Watch Yoan Moncada slug his first career grand slam

SHARE Watch Yoan Moncada slug his first career grand slam
white_sox_athletics_baseball_75694013.jpg

Yoan Moncada watches his grand slam fly in Oakland. | Ben Margot/AP Photo

Yoan Moncada appears to be figuring it out at the plate if the past couple days are any indication. The White Sox second baseman went yard Wednesday for his first career grand slam and second home run in two days against the Athletics.

Moncada entered the Oakland series batting .184/.298/306 after sputtering out of the gate to open his first full MLB season. However, he caught fire by the bay Tuesday by going 2-of-4 with a home run and a walk in five plate appearances, then kept the good times going with the first grand slam of his big league career less than 24 hours later.

The turnaround is doing wonders to Moncada’s season-long numbers, as we’re still in that time of the year when a couple big games can have a huge impact. His batting average is already up to .241 at the time of writing, a hearty 57-point increase from six days ago.

According to MLB’s Statcast, Moncada has the highest average exit velocity of any player in baseball at 100.1 miles per hour. Jose Abreu, funny enough, comes in second at 97.3 miles per hour. Hitting the ball that hard should lead to good results like this more often.

The Latest
In moments, her 11th album feels like a bloodletting: A cathartic purge after a major heartbreak delivered through an ascendant vocal run, an elegiac verse, or mobile, synthesized productions that underscore the powers of Swift’s storytelling.
Sounds of explosions near an air base in Isfahan on Friday morning prompted fears of Israeli reprisals following a drone and missile strike by Iran on Israeli targets. State TV in Tehran reported defenses fired across several provinces.
Hall participated in Hawks morning skate Thursday — on the last day of the season — for the first time since his surgery in November. He expects to be fully healthy for training camp next season.
Bedard entered the season finale Thursday with 61 points in 67 games, making him the most productive Hawks teenager since Patrick Kane in 2007-08, but he’s not entirely pleased with his performance.