Esmerlyn Valdez didn’t just have a big day for the Pirates on Saturday. He carved out a piece of MLB history while helping Pittsburgh finish off a doubleheader sweep of the Brewers at PNC Park.
The rookie right fielder delivered go-ahead hits in both games, becoming the first player in league history to pile up four go-ahead hits, including three homers, in a twinbill. Through 27 games in his major league career, Valdez has already turned himself into the kind of bat that can flip a game in one swing.
Game 1 was his loudest performance yet. Valdez launched two home runs and drove in a career-high six runs in Pittsburgh’s 7-6 win.
He got the scoring started with an RBI single that brought in Jake Mangum, who had been hit by Brandon Sproat’s 97-mph four-seam fastball. Then, with the game tied 2-2 in the third, the 22-year-old broke it open with a 421-foot solo shot off Sproat.
The biggest blow came in the seventh, when the Pirates were trailing 6-3. Valdez stepped in against Aaron Ashby and crushed a grand slam on a 99-mph sinker that caught too much of the plate. It was his first multi-homer game.
He wasn’t done there. In the nightcap, Valdez opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and that blast helped power Pittsburgh to a 3-2 win.
The numbers through his first 90 MLB at-bats are eye-catching: 10 homers, 26 RBI and a 1.092 OPS.
Valdez also joined a short list of players 22 or younger to reach at least 10 homers and 25 RBI in their first 27 games. The others are Yordan Alvarez in 2019, Austin Riley in 2019 and George Scott in 1966.
His 10 homers are also three more than any franchise player had through 27 appearances.
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