Twins' Park Byung-ho hits 11th homer

SEOUL, June 9 (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 Minnesota on Wednesday (local time). Park's blast tied the game at 5-5.

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

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.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)