Teng Kai-Wei's Mother's Day Start: Sweeper Dominance Ranks First in MLB

(Central News Agency reporter Lin Hong-han, Los Angeles, May 10 exclusive report) Taiwanese baseball player Teng Kai-Wei started on Mother's Day in the US, giving up 3 runs in 3 innings against the Reds. His signature weapon, the sweeper, has shown outstanding suppressing effectiveness this season, currently ranking first among similar pitch types in MLB.

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 celebrating Mother's Day on his chest. Although he allowed one runner in each of the first three innings, he held his ground and prevented 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 getting any outs.

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, allowed 5 hits, issued 1 walk and 1 hit-by-pitch, and recorded 1 strikeout.

Teng Kai-Wei's fastest pitch in this game was 95 mph (153 km/h). The sweeper was his main 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 frequently at 5%.

Television broadcasts mentioned that Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper is currently ranked first in MLB in the "Run Value" metric. For pitchers, "Run Value" measures how much a specific pitch helps a pitcher get outs, suppress offenses, and reduce scoring opportunities.

According to MLB's official advanced data website Baseball Savant, Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper "Run Value" is 5, temporarily ranking first among similar pitch types for MLB pitchers. Second is Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose sweeper "Run Value" is 4. MLB hitters had a batting average of only .118 against Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper.

Television broadcasts showed fans in the stands holding up a sign saying "Dr. Sweeper" to cheer on Teng Kai-Wei.

Astros TV commentator Steve Sparks analyzed that Teng Kai-Wei's sweeper feature is that "its movement is not as large as typical pitchers, but it is faster, reaches home plate sooner, and the pitch path is sharper."

Baseball Savant's website shows that Teng Kai-Wei's average sweeper velocity this season is 83.6 mph (approximately 134.5 km/h). Commentators pointed out that if Teng Kai-Wei's fastball is thrown inside to a right-handed batter, its trajectory before breaking is similar to the sweeper, allowing the two pitches to complement each other and effectively confuse hitters. (Editor: Chang Chih-hsuan) 1150511

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