San Francisco Giants pitcher Teng Kai-wei impressed against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday despite an 8-1 loss in the opener of the team’s nine-game road trip.
Teng, the only Taiwanese pitcher active in MLB, struck out five while allowing two hits and one walk over four innings at Chase Field to finish with a no decision, as the teams were tied 1-1 when he finished his outing.
He surrendered the lone run of his outing in the bottom of the first, which began with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts.
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Diamondbacks leadoff hitter Geraldo Perdomo advanced to third on a passed ball by catcher Patrick Bailey and scored on Teng’s throwing error during a pickoff attempt.
Teng ended the first with his third strikeout and allowed only two more baserunners — both on singles — in the third and fourth innings. He avoided a potential loss in the third thanks to Casey Schmitt’s solo shot to center off Zac Gallen.
Gallen gave up no further runs, earning his 12th win of the season with a two-hit, six-inning start.
The Taiwanese right-hander’s ERA dipped to 6.41 after the outing, which was highlighted by two strikeouts of Diamondbacks Taiwanese-American star Corbin Carroll.
Carroll, born to a Taiwanese mother, won the 2023 Rookie of the Year award and is a two-time All-Star. He went one-for-four on Monday, hitting a leadoff double in the sixth that sparked a decisive six-run inning for Arizona.
With the victory, the 76-75 Diamondbacks moved 0.5 games ahead of the 75-75 Giants in the National League West, putting San Francisco in a tougher spot as the wild-card race tightens.
The New York Mets, who hold the third National League wild-card berth at 77-73, were idle on Monday, while the Cincinnati Reds tied the Giants’ record with an 11-6 win over the St Louis Cardinals.
Elsewhere on Monday, it was:
‧ Pirates 0, Cubs 4
‧ Nationals 3, Braves 11
‧ Rays 1, Blue Jays 2
‧ White Sox 1, Orioles 4
‧ Twins 7, Yankees 0
‧ Cardinals 6, Reds 11
‧ Astros 6, Rangers 3
‧ Dodgers 5, Phillies 6