Astros’ right-hander Teng Kai-wei, the only active Taiwanese pitcher in MLB, on Tuesday struck out two, but allowed two runs and five hits in three innings in his first start with Houston, who lost 5-3 to the Orioles in Baltimore.
It was the 27-year-old Taichung native’s second loss of the season, after 11 relief appearances.
Teng, whose ERA rose from 2.16 to 2.75 after the outing, allowed at least one baserunner in each of the first three innings, but the damage came in the opening frame, when he was tagged for two runs on three hits, including two doubles.
Photo: AP
Gunnar Henderson sparked the Orioles’ offense with a leadoff double to center field. He advanced to third on a groundout by Taylor Ward before scoring on a single by Adley Rutschman.
After retiring Pete Alonso on a groundout, Teng surrendered another run when Samuel Basallo lined a double off a low changeup.
Rutschman and Basallo each collected two hits in the game.
Photo: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Teng recorded one strikeout each in the second and third innings, and also picked off Jeremiah Jackson at first base following a two-out single. The runner was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned after a challenge.
MLB.com’s Ian Nicholas Quillen wrote that Teng was “arguably better than his final line suggested,” noting that the Taiwanese pitcher faced the minimum in the second and third innings, throwing 30 of his 42 pitches for strikes.
He had previously averaged 23.4 pitches per appearance.
However, his velocity was slightly lower than expected.
Before the game, Astros manager Joe Espada said the team had not yet decided whether to keep Teng in a starting role, Quillen wrote.
“We haven’t really talked about my next outing yet,” Quillen quoted Teng as saying through an interpreter. “But my main goal is to stay consistent, and no matter what role the team needs me to be, I’ll just focus on the next pitch and focus on myself.”
Teng has pitched 19-2/3 innings over 12 games, recording one win, two losses and two holds. He has struck out 18 while allowing 14 hits, including three home runs, with opposing hitters batting .197.
The Astros were held scoreless until the fifth inning, when Brice Matthews hit a solo home run, but Alonso answered with a two-run homer in the next frame.
Baltimore added another run in the seventh to extend the lead to 5-1, and Houston were unable to mount a comeback.
With the loss, the Astros remained last in the American League West division at 11-19.
Taiwan’s only other player in the majors, Lee Hao-yu, was one-for-two in the Detroit Tigers 5-2 loss to the Braves in Atlanta.
Lee, who started at third base for the Tigers, struck out swinging in the first inning, before hitting a double to left field in the fifth inning. He was replaced by pinch hitter Colt Keith in the seventh.
Lee on Sunday hit a go-ahead home run when he was brought in as a pinch hitter for Keith.
Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Rays shut out the Cleveland Guardians 1-0, the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the San Francisco Giants 7-0, the Cincinnati Reds outplayed the Colorado Rockies 7-2, the Toronto Blue Jays flew past the Boston Red Sox 3-0 and the St Louis Cardinals sank the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7.
The New York Mets dominated the Washington Nationals 8-0, the Milwaukee Brewers devastated the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-2, the Seattle Mariners defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-1, the New York Yankees pipped the Texas Rangers 3-2, the Chicago White Sox downed the Los Angeles Angels 5-2, the Chicago Cubs overpowered the San Diego Padres 8-3, the Kansas City Royals survived the Athletics 4-1 in 10 innings and the Miami Marlins outlasted Shohei Ohtani on the mound to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1.
Additional reporting by AP and Reuters
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