Detroit Tigers second baseman Lee Hao-yu, the only active Taiwanese batter in the major leagues, on Monday hit his second MLB home run in his team’s 10-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Batting eighth in the three-game series opener at Tropicana Field, Lee went two-for-five with a solo homer, two runs scored and an RBI as Detroit snapped a four-game losing streak.
After going hitless in his first two at-bats, Lee blasted a solo shot in the top of the sixth inning to extend the Tigers’ lead to 8-2. He later led off the eighth with a single and came around to score Detroit’s ninth run of the game.
Photo: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images
The homer was Lee’s second in the majors and Detroit’s fifth of the game.
Facing an 0-2 count, the 23-year-old drove a four-seam fastball from Trevor Martin over the right-field wall.
The Tigers built an early 6-0 lead, highlighted by consecutive home runs from Dillon Dingler, Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene in the third inning. Dingler had another solo home run in the fifth.
Tampa Bay fought back throughout the game, scoring three runs in the sixth inning and four more in the eighth to cut the deficit to one run, but Detroit held on to secure the victory.
Lee raised his batting average to .205.
Reliever Tyler Holton earned his first win of the season after tossing 1-2/3 scoreless innings.
The Tigers remain fifth in the American League Central Division at 23-38, half a game behind the Kansas City Royals.
In St Louis, Missouri, on his son Nolan’s birthday, Jacob deGrom got the whole family a gift he will never forget.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner on Monday tossed five scoreless innings to earn his 100th career win as the Texas Rangers beat the St Louis Cardinals 2-1.
“It’s really cool,” deGrom said. “As a kid, your goal is to just play major league baseball, and for it to become a reality and win 100 games in the major leagues, it’s kind of crazy to think about. Today was Nolan’s third birthday, so I’ll always remember that being my 100th night on his third birthday.”
The right-hander notched his 99th victory on May 10 when he threw seven scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs.
In his first three attempts at reaching the century mark, 37-year-old deGrom (4-4) went 0-2, while allowing 12 runs over 15 innings. He finished 1-3 with a 5.72 ERA in five starts last month, but Monday was different after the calendar flipped to June. He yielded just four hits and struck out eight to help the Rangers win their fourth straight game.
“I was trying not to do too much,” deGrom said. “Having the meeting, talking to [catcher] Danny [Jansen] I was like: ‘Hey, tonight we’re hitting the glove as many times as we can. Mechanics are what they are. We’re throwing everything else out the window. We’re going back to how I used to pitch.’”
Selected in the ninth round of the 2010 amateur draft, deGrom debuted for the New York Mets in 2014 and was the National League Rookie of the Year.
Despite going 100-69 with a 2.61 ERA in 260 career starts, deGrom has only made 30 starts five times in his first 12 major league seasons, and last year was his first time making 30 starts since 2019.
“He’s never really felt 100 percent,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “I’ve said it before, he should be a Hall of Famer. I think he’s going to be a Hall of Famer. That’s how dominant he’s been throughout his career and he’s still got a couple of years left in him, too.”
DeGrom is the 16th active pitcher to reach 100 career wins after Texas teammate Nathan Eovaldi became the 15th on July 30 last year against the Los Angeles Angels.
Elsewhere, the Mariners mastered the Mets 3-2, the Diamondbacks downed the Dodgers 4-1, the Royals routed the Reds 9-2, the Brewers belittled the Giants 16-2, the Twins tamed the White Sox 9-6, the Rockies edged the Angels 9-8 and the Marlins sank the Nationals 7-3.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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