BASEBALL/Teng, Lee stage first ever Taiwanese player-vs.-player MLB matchup

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) Houston Astros right-hander Teng Kai-wei (鄧愷威) and Detroit Tigers infielder Lee Hao-yu (李灝宇) made Taiwan baseball history on Monday by becoming the first Taiwanese pitcher and batter to face each other in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game.

In the opener of a three-game series between the two teams at Daikin Park, Teng and Lee squared off twice during Teng's 3 1/3-inning start, with each getting the better of the other once.

Lee entered the game in the second inning after second baseman Gleyber Torres left with an injury and came to the plate with a one-strike count and the Tigers leading 2-0.

Teng threw four consecutive sweepers to strike out Lee and end the inning.

This time, Lee jumped on Teng's first pitch and lined a single into right field to put runners on the corners.

That ended the night for Teng, who had thrown 81 pitches and given up three home runs.

Lee added another single in the eighth inning and stole second base for the first stolen base of his MLB career as the Tigers went on to beat the Astros 9-3.

His batting average rose to .225.

For Teng, it was the latest in a recent run of disappointing outings.

Since tossing six scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs in late May, Teng has pitched no more than five innings and allowed at least three runs in each of his last four outings, surrendering six home runs over 17 1/3 innings during that span.

The 27-year-old was charged with his sixth loss of the season, and his earned run average that had been at 2.19 after the Cubs game rose to 4.31.

The only positives were that Teng recorded a career-high nine strikeouts and became only the fourth Taiwanese pitcher to record 100 career MLB strikeouts, joining Wang Chien-ming (王建民), Kuo Hung-chih (郭泓志) and Chen Wei-yin (陳偉殷).

The Tigers improved to 30-42, while the Astros fell to 33-41. Both teams remained in fourth place in their respective divisions, the American League Central and American League West.