Two-time reigning American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge on Wednesday went hitless on opening day for the first time in his big-league career and had four strikeouts in a game for the first time since September 2024 in the New York Yankees’ 7-0 win over the San Francisco Giants, while the Houston Astros named Taiwanese pitcher Teng Kai-wei on their opening-day roster.
The Astros, who were to play early this morning Taiwan time, named Teng as a multi-inning reliever in their bullpen.
Judge struck out swinging in the first inning against Logan Webb, took a called third strike in the second, struck out on a foul tip in the fourth, then took another called third strike in the sixth.
Photo: Jim Rassol / Imagn Images
He grounded out starting the night on a zero-for-five night.
He had not struck out four times since a five-strikeout game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 28, 2024.
Manager Aaron Boone liked how the rest of the order contributed on what was an off night for Judge.
Photo: AP
“It was kind of a little bit of everyone tonight being able to have a hand in it,” Boone said. “A night we didn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark, but just a lot of good pressurized at-bats I thought. Good night for us. I think we can beat you a lot of different ways.”
Judge was booed before the game and during each at-bat as he began his 11th big league season — someone the home fans at Oracle Park had so hoped would be wearing orange and black rather than pinstripes and playing in the Bronx. The California native had been pursued by the Giants during free agency in 2022, but he ultimately chose the Yankees’ US$360 million, nine-year contract offer.
The 33-year-old slugger grew up in the Central Valley town of Linden and starred at Fresno State. He batted a career-best and major league-high .331 last season with 53 home runs and 114 RBIs.
During the game, New York’s Jose Caballero lost the first challenge taken to MLB’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by Webb.
Caballero said that he thought the pitch had missed the strike zone, so he challenged — making MLB history in the process.
Webb started the fourth inning with a sinker on the upper, inner corner that was called a strike by Bill Miller, a major league umpire since 1997.
Caballero tapped his helmet and the 12 Hawk-Eye cameras of the Automated Ball-Strike System upheld Miller’s decision in a graphic shown on the Oracle Park scoreboard.
“I thought it was a little higher that what it showed,” Caballero said. “I think it’s really good, keep everyone accountable. It gives us a chance to really see how good [we are] with the zone or not. I wish it was the other way around, I’m trying to get the overturn call, but this time I didn’t.”
Meanwhile, Teng was the only Taiwanese to make an opening-day roster, making the Taichung native the first Taiwanese pitcher to do so in seven years.
The Miami Marlins were the previous team to field a Taiwanese pitcher on the first day of the season in 2019, putting Chen Wei-yin on the mound.
The most recent Taiwanese position player to make an MLB opening-day roster was utility infielder Yu Chang, who achieved that feat in 2023 with the Boston Red Sox.
During spring training, Teng recorded seven strikeouts over 10-2/3 innings across six appearances, while issuing six walks and hitting one batter.
He allowed three runs on three hits — including two home runs — posting a 1-0 record and a 2.53 ERA.
Houston acquired Teng in a January trade with the Giants following last season, in which he posted a 2-4 record, a 6.37 ERA, and 39 strikeouts in 29-2/3 innings.
More than 20 Taiwanese are active within the US professional baseball system affiliated with the MLB, most of them at the Triple-A level or below.
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