Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins picked up his first preseason hit and RBI in Florida on Thursday.
Park singled home a run in the bottom of the second inning against the Boston Red Sox starter Rick Porcello. It was Park's second preseason start in as many days.
Park went hitless in his next two plate appearances and ended the game 1-for-3. The Twins lost the game 6-5 in Fort Myers.
On Wednesday, Park, who signed with the Twins in the offseason, went 0-for-3 against the Red Sox, striking out three times on nine pitches.Park told Yonhap News Agency afterward that he could see the ball better than the previous day.
"I wanted to be aggressive at the plate," he said. "With a man at third, I felt the pitcher would try to induce a ground ball. But he made a mistake, and I was able to get a hit."
Park said he didn't put too much stock into his preseason hit, but he still got many congratulations from his teammates.
"Obviously, I feel a lot better now than I did after striking out three times yesterday," he said. "But I've only played two games so far. There are more than 20 games left in preseason, and I'll be seeing pitchers with better fastballs and breaking balls.
Elsewhere in preseason action, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Kim Hyun-soo, also in his first big league spring training, went 0-for-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He has gone 0-for-9 over his first three preseason games.
Kim did pick up an assist in left field in the bottom of the second. Brandon Guyer singled to left to drive in a run, and instead of going home, Kim threw to third baseman Steve Tolleson to start the rundown that nabbed Guyer. The Rays beat the O's 10-3.
Choi Ji-man of the Los Angeles Angels, a long-time minor league prospect hoping to reach the big stage this year, went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a walk off the bench against the Oakland Athletics.
He drew a pinch-hit, bases-loaded walk with two outs in the fourth and had a base hit in the seventh. Then in the eighth, with men at second and third, Choi singled to drive in both runners. He moved to second on the throw home and came around to score on an error by shortstop Chad Pinder. The Angels prevailed 8-2. (Yonhap)
