Tsung-Che Cheng hit a grand slam for the Altoona Curve on Wednesday, launching his tenth home run of the season.
The homer came in a high scoring game, with Cheng coming through with a clutch two-out hit. Altoona was down 5-4 at the time, and took an 8-5 lead after the home run. Cheng went 2-for-4 with a walk on the evening.
Cheng is hitting .234/.337/.374 this season in Double-A, which isn’t a great stat line. He has improved slightly over his time at the level in the second half last season. His OBP has increased from .304, and his power has improved this year with a .140 ISO, compared to an .099 last season. Cheng also has 14 stolen bases, though his accuracy has gone down to 67%, from 81% last year.
One of the best pure hitters in the system, Cheng is one of many cases of the Pirates having offensive problems throughout their system. His .234 average isn’t indicative of his contact abilities. His strikeout rate has gone up this year in Altoona from 18.9% last year to 24.2%. It was a good night for Cheng, but he’s one of the biggest examples this year of a critical flaw with the system’s hitting development.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 4-3 in ten innings.
- RHP Luis Cessa: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
- SS-3B Alika Williams: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
- CF-2B Nick Yorke: 1-for-4
- DH Billy Cook: 1-for-3, 2B, BB
- RF Edward Olivares: 1-for-3, 2B
Indianapolis won the game in the tenth inning on a sacrifice fly by Alika Williams. He also tied the game in the seventh inning with an RBI single. Nick Yorke extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Billy Cook hit his 19th double of the season at the Triple-A level.
STATCAST HEROES
The double from Cook was the hardest hit of the game at 108.7 MPH. The single from Williams in the seventh inning was 107.3 MPH. Luis Cessa had six whiffs on ten swings against his changeup, with three whiffs on the fastball and one on the slider.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA lost 13-8, despite the grand slam from Tsung-Che Cheng.
- LF Yoyner Fajardo: 1-for-1, 4 BB
- RF Sammy Siani: 2-for-5, 2B, SB
- 1B Nick Cimillo: 1-for-5, RBI
- CF Jase Bowen: 2-for-5, SB
- C Abrahan Gutierrez: 1-for-5, 2B, RBI
Yoyner Fajardo reached base all five times from the leadoff spot. He’s batting .311 with an .808 OPS since joining the Pirates. Sammy Siani hit his tenth double of the year. He also stole home on the back-end of a double steal with Jase Bowen. Altoona took the lead on Cheng’s grand slam, but allowed seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO lost 4-1
- LF Lonnie White Jr.: 1-for-3, HR, RBI
- CF Mitch Jebb: 1-for-4, SB
- RHP Derek Diamond: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR
- RHP Alessandro Ercolani: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
- RF Luke Brown: 0-for-2, BB
Greensboro’s offense only combined for two hits and one walk. The lone run came from a solo homer by Lonnie White Jr. in the eighth inning, his 13th of the season. Mitch Jebb had the other hit, and stole his 32nd base of the season. Jebb also played his first game in center field. Derek Diamond gave up three runs in five innings, with two of them solo homers. Alessandro Ercolani pitched the final four innings, allowing one run and striking out seven. Ercolani has an 0.87 ERA in 20.2 innings since the start of July, with a 26:6 K/BB ratio.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON won 4-1
- C Axiel Plaz: 1-for-4, HR, RBI
- LF Esmerlyn Valdez: 2-for-4, 2B, SB
- SS Yordany De Los Santos: 1-for-3, BB, 2 SB
- DH Jhonny Severino: 2-for-4, RBI, SB
- LHP Connor Oliver: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Axiel Plaz hit his 15th homer of the season. The catcher joined the Marauders in mid-May, and has done some damage at the plate in the last two and a half months. Esmerlyn Valdez had two hits, including his 16th double of the season, along with his second stolen base. Yerry De Los Santos has been a threat on the bases all season in the FCL. He stole two bases for the Marauders, giving him three since joining the team at the end of July, along with 27 on the season.
STATCAST HEROES
The double from Valdez was hit 112.5 MPH for the hardest hit of the game. Jhonny Severino had two hits, both with 106 MPH exit velocities. Severino also had two more batted balls at 100 and 99 MPH. The homer from Plaz traveled 380 feet with a 106.4 MPH exit velocity. Connor Oliver had three whiffs on his curveball, along with two each on his sinker and four-seam.
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:35 PM – TBD
- Double-A: Altoona, 12:05 PM – TBD
- High-A: Greensboro, 6:30 PM – RHP J.P. Massey (3-5, 5.93)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:10 PM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Black, 11:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Gold, 10:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Gold, Game Two – TBD
