BASEBALL/Teng Kai-wei demoted to Triple-A by Giants

San Francisco, Aug. 21 (CNA) The San Francisco Giants have optioned Teng Kai-wei (鄧愷威), the only Taiwanese pitcher to appear in a major league baseball game in 2025, to their Triple-A affiliate after four outings.

Teng was demoted along with outfielder Grant McCray, while outfielder Luis Matos and right-hander Joel Peguero were brought up from the Sacramento River Cats, the Giants announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Thursday (U.S. time).

The move came two days after Teng's most recent start, against the San Diego Padres. He took the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, over 3 1/3 innings.

Over four games, the 26-year-old went 1-3 and gave up 15 runs, 13 earned, in 13 1/3 innings for an 8.78 ERA.

The highlight of Teng's brief time in the majors came on Aug. 8, when he threw five scoreless innings in relief against the Washington Nationals, earning the first win by a Taiwanese pitcher in the big leagues in over 2,150 days.

He was called up to the Giants for the first time in 2024, and made four appearances as a long reliever, pitching 11 innings and yielding 12 earned runs, two home runs and eight walks to finish with a 9.82 ERA.

Advanced metrics showed slight improvement this year from 2024. Opponents' batting average fell from .326 to .269, their slugging percentage fell from .500 to .385, and their hard-hit rate plunged from 51.3 percent to 22 percent.

Teng continued to struggle with his control, however, walking nine and hitting three batters, including two in his last game.

The Taiwanese pitcher could still be called up again this season, given that the Giants' playoff hopes are fading.

They are currently fourth in the National League West at 61-67, 12 games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (73-55), and 6.5 games behind the New York Mets (67-60) for the NL's final wild-card spot.