TROY — Tri-City ValleyCats leftfielder Aaron Altherr showed power and patience in Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of the Florence Y’alls in Frontier League action.
He’s getting back in a groove after sitting out last season.
The former big-leaguer hit a solo homer to left in a 6-1 victory in the opener, then added a two-run double and a bases-loaded walk in a 6-2 triumph in the second game. Both games were seven innings.
Altherr didn’t play last season after coming back from spending the 2020 and 2021 seasons in Korea.
“I’m finally at a point where I feel like normal at the plate, like how I felt before I took the year off,” said Altherr, who played for the Phillies, Giants and Mets from 2014 to 2019. “I’m really excited about that because it was a grind getting to this point. The beginning of the season was pretty frustrating, but I’m just glad I’m feeling like myself again and just keep this stretch going.”
The ValleyCats (19-14) have won five straight games entering a series at Quebec that begins Tuesday.
Altherr entered Sunday batting .283 with five homers and 24 RBI.
In Sunday’s nightcap, the ValleyCats and Y’alls were tied 2-2 with two out in the fifth when Altherr stepped into the box against Florence reliever Sean Hughes, who had just walked Carson McCusker to load the bases.
Altherr looked at four straight balls outside from Hughes to force in Jaxon Hallmark with the go-ahead run.
“Just watching his warmup pitches and then how he pitched to Carson, a lot balls weren’t really close,” Altherr said. “So I definitely was taking until I got a strike, and fortunately, he threw four straight balls. I was just going to be patient in that at-bat. He didn’t seem like he had any feel with his pitches yet, so just trying to be patient.”
Altherr’s walk started a four-run rally. Trey Hair…
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