Teng Kai-Wei Starts on Mother's Day, Sweeper Dominance Temporarily Ranks First in MLB
Taiwanese baseball player Teng Kai-Wei started on Mother's Day, and his signature 'Sweeper' pitch is temporarily ranked first in MLB for its suppressive effect. He pitched 3 innings, giving up 3 runs, and his sweeper's 'Run Value' surpassed Shohei Ohtani to claim the top spot.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 11, 2026 at 08:26
- 🔍 Collected: May 11, 2026 at 08:31 (4 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 11, 2026 at 09:24 (52 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Lin Hung-Han, Los Angeles, 10th) Taiwanese baseball star Teng Kai-Wei started on Mother's Day in the US, pitching 3 innings and giving up 3 runs against the Reds. His signature pitch, the sweeper, has shown outstanding suppressive effect this season, temporarily ranking first among similar pitches in Major League Baseball.
The Houston Astros lost 0-5 to the Cincinnati Reds today on the road. Taiwanese pitcher Teng Kai-Wei served as the starting pitcher, wearing a pink ribbon on his chest to celebrate Mother's Day. In the first three innings, despite having one runner on base in each, he managed to hold the situation and prevent the opponent from advancing.
In the 4th inning, Teng Kai-Wei faced four consecutive hits from the opponent, giving up 3 runs from a 0-0 situation and exiting the game without retiring any batters.
The Astros intend to transition Teng Kai-Wei to a starting role, and this game saw him extend his pitch count. He threw a total of 63 pitches today, a new season high. He faced 15 batters, gave up 5 hits, had 1 walk, 1 hit-by-pitch, and 1 strikeout.
Teng Kai-Wei's fastest pitch in this game was 95 mph (153 km/h). The sweeper was his primary weapon, used 40% of the time, followed by the four-seam fastball at 25%, then the sinker at 14% and the curveball at 13%, with the changeup used less at 5%.
TV broadcasts mentioned that Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper temporarily ranks first in MLB in the 'Run Value' metric. For pitchers, 'Run Value' measures how much a specific pitch helps the pitcher get outs, suppress offense, and reduce the chance of giving up runs.
According to MLB's official advanced data website Baseball Savant, Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper has a 'Run Value' of 5, temporarily ranking first among similar pitches for MLB pitchers. The second place is Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, whose sweeper has a 'Run Value' of 4. MLB batters have a batting average of only .118 against Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper.
TV broadcasts captured fans in the stands holding signs saying 'Dr. Sweeper' to cheer for Teng Kai-Wei.
Astros TV commentator Steve Sparks analyzed that the characteristic of Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper is that 'its movement is not as large as typical pitchers, but it's faster, reaches home plate quicker, and the pitch is sharper.'
Baseball Savant's website shows that Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper averaged 83.6 mph (about 134.5 km/h) this season. Commentators pointed out that if Teng Kai-Wei's fastball is thrown inside to right-handed batters, its trajectory before breaking is similar to the sweeper, allowing the two pitches to complement each other and effectively confuse batters. (Edited by Chang Chih-Hsuan) 1150511
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(Central News Agency reporter Lin Hung-Han, Los Angeles, 10th) Taiwanese baseball star Teng Kai-Wei started on Mother's Day in the US, pitching 3 innings and giving up 3 runs against the Reds. His signature pitch, the sweeper, has shown outstanding suppressive effect this season, temporarily ranking first among similar pitches in Major League Baseball.
The Houston Astros lost 0-5 to the Cincinnati Reds today on the road. Taiwanese pitcher Teng Kai-Wei served as the starting pitcher, wearing a pink ribbon on his chest to celebrate Mother's Day. In the first three innings, despite having one runner on base in each, he managed to hold the situation and prevent the opponent from advancing.
In the 4th inning, Teng Kai-Wei faced four consecutive hits from the opponent, giving up 3 runs from a 0-0 situation and exiting the game without retiring any batters.
The Astros intend to transition Teng Kai-Wei to a starting role, and this game saw him extend his pitch count. He threw a total of 63 pitches today, a new season high. He faced 15 batters, gave up 5 hits, had 1 walk, 1 hit-by-pitch, and 1 strikeout.
Teng Kai-Wei's fastest pitch in this game was 95 mph (153 km/h). The sweeper was his primary weapon, used 40% of the time, followed by the four-seam fastball at 25%, then the sinker at 14% and the curveball at 13%, with the changeup used less at 5%.
TV broadcasts mentioned that Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper temporarily ranks first in MLB in the 'Run Value' metric. For pitchers, 'Run Value' measures how much a specific pitch helps the pitcher get outs, suppress offense, and reduce the chance of giving up runs.
According to MLB's official advanced data website Baseball Savant, Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper has a 'Run Value' of 5, temporarily ranking first among similar pitches for MLB pitchers. The second place is Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, whose sweeper has a 'Run Value' of 4. MLB batters have a batting average of only .118 against Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper.
TV broadcasts captured fans in the stands holding signs saying 'Dr. Sweeper' to cheer for Teng Kai-Wei.
Astros TV commentator Steve Sparks analyzed that the characteristic of Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper is that 'its movement is not as large as typical pitchers, but it's faster, reaches home plate quicker, and the pitch is sharper.'
Baseball Savant's website shows that Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper averaged 83.6 mph (about 134.5 km/h) this season. Commentators pointed out that if Teng Kai-Wei's fastball is thrown inside to right-handed batters, its trajectory before breaking is similar to the sweeper, allowing the two pitches to complement each other and effectively confuse batters. (Edited by Chang Chih-Hsuan) 1150511
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you provide is a force to protect press freedom.
Download CNA's 'First-hand News' APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.