The Brewers secured a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros in 10 innings, although Kai-Wei Teng delivered a solid start and Cam Smith continued his impressive hitting form.
Teng’s Strong Start
Kai-Wei Teng continued his run of consistent starts for the Astros. Teng pitched over five innings. He allowed three runs on three hits. He also recorded four walks and a season-high-tying seven strikeouts.
Houston manager Joe Espada praised Teng’s performance. Espada highlighted Teng’s good stuff and effective sweeper. Espada noted that Teng’s pitch count increased due to the four walks. He conceded that it was another strong outing.
Teng has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his five starts this season. He has pitched at least five innings in each of his last three starts after beginning the season in the bullpen.
David Hamilton’s solo home run in the third inning snapped Teng’s scoreless-innings streak at 13. He hadn’t allowed a run since giving up three in the fourth inning on May 10 at the Reds.
Before his starts, Teng made 11 appearances out of the bullpen. He allowed four runs over 16 2/3 innings. Across his five starts, he has a 3.27 ERA with 23 strikeouts and a .221 opponent batting average.
On Friday, Teng threw 32 sweepers, 21 four-seam fastballs, 16 sinkers and 12 changeups out of his 91 pitches. He found the most success with his sweeper, earning six strikeouts and 13 whiffs with the pitch.
Despite his success, Teng was not satisfied with his efficiency. He felt his pitch count was too high. He said his command was a little bit off during the fifth inning.
Teng ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up a two-run homer to Jackson Chourio off the sweeper. Teng said it was a mistake because he was behind in the count and trying to get a strike, but the ball didn’t have great movement and went a little bit up and in.
Smith’s Offensive Contribution
Cam Smith has improved significantly over the past two weeks after a slow start to the season.
Smith hit a Statcast-projected 419-foot home run to left-center in the second. This was his sixth of the season. He also added an RBI double in Houston’s three-run fourth.
Jake Meyers hit an RBI double and Nick Allen had a sacrifice fly in the inning. This gave the Astros a 4-1 lead.
Smith acknowledged the team’s offensive focus. He said that getting opportunities to contribute offensively is huge. Smith has recorded a hit in eight of his last nine games. He is 11-for-33 over that span with two doubles, two home runs and a 1.010 OPS.
Smith said he couldn’t really point out anything about his recent surge and that he was just getting more opportunities.
Smith had a chance to tie the game in the 10th. However, Trevor Megill struck him out to end the game.
Despite the loss, Espada noted Smith’s evident confidence.
Even with the result, Smith’s confidence was clear, according to Espada.