The Bradenton Marauders played a three hour and four minute game last Tuesday, winning against Fort Myers by a score of 13-9.
In those three hours, Charles McAdoo stepped up to the plate six times. The 2023 13th rounder out of San Jose State delivered a hit in all six plate appearances, including two home runs and eight RBIs.
McAdoo was playing against easier competition than he faced in college. Still, take a second to consider the difficulty of what he accomplished. The game of baseball doesn’t allow McAdoo to get into a flow state and knock out all six hits in the span of 10 minutes. It requires that McAdoo get into his zone six different times, separated by a random amount of plays each at-bat.
The fact that he delivered all six times, with two homers, shows an ability to maintain a high level of focus in six short bursts across several hours. This isn’t the most notable accomplishment in baseball. It does show that McAdoo is capable of a big game the entire game when he’s facing easier opponents.
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Last week, in Altoona, Tsung-Che Cheng saw his hitting streak snapped at 17 games. He entered the week with a 14 game hitting streak. Cheng added a double and a home run on Tuesday to extend his streak to 15. He then recorded hits in both games of a double-header to reach the 17 game mark.
Cheng only had three days off across a 19-day stretch. Consider the level of focus that McAdoo needed across three hours in his six hit game. Now, consider the level of long-term focus that Tsung-Che Cheng needed across almost three weeks.
The Pirates promoted Cheng to Double-A toward the end of June. The infielder from Taiwan has a lot of experience in higher sensory environments — stadiums with a second deck to factor in additional fans and additional distractions at the plate. Cheng has played in the World Baseball Classic, among many other higher talent and bigger venue winter leagues.
Cheng might be going up against lesser experienced competition from a sensory standpoint. What he’s shown is the ability to be a consistent factor every night for weeks. The entire world shifts Sunday to Monday. Cheng gets a day off, then returns and delivers a hit every night on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The entire world shifts again, and he hits every day again for a second week. Then, the entire world shifts again, and he manages to hit a homer on Tuesday, followed by hits in two games on Wednesday. Cheng finally took a game off on Thursday and ended his streak on Friday.
He picked up a hit again on Sunday. We’ll see if this leads to another streak after another day off on Monday. Cheng is a small hitter (5′ 7″, 170), who lacks a power profile. He’s one of the best pure hitters in the system, largely due to his ability to be a threat to pick up a hit every single night of the week.
The ability to do that across nearly three weeks is an impressive display of consistent focus, to say the least.
QUICK PIRATES RECAP
PIRATES (53-65) VS Reds
Game One Score: Pirates 4, Reds 2
Pittsburgh Starter: Mitch Keller, RHP (4.27)
–Line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Jared Triolo, 3B (1-for-1, HR [1], 3 RBI)
Attendance: 28,731
Notable Performers
- Angel Perdomo, LHP (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K)
- Colin Holderman, RHP (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K)
- David Bednar, RHP (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K)
One Sentence Recap: Jared Triolo hit a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the seventh, allowing Colin Holderman and David Bednar to close out the win.
Game Two Score: Reds 6, Pirates 5 (10 Innings)
Pittsburgh Starter: Andre Jackson, RHP (5.47)
–Line: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Player of the Game: Bryan Reynolds, LF (2-for-5, 2 HR [17])
Attendance: 21,545
Notable Performers
- Henry Davis, RF (2-for-4, 2B, RBI)
- Endy Rodriguez, C (2-for-4)
- Liover Peguero, 2B (2-for-4, HR [4], 2 RBI)
One Sentence Recap: Derek Shelton, Don Kelly, and Oscar Marin were ejected in the sixth inning on the same play for arguing balls and strikes — with a 4-3 Pirates lead — and even a second Bryan Reynolds home run couldn’t prevent the eventual loss.
AROUND THE SYSTEM
The Pirates had another multi-homer game in their minor league system on Sunday, with Rodolfo Nolasco hitting two in Bradenton.
Pirates Prospect Watch: Rodolfo Nolasco is the Latest To Homer Twice in a Game
INDIANAPOLIS
Cody Bolton was called up today to be the 27th man. Bolton pitched an inning in game two, loading the bases with a walk. Ball four was a ball, but the Pirates were taking issues with balls and strikes from the dugout throughout the at-bat and game, leading to the ejections of Shelton, Kelly, and Marin. Bolton got a fly out to center after the ejections to escape the jam with the lead preserved. The Pirates played four innings without their manager, bench coach, or their pitching coach.
ALTOONA
Tsung-Che Cheng ended his hitting streak on Friday, but got back into the swing of things on Sunday, picking up a double and a walk.
GREENSBORO
Josiah Sightler homered twice on Saturday, giving the first base prospect four homers at his new level.
BRADENTON
Aside from the two homers from Nolasco, the Marauders saw the return of Max Kranick, who pitched for the first time since May 11, 2022.
SONG OF THE DAY
“Nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop
And an illustrated book about birds
See a lot up there but don’t be scared
Who needs action when you got words?”
