Taiwan’s Teng Kai-wei on Sunday continued his strong start to the MLB season, tossing two scoreless innings in the Houston Astros’ 7-5 home loss to the St Louis Cardinals.
The Taiwanese right-hander came out of the bullpen at the top of the sixth inning, with the Astros trailing 4-1. He struck out three while allowing one hit and one walk, lowering his earned run average to 1.98.
Of his 35 pitches, 23 were strikes, including two clocked at 94.7mph (152.4kph).
Photo: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
The game marked Teng’s second straight outing without allowing a run. The 27-year-old has pitched 13-2/3 innings this season, posting 8.49 strikeouts per nine innings, with a batting average on balls in play of .156 — a sharp improvement from .351 and .365 in his previous two seasons.
Led by a solo shot from slugger Yordan Alvarez, his 10th in the MLB, the Astros tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. However, the Cardinals prevailed with a three-run frame in the top of the 10th, partly due to a fielding error by Astros third baseman Brice Matthews, resulting in Bryan King’s first loss of the season.
Also on Sunday, Lee Hao-yu went none for four in his second MLB game for the Detroit Tigers, which defeated the Red Sox 6-2 in the third game of a four-game series at Fenway Park.
Lee, a right-handed batter, got the start at third base as the Tigers faced Red Sox left-handed ace Garrett Crochet. Lee struck out in his first two at-bats before recording a groundout and a flyout.
Lee was called up Friday last week to fill the vacancy left by utility player Zach McKinstry, who was placed on the injured list with hip/abdominal inflammation. He debuted the same day when the Tigers faced left-hander Ranger Suarez, but was benched on Saturday when right-hander Brayan Bello started for Boston.
Sonny Gray was set to start for the Red Sox yesterday, which makes it less likely that Lee would start for the Tigers.
After Sunday, the Tigers moved to 12-10, second in the American League Central Division, 0.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians, while the Astros, at 8-15, remained last in the American League West Division.
Elsewhere, the Cubs edged the Mets 2-1, the Yankees routed the Royals 7-0, the Braves beat the Phillies 4-2, the Pirates stung the Rays 6-3, the Nationals downed the Giants 3-0 and the Guardians overcame the Orioles 8-4.
The Marlins mastered the Brewers 5-3, the Rockies defeated the Dodgers 9-6, the White Sox overcame the Athletics 7-4, the Padres pipped the Angels 2-1, the Blue Jays thrashed the Diamondbacks 10-4, the Mariners sank the Rangers 5-2 and the Reds outlasted the Twins 7-4 in 10 innings.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins. United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
Italian soccer is at its lowest ebb in nearly 40 years after a wholesale European exodus at club level followed the nation’s failure for the third successive time to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and compounded a leadership and structural crisis. The exits suffered by Bologna and ACF Fiorentina on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League respectively meant no Italian teams are left in European competition this season. Italy’s last remaining UEFA Champions League contenders, Atalanta BC, went out in the round of 16 last month. It is the first time since the 1986-1987 campaign that Italian clubs
RSS