First Call: Pirates rookie Esmerlyn Valdez on a record-making HR pace; prediction for Anthony Mantha in NHL free agency - TribLIVE.com

Tuesday’s “First Call” takes a look at Esmerlyn Valdez’s attempts to make history. The Pittsburgh Pirates are facing one of the National League’s best pitchers in Philadelphia on Tuesday. We also have an update on where Anthony Mantha could land in free agency. And we try to figure out if Vince Trocheck is going to move at all. With his home run in Philadelphia Monday night, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Esmerlyn Valdez now has a four-game home run streak. Esmerlyn Valdez has homered in FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES!This is just his 16th Major League game ???? pic.twitter.com/KBPsYOrGsJ That homer triggered a comeback win for the Pirates. They marched back from a 5-0 deficit against the Phillies to win 11-7. For Valdez, he became just the third Pirate to homer in four straight games as a rookie. The other two were Dick Stuart in 1958 and Garrett Jones in 2009. According to MLB’s social media, Valdez is just the sixth player since 1900 to put together a homer streak of at least four games in his first 16 MLB contests. Valdez is only 22. Only six other players 22 years of age or younger have homered in four straight games. The record is five straight games set by Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. SportsNet Pittsburgh ran a postgame graphic claiming that was the first comeback of five runs or more in Philly for the Pirates since 1990. After winning Game 1 of their series in Philadelphia, the Pirates attempt to take Game 2 as well Tuesday night with Bubba Chandler on the mound. He’s been pitching better lately, having lost just once in his last six starts. Since June 3, the 23-year-old right-hander has lowered his ERA from 5.05 to 4.42. He hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in his last four starts. The next big step for Chandler will be to cover six innings or more. He’s only done that twice in 15 starts. The Phillies fed the Pirates a 6-0 loss when Chandler pitched against them at PNC Park on May 16. He survived just three innings, yielding five runs on 73 pitches. Cristopher Sanchez was the opposing pitcher that day, tossing a six-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and no walks. He’ll be on the mound against Chandler again Tuesday. Sanchez, who finished second in Cy Young balloting to Paul Skenes last year, is 9-3 on the season with an ERA of 2.13. That is the third-best ERA in the National League. Only Milwaukee’s Aaron Ashby (11) has more wins than Sanchez in the NL. That said, the 6-foot-6 lefty is coming off a rough start, allowing five earned runs in five innings en route to a 10-5 loss in Washington. Related: • Tim Benz: Ruck Twins trying to keep their development paths linked for as long as possible with Penguins • Madden Monday: This might be the biggest philosophical difference between Mike Tomlin and Mike McCarthy Vince Trocheck is staying in New York — for now. The Upper St. Clair product constantly seems to be in the middle of trade rumors. That was the case leading up to the NHL trade deadline. It was also the case leading up to last weekend’s NHL Draft. But the Rangers never moved the 32-year-old center. And, according to David Pagnotta of “Daily Faceoff LIVE,” they aren’t planning on it unless their steep asking price is met. “There’s certainly a possibility of him sticking around because (Rangers GM Chris) Drury and Co. have kind of held firm on what their ask is,” Pagnotta said. “If they’re not going to get it, they don’t feel there’s a point in trading him. He’s got three years on his contract, so there’s no immediate sense of urgency with this. This is more of a scenario where, again, if they’re not going to maximize their return, why pull the trigger?” In 2025-26, Trocheck counted $5.625 million against the salary cap. He had 53 points in 67 games for New York. He also won a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics. Anthony Mantha led the Penguins in regular-season goals last year. But he isn’t expected to return for a second season. The 33-year-old winger becomes an unrestricted free agent Wednesday. Josh Wegman of The Score predicts Mantha will wind up in Montreal for five years at $6.5 million per season. “The Canadiens could stand to add some size to their forward group. While Mantha isn’t as physical as you might expect for someone who’s 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, his scoring touch and two-way presence could be a great fit on the second line with a cerebral playmaker like Ivan Demidov. Fresh off a career-high 33 goals with the Penguins last season, Mantha is also a Quebec native and a former client of agent-turned-Montreal GM Kent Hughes,” Wegman wrote. According to PuckPedia, the Canadiens have $14.2 million in cap space. That’s 17th in the NHL. Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. 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