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Park Byung-ho hits slam for 1st spring HR

March 6, 2016
Minnesota Twins' Byung Ho Park, center, of South Korea, high-fives teammates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte, Fla., Sunday, March 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Minnesota Twins’ Byung Ho Park, center, of South Korea, high-fives teammates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte, Fla., Sunday, March 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) — Korean slugger Byung Ho Park hit a grand slam for his first spring training homer, helping the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Sunday.

Park hit a towering shot to left field in the first inning off Jake Odorizzi after the Rays starter walked a pair of batters with two outs and shortstop Tim Beckham’s fielding error loaded the bases.

“He put a nice swing on a fastball. He hit it so high and really got it well, but I wasn’t sure it was going out,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said, noting the wind was blowing in before the game. “I saw some balls get knocked down in batting practice, so I wasn’t sure. It shows you a little bit of the strength that he has.”

The 29-year-old native of South Korea signed with the Twins as a free agent in December after spending the past nine seasons with the LG Twins and Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization.

Park hit 173 homers and drove in 492 runs over the last four seasons with Nexen. He led the KBO with 53 homers, 377 total bases and a league-record 146 RBIs in 2015.

“It’s got to be a good feeling for him to get that first one out of the way,” Molitor said.

Park, who started at first base, said he felt at home in the field as well as at the plate.

“It was nothing new to me. I’ve been playing first base almost all my career,” Park, who was 1 for 8 with three strikeouts this spring before Sunday, said through a translator. “I was feeling comfortable out there. I was trying to pay attention to our dugout and try to get some signs or signals from our coaching staff, but that was it.”

Molitor said he’s encouraged by the progress Park has made defensively since the start of camp, noting he’s been open to suggestions from coaches.

“Most things that have been said have been put into practice rather quickly,” Molitor said, “which is a good sign.”