CHICAGO -- What makes right-hander Kai-Wei Teng’s sweeper so difficult for opposing pitchers to hit, says Astros catcher César Salazar, is that it resembles a fastball for a good portion of the time while traveling to the plate and then suddenly takes a hard left. By that time, the hitter has committed to the fastball and has little chance of making good contact.
The quality of Teng’s sweeper was on full display in Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, where he threw a season-high six scoreless innings, striking out three batters and allowing two hits. Christian Walker clubbed a pair of homers to drive in all three runs for the Astros, who have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games.
Teng, making his fourth start since being moved to the rotation, lowered his ERA to 2.19 and WHIP to 1.05 in 37 innings. Teng threw the sweeper 42 times in 89 pitches and got seven of his 10 whiffs on the pitch.
“Obviously, the sweeper is my best pitch right now,” Teng said. “During the past few years when I didn’t really feel my sinker and my four-seam, I sometimes threw tons of sweeper. This year, I really trusted in my stuff and even though I didn’t feel good throwing the sinker and four-seam, I stuck with the game plan -- just throw those fastballs and then it has good tunnelling with the sweeper. That’s probably why the sweeper plays that well.”
For the season, opposing hitters are batting .105 with a .140 slugging percentage and 32.2 percent whiff rate against Teng’s sweeper. Salazar said his ability to throw it on both sides of the plate, for strikes and for chase, makes it effective.
“It has a good line off the fastball for a long time,” said Salazar. “It’s like six or seven miles [per hour] off the fastball, but it’s not like it pops out of the hand. It goes in a straight line and takes a hard left, even when he’s throwing it for get-me-over strikes.”
Teng issued leadoff walks in the second and third inning, but ground-ball double plays in both innings kept the Cubs off the scoreboard and his pitch count low. Astros starting pitchers have posted a 1.58 ERA in 23 innings in the team’s last four games, including three scoreless outings by a starter.
“We’re starting to get quality start after quality start,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Our offense continues to put [together] some good at-bats again today, but for us to get going and create consistency in how we win games, we need both sides of the ball, and it starts with our pitching.”
Teng, acquired in a January trade from the Giants, was excelling in a long relief role before the Astros decided to move him to the rotation in late April. That was in part because of the number of injuries they had in the rotation, but also because of how well Teng was throwing.
As a starter, he’s managed to remain effective during the second and third time through the batting order. He retired nine of the final 10 hitters he faced Saturday. Teng said he sticks to the pregame plan during the first time through the order, but focuses on hitters’ reactions after that to determine which pitches to throw.
“After that second time through, he continues to get stronger,” Espada said. “His pitches continue to keep their depth and their ability to miss bats. That’s something I’m looking at once he gets to that 70-, 80-[pitch] mark -- how much more can he give us? He continues to hit corners, pitch down in the zone, the sweeper continues to be effective and not staying up in the zone. All those things. He’s checking all those boxes and it shows that he’s starting to get comfortable in that role.”
Teng’s transition from the bullpen -- along with the performances of Spencer Arrighetti and Peter Lambert -- has helped Houston’s banged-up rotation find some footing in May after a disastrous April that saw Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier and Tatsuya Imai land on the injured list (Lance McCullers Jr. went on the IL earlier this week). Astros starters have posted a 3.77 ERA in May, improving from 5.56 in March/April.
“Everybody is starting to do their part,” Espada said. “The level of confidence is starting to rise. The guys are starting to believe in one another. ‘It’s my turn and I want to pass the baton to the next guy.’”