Rangers’ Choo Shin-soo reaches 20-homer plateau for 7th time
Texas Rangers’ veteran outfielder Choo Shin-soo has reached the 20 home run plateau for the seventh time in his major league career.
Choo homered off Sam Dyson of the Minnesota Twins in the bottom of the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday (local time), a solo blast that tied the score at 3-3.
Choo, who debuted with the Seattle Mariners in 2005, has hit at least 20 homers in seven different seasons, including each of the past three. His career high is 22, set in 2010 with the Cleveland Indians and matched twice as a Ranger, in 2015 and 2017.
Last season, Choo earned his first All-Star selection after batting .293/.405/.506 with 18 home runs, but he managed only three dingers the rest of the way.
This year, he’s on pace to shatter his career high in home runs. The Rangers have 38 games remaining after Sunday’s game.
After Choo tied the score, the Twins responded with three runs in the top of the eighth and held on to take the game 6-3.
Choo was lifted at the start of the ninth inning for Jose Trevino in right, after batting 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
The 37-year-old is hitting .272/.373/.481 with 20 home runs and 47 RBIs this season. If Choo maintains his current on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .854, it would be the best mark in his Rangers tenure that began in 2014.
After Sunday’s game, Choo ranked 12th in the American League in on-base percentage and 11th in walks (57).
Choo also leads the Rangers in runs scored (75) and doubles (27).
(Yonhap)
Choi Ji-man has 2-run single in 9th, Rays beat Tigers
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Choi Ji-man raised his arms into the air as he saw his game-winning hit clear the infield.
There was good reason to celebrate after the Tampa Bay Rays kept themselves in the AL’s second wild-card spot and avoided a series loss to the woeful Detroit Tigers.
Choi’s two-run single in the bottom of the ninth completed a rally from a late three-run deficit and gave the Rays a 5-4 victory on Sunday.
“Pretty exciting moment,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “His teammates might have been halfway out there before the second run even came across.”
The Rays trailed 4-1 after seven before coming back with two in the eighth and then the winning hit in the ninth.
Travis d’Arnaud reached to open the ninth against Joe Jimenez (3-7) on shortstop Gordon Beckham’s throwing error and went to second when Willy Adames walked.
The Rays loaded the bases on Mike Brosseau’s one-out infield single before Choi singled to center.
“We kept on going and never gave up,” Choi said through a translator. “We were able to bring back the win.”
Tampa Bay had been hitless in 17 at-bats with the bases loaded since July 26.
Tommy Pham hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Buck Farmer that pulled the Rays within 4-3.
“Good teams find a way to win, and that’s exactly what we did,” Pham said.
Tampa Bay pitchers set a three-game series team record by recording 49 strikeouts, including 12 on Sunday.
Houston holds the major league record of 52, coming against Baltimore May 24-26, 2016.
The Rays lost 2-0 Friday night before winning 1-0 in 13 innings on Brosseau’s single Saturday.
“We competed with a team that’s in a playoff race,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It was in our hands, in our grip, we just lost it.”
Matthew Boyd struck out nine over seven strong innings and Harold Castro homered and had three RBIs for the Tigers, who have a major league-worst 37-84 record.
Boyd allowed one run, two hits and two walks. The lefty has 201 strikeouts in 153 innings.
“It was a big performance by him,” Gardenhire said.
Boyd departed the ballpark before the game ended for the birth of his child.
Castro hit a two-run shot in the first and had a sacrifice fly during a two-run seventh.
Victor Reyes got the Tigers’ first walk of the series leading off the first against Trevor Richards and scored on Castro’s homer.
Detroit finished with three walks, with two coming in the ninth off Jose Alvarado (1-5).