Teng Kai-wei earns first win of season in Astros debut

Taipei, March 30 (CNA) Teng Kai-wei (鄧愷威), the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, earned his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut.

Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to secure an 11-9 comeback victory.

The win marked the Astros' first of the season and the third of Teng's MLB career.

"It's my first time pitching for the Astros, so I might have been a bit too excited in my first inning," the right-hander said after the game. "After settling down, I told myself to stay calm and pitch as usual, and that made me feel more comfortable in the next two innings."

Teng replaced starting pitcher Cristian Javier with two outs and a runner on third base. He walked Jorge Soler on four consecutive balls and then allowed the runner to score on a wild pitch, which was charged as Javier's sixth earned run of the game, with Soler advancing to second.

It was not until his seventh pitch -- a 95.1 mph four-seam fastball -- that Teng threw his first strike, getting Yoán Moncada to ground out, ending the inning.

Teng allowed just one hit -- a single by Oswald Peraza in the seventh -- but retired the next three batters, including 11-time All-Star Mike Trout, to end his outing. Nineteen of Teng's 39 pitches were strikes, with his fastball topping out at 95.6 mph.

Teng credited his teammates for keeping the offense going despite the early deficit.

"It's my first time pitching for the Astros," he said. "I'm grateful that our offense didn't give up and kept scoring."

After scoring three runs in the fifth, the Astros erupted for eight more in the sixth on five hits, three walks, a wild pitch, and a throwing error. Angels reliever Walbert Ureña took the loss after allowing six runs on four hits and two walks, though none were earned.

With Saturday's win, the Astros moved up to 1-2.