Hao-Yu Lee's MLB debut: three at-bats without a hit; Tigers lose in extra innings to Masataka Yoshida's walk-off single.

On April 18 (Beijing time), the Detroit Tigers promoted infielder Hao-Yu Lee from Triple-A. Lee debuted in the MLB wearing jersey number 50, marking him as the 19th Taiwanese player to reach the majors. In his first game versus the Boston Red Sox, he started as the eighth batter at third base. Yet, he went hitless in three at-bats, and the Tigers fell 0–1 in extra innings.

In the top of the third inning, Lee faced his first MLB plate appearance as the leadoff batter with no outs and no runners on base. After a 1–2 count, he hit Ranger Suárez’s fastball to right field, where it was caught by Wilyer Abreu.

Tigers starter Casey Mize recorded four strikeouts over the first four innings, generating four flyouts and three groundouts, handled by catcher Dillon Dingler and shortstop Kevin McGonigle. McGonigle also teamed with Gleyber Torres and Spencer Torkelson to execute a double play, while Lee had limited involvement in defense.

In the top of the fifth, with two outs and no runners on, Lee batted again against Suárez. On a 1–2 count, he drove the ball deep but was caught in the warning track by center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.

In the bottom of the seventh, after two outs, Jarren Duran batted with the defensive shift slightly favoring the right side. Duran hit a soft grounder; Lee charged forward, fielded it, and made a quick throw to first, but Duran beat it out for an infield single. Duran then stole second. Next batter Rafaela hit a bouncing ball; Lee fielded it near the line and threw to first on one bounce, Torkelson secured the catch, and the Tigers escaped the threat.

With the score 0–0 entering the top of the eighth, two outs and no runners on, Lee batted once more against Suárez. After a 2–1 count, Suárez threw an inside sinker that skirted the edge of the virtual strike zone, a precise pitch that Lee did not swing at, resulting in a strikeout.

In the bottom of the ninth, after two outs, Trevor Story hit a grounder; Lee fielded it but threw too high to first, committing his first career error. Fortunately, the next batter Duran grounded out; Lee cleanly fielded and threw to complete the putout, sending the game into extra innings tied 0–0.

The bottom of the tenth used the extra-inning tiebreaker rule. Runner Duran on second advanced to third on a wild pitch; catcher Dingler attempted to recover but threw to third, where Lee failed to cleanly catch, allowing the winning run to reach third base. Will Vest then struck out Rafaela but walked Marcelo Mayer. With one out and runners on first and third, the Red Sox sent Japanese hitter Masataka Yoshida to pinch-hit. Yoshida hit a high-bouncing ball that skipped past the infield defense, driving in the walk-off run, ending the game 1–0 for the Red Sox.

In his MLB debut, Hao-Yu Lee posted a 0-for-3 stat line with one strikeout, and defensively recorded one throwing error.