Texas Rangers' outfielder Choo Shin-soo picked up an RBI in three at-bats as his club was routed by the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
Choo drove in the Rangers' only run with a groundout in the top of the ninth, while striking out twice in his first two at-bats at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday (local time). The Jays wielded hot bats to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Batting ninth and playing right field, Choo struck out looking in his first at-bat in the bottom third against Toronto starter Marco Estrada. Choo was unable to pull the trigger on a 2-2 fastball on the outside corner.
Choo struck out swinging in his second time up in the bottom sixth, fanning on a 3-2 changeup from Estrada.
Choo came up in the ninth inning after a leadoff triple by Elvis Andrus, and grounded out to first to bring home the Rangers' first and only run of the game.
On the field, Choo made a fine running grab on a deep fly off the bat of Melvin Upton Jr. in the top third, crashing into the wall as he robbed Upton of an extra-base hit.
But that inning went horribly wrong for the Rangers, as the Blue Jays put up five runs on the board with two outs before Choo even got his first at-bat.
Josh Donaldson drove in the first run with a double off Texas starter Cole Hamels. With Ezequiel Carrera at second, Donaldson hit a screamer off the glove of third baseman Adrian Beltre, and the ball rolled into left field as Carrera scored.
Donaldson moved to third on an infield single by Edwin Encarnacion, and Jose Bautista drove home Donaldson with a single up the middle.
Russell Martin walked to load the bases for Troy Tulowitzki, who hit a towering triple off the center field wall to bring home all three runners.
The Jays weren't done. Upton led off the fourth inning with a home run to left field. And with a man at second with one out later in the inning, Donaldson dumped an RBI single to shallow right-center, making it 7-0 and chasing Hamels from the game.
After a quiet stretch, the Jays dealt a finishing blow in the top of the ninth, as Bautista blasted a three-run home run off Jake Diekman.
The Rangers, who led the majors with 49 come-from-behind wins in the regular season, had no answer against Estrada, who allowed just four hits and a run in 8 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked none.
The teams will be back for Game 2 at Arlington on Friday.
Choo is the only South Korean in this year's postseason. During the regular season, Choo made four trips to the disabled list with assorted injuries -- most recently a broken left forearm that forced him out for six weeks -- and was limited to just 48 games.
Prior to Thursday, Choo had batted 6-for-24 (.250) with two home runs, three RBIs, six runs scored in six postseason games. (Yonhap)
