Astros manager A.J. Hinch described Yulieski Gurriel as an international star. Now, the 32-year-old Cuban is getting a chance to make his mark in the majors.
Gurriel singled in his first big league at-bat Sunday after being called up from Triple-A Fresno earlier in the day.
Gurriel was the designated hitter against Baltimore, and he came to the plate in the second inning after waiting a bit: The start of the game at Camden Yards was delayed more than four hours because of rain.
“This is the one test in his whole life he has never answered,” Hinch said. “He's played at every level in the world and been on the center stage and one of the best international players for a long time. This will be different for him. He'll feel like a rookie again.”
Gurriel signed a $47.5 million, five-year deal July 16.
• The San Francisco Chronicle reported Athletics players Billy Butler and Danny Valencia were involved in a clubhouse spat Friday. Manager Bob Melvin refused to confirm the report. Butler missed Saturday's and Sunday's games with what was described as nausea and vomiting.
• Aaron Sanchez was sent to the minor leagues as the Blue Jays skip a start to limit his innings. Toronto optioned the 24-year-old right-hander to Single-A Dunedin, and the Blue Jays plan to recall him to start against Baltimore on Aug. 31. Sanchez is 12-2 with a 2.99 ERA, fifth best in the AL. He has made 24 starts and thrown a career-high 156 1⁄3 innings. He likely will not pitch in the minors.
• Mike Leake pitched seven strong innings and hit a two-run single, and the Cardinals homered four times to rout the Phillies, 9-0. Jedd Gyorko, Stephen Piscotty, Brandon Moss and Jeremy Hazelbaker went deep. The Cardinals had hit multiple home runs in nine straight games, tying a major league record, before failing to connect Saturday night in a 4-2 loss. Jhonny Peralta added three hits as the Cardinals finished a 6-3 trip. They remained 1 1⁄2 games ahead of the Marlins for the final wild-card spot in the National League.
• Nolan Arenado broke out of a slump in a big way, hitting two homers and driving in six runs to boost the Rockies over the Cubs, 11-4. Arenado hit a three-run homer during a seven-run burst in the first inning that included three Cubs errors, then added another three-run drive in the fourth. Arenado leads the majors with 104 RBIs — he had a big league-high 130 last year — and tops the NL with 32 home runs.
— Wire reports
