Ji-Man Choi (32-Pittsburgh Pirates) has made the perfect comeback. He was silent for one game after his return, but has since bounced back quickly.
Choi started in the No. 5 spot in the lineup and went 2-for-4 with a walk-off home run, two RBIs and a run scored in the Pirates’ 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, on 10 October.
Choi raised his season batting average from .125 to .159 (7-for-44), and with his hot hand, Pittsburgh snapped a four-game losing streak and finished the first half with a 41-49 record and fourth place in the National League Central.
From no hits in four at-bats to a single to a come-from-behind double, Choi is back.
After being sidelined for more than two months with an Achilles injury to his left foot in April, Choi went 0-for-4 in his first game back. With the team mired in a losing streak, Choi was given a steady stream of opportunities. After getting a hit in the previous game to get his feel for the game under control, Choi had a blast that set the tone for the second half of the day.
With the bases loaded in the top of the second inning and his team trailing 1-0, Choi took an 88.9-mile-per-hour (143.1 km/h) fastball from opposing starter Davis and smashed it over the high wall in deepest centre field. 2-1 lead. It was his third homer of the season and the first in more than three months after he hit back-to-back games against the Houston Astros on April 10 and 11. It was a big one, travelling 130 metres.
He was retired on a fielder’s choice in the top of the fourth inning, but Arizona made a pitching change in the bottom of the sixth inning with only Choi on first base, as if conscious of a first-inning home run. After a wild pitch to left-hander Kyle Nelson, Choi hit a two-run double to right-centre field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with his team leading 3-2. It was her second multi-hit game with two long balls. He headed to the dugout with the bases loaded, but the subsequent batters were able to bring him home to secure the 4-2 victory.카지노사이트
The Pittsburgh team was also impressed with Ji Man’s long ball, posting a short message on their official social media account, “Ji Man is back!” with a bomb emoji. He also posted several photos of his performance.
His batting average is still 0.159, but five of his seven hits were long balls… ‘Choi’ looking forward to the second half
It’s a small sample size, to be sure. However, his three-month wait for a home run and the fact that five of his seven hits this season have been long balls are promising signs for the second half of the season. Choi’s on-base percentage has soared to .583 since his return.
Only Zack Suwinski (0.514) has an on-base percentage above five among Pittsburgh’s regulars. Only Brian Reynolds (0.45) and Andrew McCutchen (0.425) are better than four. Carlos Santana, who plays first base, has a .390 on-base percentage and Choi has a .428 career on-base percentage.
It’s a shame that the first half of the season has come to an end. MLB teams will play the All-Star Game on the 12th before resuming action on the 15th. Pittsburgh opens the second half at home against the San Francisco Giants.