory over the Pirates on Saturday. Phelps yielded just two hits while walking two in the contest, leaving the Pirates offense without an answer for most of the evening. The right-hander has now allowed just three runs in four starts since moving to the rotation in the beginning of August, lowering his season ERA to 2.28. Phelps has always been a slightly intriguing pitcher for his strikeout ability, and he can’t be overlooked in deeper mixed leagues given recent results … Ben Zobrist went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in the Cubs’ 9-2 thumping of the Rockies on Saturday. Zobrist had an RBI double in the teams’ four-run fourth inning, and he tacked on a solo homer in the ninth for good measure. His 14 home runs are the most he’s hit in a season since 2012. The multi-hit game was also his fourth in his last eight contests, raising his overall line to .279/.386/.450 with 62 RBI and 76 runs scored in 113 games … Cesar Hernandez went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored to help the Phillies double up the Cardinals 4-2 on Saturday. Given that Hernandez has nine triples this season, it’s actually worth saying that he finished just a triple shy of the cycle in the game. The homer was his fourth of the year, giving him 30 RBI and 49 runs scored. The 26-year-old has fairly quietly put up a nice season at the dish, batting .298/.358/.400 after Saturday’s win.
American League Quick Hits: Rangers signed OF Carlos Gomez to a minor league contract. Gomez will report to Triple-A Round Rock where he’ll play a handful of games before joining the Rangers Thursday for the start of their 10-game homestand. When he arrives in the big leagues, Gomez will likely move into a right field platoon with Nomar Mazara. The Rangers needed an outfielder with Shin-Soo Choo (wrist, forearm) out for the season. Gomez also drew interest from the Marlins and Giants before joining Texas … Felix Hernandez struck out eight batters while yielding two runs over eight innings in an 8-2 defeat of the Brewers on Saturday. He gave up seven hits and one base-on-balls in the interleague matchup. He is now 8-4 with a 3.26 ERA. With 96 punchouts and 46 walks in 110 1/3 innings he is throwing just a notch or two below the elite status that he maintained for the last decade … Evan Longoria went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in the Rays’ 8-2 win over the Rangers on Saturday. Longoria hit a solo homer off Rangers starter A.J. Griffin in the sixth inning after collecting an RBI single in the first. The home run was the 28th of the year for the 30-year-old, his highest single-season total since 2013 and the fourth time he’s hit 28 or more in a year. It’s no surprise, then, that Longoria is having one of the best offensive seasons of his career, batting .291/.343/.549 with 75 RBI and 65 runs scored … Devon Travis went 3-for-5 with two RBI as the Blue Jays edged the Indians 6-5 on Saturday. Travis knocked a two-run single in the second inning to get the Jays on the board, raising his RBI total to 37 in 68 games. The month of August has been good to the 25-year-old, who is now hitting .333 with three homers, 11 RBI and 10 runs this month. Travis has settled in atop the Jays lineup, hitting .298/.331/.473 overall … Chris Sale held the Athletics scoreless over eight innings, and the White Sox eventually prevailed with a 6-2 win Saturday. Sale gave up three hits, all singles, and walked three on the night. He also fanned eight. The win improved his record to 15-6 and snapped a winless streak that had dated back to July 2. Sale owns a 3.15 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 165/38 K/BB ratio over 168 2/3 innings this year, and he’ll try to make it two in a row Friday against the Mariners … Ian Kennedy allowed four hits, all singles, while striking out six over eight shutout innings Saturday against the Twins. Kennedy kept the Twins off balance all game in turning in his longest start of the year to date. It was the latest in a string of impressive turns for the 31-year-old, who has allowed one run or fewer in each of his last five starts. With Saturday’s win, Kennedy improved to 8-9 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.15 WHIP through 25 starts … Mike Fiers held the Orioles to one run in seven innings while striking out seven as the Astros won 12-2 on Saturday. The only run Fiers surrendered came on a Chris Davis solo blast in the fourth inning. He yielded just five hits and issued one free pass in the ballgame. He needed a good outing like this one after getting knocked around in his last two starts. Fiers’ record improves to 9-6 with a 4.48 ERA. He has 103 strikeouts and 31 walks in 132 2/3 innings.
