BASEBALL / Astros' Teng Kai-wei yields one run in first 2026 spring training start

Taipei, March 14 (CNA) Teng Kai-wei (鄧愷威), the only Taiwanese pitcher to have pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, allowed one run over three innings in his first spring training start with the Houston Astros in Florida on Friday.

In the exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the right-handed Teng threw 49 pitches, including 28 strikes, facing 12 batters in his stint. He struck out two, walked two, and surrendered one hit. He also hit a batter in the opening frame.

Teng finished his first two frames efficiently but saw command issues -- arguably his major weakness -- reemerge in the bottom of the third, when the Astros led 1-0.

He first walked Ramon Mendoza and recorded his first strikeout of the game against Jeremy Rivas, but then loaded the bases with another walk and a single.

The Cardinals tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Victor Scott II before Teng struck out Nelson Velázquez to finish his outing.

The Astros lost to the Cardinals 5-4.

The game was Teng's fourth appearance this spring. His earned run average (ERA) stood at 3.12 after Friday's game.

Now 27, Teng was traded by the San Francisco Giants to Houston in January.

He has played 12 MLB games over the past two seasons, including seven starts in eight outings in 2025. In that span, he struck out 46 batters while allowing 33 earned runs over 40 2/3 innings, posting a 7.30 ERA.

Also on Friday, Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) of the Boston Red Sox batted seventh against the Tampa Bay Rays. He went hitless and struck out three times in four at-bats, with his batting average dropping to .100.