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S. Koreans enjoy big days at plate in majors

September 14, 2015
Pittsburgh Pirates' Kang Jung-ho singles during a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, in Pittsburgh. The Pirates won 7-6. (Peter Diana/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Kang Jung-ho singles during a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, in Pittsburgh. The Pirates won 7-6. (Peter Diana/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

ARLINGTON, Texas (Yonhap) — Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers and Kang Jung-ho of the Pittsburgh Pirates both enjoyed big days at the plate in Major League Baseball (MLB) Sunday.

Choo belted his 18th home run of the season in the Rangers’ 12-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics, part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two RBIs and three runs scored at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Choo has seven homers and 29 RBIs since the All-Star break, both second on the Rangers, and is batting .259/.357/.443 for the year.

Batting second and playing right field, Choo put the Rangers on the board with a solo shot off A’s starter Felix Doubront in the bottom of the first inning. He then led off the fourth with a single and got his third hit of the afternoon with an RBI single in the sixth.

The Rangers improved to 75-67, and are leading the Minnesota Twins by a game for the second AL wild-card berth. They also kept pace with the Houston Astros (77-66), who still lead Texas atop the American League West by 1.5 games after rallying to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3.

The Rangers and the Astros will clash in a crucial four-game series in Arlington starting Monday.

Over in the National League, Kang went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run, as the Pirates defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in 11 innings at PNC Park. Kang is now batting .290/.359/.467, and has 29 RBIs in the second half, second most on the Pirates after Andrew McCutchen.

As the Pirates cleanup, the third baseman got his first single in the fourth off Milwaukee starter Taylor Jungmann. With the Pirates down 6-5 in the seventh, Kang lined a single to left to drive home the tying run.

The Pirates, who were down 6-1 at one point, walked off on the Brewers thanks to Josh Harrison’s single in the bottom of the 11th.

The Pirates are now 86-56 and are holding the first NL wild-card spot. They remain 2.5 games behind the NL West-leading St. Louis Cardinals (89-54), which defeated the Cincinnati Reds 9-2 Sunday.

After a day off, the Buccos will open a four-game series at home versus the Chicago Cubs with a twin bill on Tuesday. The Cubs trail the Pirates by four games in the division and in the wild-card race.