Taiwanese pitcher Tseng Jen-ho on Thursday made his debut as a Major League Baseball starter at Chicago’s famous Wrigley Field, but needed support from his teammates to escape being tagged with a loss, as the Cubs mounted a comeback to pummel the New York Mets 14-6.
Tseng was pulled out after the third inning, surviving his baptism by fire from Mets batters, who rattled the rookie with five hits, including two homers, and five earned runs.
The Cubs trailed 5-4 when he left the game, but his teammates cranked up the pressure to score five runs in the bottom of the fourth frame and two innings later scored another five.
Tseng walked one and struck out six, tying him with left-hander Chen Wei-yin for most batters fanned by a Taiwanese starting pitcher in a MLB debut.
In the top of the second inning, with two runners on, Tseng slapped a bouncer for a fielder’s choice groundout that scored a run, his first RBI in the MLB.
The Kaohsiung native became the fourth Taiwanese player to make an MLB debut as a starting pitcher and the first to collect an RBI in his first game.
However, his three-inning outing was the shortest of the four.
Throughout his youth baseball career, mostly with teams in Kaohsiung, Tseng was known by his nickname Tou Sat (土虱), or “Catfish” in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).
In little league he played as an infielder, often diving and rolling in the dirt to catch the ball, resulting in him getting covered in mud, which his coach said made him look like a catfish wallowing in the mud, and the name stuck.
Tseng was a hot youth prospect and was scouted early on by MLB clubs, with the Cubs signing him in 2013.
He excelled in the US minor leagues, chalking up an outstanding 6-1 record and 1.80 ERA with the AAA-level Iowa Cubs earlier this year before being called up to start in the MLB.
Prior to Thursday’s debut, he received this year’s minor league pitcher of the year award from the Cubs organization, an honor he also garnered in 2014.
Despite Tseng’s rocky outing at Wrigley Field, Cubs manager Joe Maddon praised the Taiwanese debutant after the game.
“I like the kid a lot. You know about the never-let-them-see-you-sweat moments, and we did,” Maddon said. “There’s something in there. Awkward first night for him, but looking forward, I like him.”
Speaking to US media through an interpreter, Tseng admitted that he was nervous when the game started.
In Kaohsiung, his father, Tseng Shih-chung, gathered with friends and family to cheer him on.
“We knew he was nervous by the look on his face, so he did not pitch well in the first inning, but after that he settled down and did better,” Tseng Shih-chung said. “He needed to overcome the pressure and learn not to be nervous.”
“Still, I think he did well today, and I give him a passing grade of 60 for his performance,” he added.
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