Kang Jung-ho homers twice in season debut for Pirates

By Park Sae-jin Posted : May 9, 2016, 09:11 Updated : May 9, 2016, 09:11

[Pittsburgh Pirates' Jung Ho Kang celebrates as he arrives at home after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, May 6, 2016, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)]


Kang Jung-ho of the Pittsburgh Pirates homered twice in his season debut Friday (local time), punctuating a return from devastating knee injuries he suffered last fall.

Kang blasted a two-run shot to right field off Tyler Lyons of the St. Louis Cardinals in the top of the sixth at Busch Stadium, putting the Pirates up 3-0.

Then with the Pirates nursing a 3-2 lead in the top eighth, Kang smacked a solo shot to the left, this time off left-hander Kevin Siegrist, to give his club more breathing room.

The Pirates hung on to win 4-2 to move to 16-13, as Kang went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. The win snapped the Pirates' losing streak at four.

This is Kang's second career multihomer game: he'd also left the yard twice on Aug. 22 last year against the San Francisco Giants.

The South Korean batted sixth and played third base in his first appearance of the 2016 season. He'd spent the past seven months rehabbing from the leg injuries he sustained in a hard takeout slide by Chris Coghlan of the Chicago Cubs trying to break up a double play. The surgeon who performed the operation on Kang to repair a tibial plateau fracture and a torn lateral meniscus later likened the player's injuries to those sustained in a car accident.

Kang played 13 games with the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis and hit .150 there.

In his first at-bat Friday in the top of the second against starter Carlos Martinez, Kang grounded into a double play. The Cardinals' right-hander gave up a single to Starling Marte and walked Francisco Cervelli to start the inning, but Kang did him a favor by swinging at the first pitch and foiling the rally with a 5-4-3 twin killing.

Kang spoiled another opportunity for the Pirates in the top fourth, popping out to second with the bases loaded while the Pirates were leading 1-0.

Kang then came to the plate in the top sixth with two outs and a man at second. He atoned for two earlier at-bats by jumping on the first pitch and sending it over the right field wall for a three-run cushion.

The Cardinals rallied with two runs in the bottom seventh to make it a 3-2 affair, but Kang gave the Pirates a much-needed insurance run in the top eighth with his solo blast.

In 2015, Kang became the first position player to make the jump from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the majors via posting. After a sluggish start, Kang eventually became a fan favorite in Pittsburgh and ended up batting .287/.355/.461 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs. He finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

The Pirates' general manager Neal Huntington has said Kang will be eased into action and will likely be playing two out of every three days. David Freese, a veteran third baseman who has handled the hot corner so far, will spell the South Korean at third.

Also in the majors Friday, Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins extended his hitting streak to six games and had his first big league steal.

Batting sixth as designated hitter against the Chicago White Sox on the road, Park went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. The South Korean slugger raised his batting average from .253 to .268.

Park hit a single off Mat Latos in the second inning, and came around to score on a hit by Kurt Suzuki.

Park had a two-out single in the top fourth with the Twins trailing 5-1, and Oswaldo Arcia brought him home with a two-run home run.

Park hit a deep fly to left center in the sixth. Then in the eighth, White Sox right-hander Nate Jones hit Park with a 96-mile-per-hour fastball.

The South Korean then stole second with Arcia at the plate, but was stranded there as Arcia struck out swinging.

The Twins lost 10-4 and dropped to 8-21 for the season, last place in the American League Central.

(Yonhap)
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