Home   >   Sports   >   Choo hits first HR as a Texas Ranger

Choo hits first HR as a Texas Ranger

April 17, 2014

By Lee Kyutae

Choo Shin-soo hit his first home run as a Texas Ranger.

The 31-year-old Korean left-handed hitter smashed his first round-tripper of the year Thursday at home against the Seattle Mariners. It took 16 games over 18 days and 54 at-bats to launch a solo shot.

The opposing pitcher was a 23-year-old Nicaraguan Erasmo Ramirez who lasted only two innings. His win-loss record remained 1-2 as the Mariners overcame four-run deficit to lead at one point 6-4, but his earned run average (ERA) swelled from 5.63 to 7.50.

Choo Shin-soo hit his first home run as a Texas Ranger against his former team on Thursday. (AP)

Choo Shin-soo hit his first home run as a Texas Ranger against his former team on Thursday. (AP)

The Rangers came right back to win 8-6.

Choo struck out twice after the home run, but added an infield single in the eighth inning to raise his batting average from 0.281 to 0.293.  He has walked 12 times and struck out 17 times this season.

Robinson Cano also hit his long-awaited first home run as a Mariner in this game.

The former New York Yankees second baseman was a 10-year, $240 million acquisition for the Mariners, while Choo signed a 7-year, $130 million contract to join the Rangers.

The Rangers defeated the Mariners for the third consecutive day to improve to 9-7, and the Mariners fell to 7-8.