BASEBALL / Taiwan's Teng Kai-wei takes loss in start against Reds

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Houston Astros right-hander Teng Kai-wei (鄧愷威), the only active Taiwanese pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), suffered his third loss of the season Sunday, throwing a season-high 63 pitches in his second start of the year.

Teng allowed three earned runs over three innings on five hits in the Astros' 5-0 road loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out one, walked one, and hit one batter among the 15 hitters he faced, raising his earned run average to 3.12.

It was the Astros' second attempt to use the 27-year-old Taiwanese as a starter, after he had established himself as a reliable bullpen arm.

Teng tossed three scoreless innings on 51 pitches for a strong start. However, after returning for the fourth inning, he allowed four consecutive hits, including a double and a triple, as the Reds scored three runs. He was pulled without recording an out in the inning.

After the game, Teng said he told his pitching coach Josh Miller that he felt like he had been doing well until after the third inning.

"I actually felt really good going back out in the fourth, but my command could have been better that inning, and I gave up some hits because the location wasn't good," he told reporters.

Nonetheless, Astros manager Joe Espada remained encouraged by Teng's outing.

"It's going to take some more outings, getting him to throw that 70-80-pitch mark, if we want to go that far," Espada said. "The way he threw the ball today was better than his outing when he started in Baltimore."

Teng made his first start of the season on April 28 against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing two runs over three innings on five hits, taking his second loss of the year.

At that time, however, Teng did not pitch in the fourth inning, and his velocity dipped noticeably, likely because of insufficient rest. Before Sunday's game, Teng had not pitched for five days, which meant he had more rest time.

In 2025, Teng made seven starts with the San Francisco Giants organization but struggled with control issues, lasting at least five innings only twice.

With his walks per nine innings nearly cut in half -- from 5.2 to 2.7 -- combined with the Astros' injury-plagued pitching staff, Teng is drawing consideration for a larger role in the Astros' rotation.

"I would love to be in the starting rotation," Teng said. "But I haven't really talked to Joe or Josh Miller about my future role yet. But no matter where the team needs me, either a reliever or a starter, I will do my best and stay consistent, stay locked in, and help the team get the win."

The Astros, who fell to 16-25 with the loss, are scheduled to host the Seattle Mariners for a four-game series starting Monday.