Kang Jung-ho of the Pittsburgh Pirates belted his third home run of the season against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday (local time), in just his fifth game back from serious leg injuries sustained last year.
Batting sixth and playing third base, Kang hit a solo shot off right-hander Alfredo Simon in the top of the seventh at Great American Ball Park.
Kang's blast cut the Reds' lead to 4-3, and the Pirates rallied to win 5-4 as Kang scored the decisive run in the top of the ninth.
Kang went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, and is batting .333.
Kang flied out to center in the second, and was hit by pitch in the fourth. After Kang's homer in the seventh, the Pirates tied the score at 4-4 with Josh Harrison's solo shot in the eighth.
Then leading off the ninth, Kang hit an infield single to shortstop Zack Cozart and advanced to second on Cozart's errant throw.
Sean Rodriguez moved Kang to third with a sacrifice bunt, and the South Korean scored the go-ahead run on Jordy Mercer's single.
Kang launched two home runs in his season debut last Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals, after recovering from a tibial plateau fracture and a torn lateral meniscus. He sustained the injuries on a hard takeout slide by Chris Coghlan of the Chicago Cubs last September.
He had 15 home runs in 126 games last season and finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. (Yonhap)
