New York: Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-yin’s long wait for his first Major League Baseball hit is over.
In his 52nd big league at-bat, the Miami hurler singled in the fourth inning of the Marlins 7-2 victory over the New York Mets.
The ball off Chen’s bat hit the ground just three feet from home plate and rolled toward Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who fielded it with his bare hand and didn’t attempt a throw.
Chen’s 0-for-51 hitless streak, which covered 57 plate appearances, was the fourth-longest such run to start a career among players who have debuted since 1900, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The only players to start major league careers with longer streaks of batting futility were Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (66 at-bats), Joey Hamilton of the Padres in the 1990s (57) and Ron Herbel for the Giants of the 1960s (55).
After arriving Stateside from the Japan League in 2012, Chen played for the Baltimore Orioles in the American League from 2012-15 — going to the plate just seven times in four seasons.
After moving to the Marlins in the National League — where pitchers routinely bat — he went 0-for-44.
“It’s pretty amazing that he hasn’t thrown one (hit) out there somehow, some way,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said on Thursday.
Chen’s breakthrough hit came along with a solid performance on the mound. He allowed one run on seven hits and issued one walk while striking out five over six innings.
