Twins’ Park Byung-ho hits 11th homer

In this Associated Press photo, Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Miami Marlins starter Chen Wei-yin on June 8, 2016, in Minneapolis.

SEOUL, (Yonhap) — Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins has gone deep for the 11th time in his first major league season.

The South Korean slugger belted a solo shot off Miami Marlins’ starter Chen Wei-yin in the bottom sixth at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday (local time). Park’s blast tied the game at 5-5.

The homer was part of Park’s 2-for-4 day at the plate. He also scored twice.

The Twins added a pair of runs in the bottom seventh and won the game 7-5.

Park entered the game batting just .208 (5-for-24) over his past seven games with one home run and two RBIs. He’s batting .220 for the season.

Elsewhere in the majors, Baltimore Orioles’ left fielder Kim Hyun-soo stole his first big league base against the Kansas City Royals at home, while also driving a run at the plate.

Kim went 1-for-4 in the O’s 4-0 victory. He picked up his fourth RBI of the season off Kansas City starter Edinson Volquez with a two-out single in the fifth.

The hit chased Volquez from the game. And with right-hander Luke Hochevar on the mound, Kim stole second base.

The outfielder wasn’t exactly known for speed while playing in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), with 54 steals in 1,131 games. He did have 11 swipes in 2015.

Now entrenched in the starting lineup, Kim has recorded at least a base hit in each of the six starts he has made in June.

In the National League, Oh Seung-hwan of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched another shutout inning in relief, extending his scoreless streak to 7 1/3 innings.

Oh struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh against the Cincinnati Reds on the road, as the Cards prevailed 12-7.

With his club ahead 8-5, Oh fanned Adam Duvall on a 92 mph fastball and then got Eugenio Suarez to swing on a 2-2 slider. Billy Hamilton also went down swinging on a slider.

Since getting touched for three runs in one inning against the Chicago Cubs on May 25, Oh hasn’t given up an earned run in seven appearances. He now has 45 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings and boasts a 1.71 ERA.

Also in the NL, Kang Jung-ho of the Pittsburgh Pirates drove in a run and stole his first base of the season.

Batting cleanup, the South Korean third baseman went 1-for-5 against the New York Mets, with his lone RBI coming in the first inning off against fireballer Noah Syndergaard. Kang stole second later in the same inning.

The Pirates, though, lost the game 6-5 in 10 innings. Kang, who made his season debut in early May after recovering from serious leg injuries he suffered last fall, is batting .292 with eight homers and 23 RBIs in 27 games.