Houston: Houston Astros right-hander Teng Kai-wei, the only active Taiwanese pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), claimed his fourth win of the season as his team triumphed over the Cleveland Guardians with a 2-1 victory on Sunday. According to Focus Taiwan, Teng delivered a strong performance by striking out four batters over six innings, allowing just one run on four hits and one walk. This victory marked a significant turnaround for the 27-year-old, who managed to lower his earned run average to 4.03 while breaking a three-game losing streak. In a tense first inning, Teng navigated through a challenging situation after giving up two singles and throwing a wild pitch, which placed runners on second and third. However, he successfully ended the threat by striking out Daniel Schneemann. The Guardians' only other scoring opportunity arose in the fifth inning when Petey Halpin hit a one-out triple, eventually scoring on a groundout by Travis Bazzana. Astros catcher Christian Vázquez noted an improvement i n Teng's control compared to his previous two starts. Vázquez highlighted that Teng's ability to consistently throw strikes was a key factor in the game, as it forced opponents to swing early. Offensively, the Astros managed to score two runs against Guardians starter Slade Cecconi, who incurred his sixth loss of the season. The scoring commenced in the first inning when Yordan Alvarez hit his 25th home run of the season. Alvarez, who now leads the American League in home runs, also contributed by scoring the Astros' second run after drawing a leadoff walk in the fourth inning and advancing home on successive singles. This win granted the Astros a 2-1 series victory over Cleveland and improved their season record to 37-42. Despite remaining in fourth place in the American League West, the Astros closed in on the third-place Texas Rangers and are now only three games behind the division-leading Seattle Mariners.