Pirates' Kang Jung-ho rebounds with 12th homer

Kang Jung-ho of the Pittsburgh Pirates is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a one run home run against Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning of their game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday. / AFP-Yonhap

By Park Jae-hyuk

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ third baseman Kang Jung-ho, 29, hit his 12th home run of the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday. It was his first home run since June 25.

At the Dodgers Stadium in California, Kang, who started as third baseman and fifth at bat, hit a solo home run against the 97-mile fast ball of the Dodgers’ reliever Pedro Baez in the top of the eighth with one out when his team was losing 3-8.

Including the home run, Kang went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two walks.

Kang was hit by a pitch in the top of the first and hit an RBI single in the top of the second with two outs, bases loaded. Walking in both the fourth and sixth, Kang hit a solo home run in the eighth inning.

He has recorded 39 RBIs and 26 runs so far, improving his batting average to .237.

However, Kang recorded two errors in the game. In the bottom of the third with two downs and a runner on second base, he missed Howard Kendrick’s grounder and made a wild throw to first base. The runner on second made it home on that error.

The Pirates lost 4-8, remaining third in the National League Central with 58 wins and 56 losses. The Dodgers overcame a 3-1 deficit, scoring in each of the first six innings and having 17 hits total.

Another Korean major leaguer Choo Shin-soo of Texas Rangers went 0-for-3 with a walk and has made it on base in 10 straight games.

The Baltimore Orioles’ Kim Hyun-soo, the Seattle Mariners’ Lee Dae-ho, Los Angeles Angels’ Choi Ji-man and the Saint Louis Cardinals Oh Seung-hwan all missed their games.

The Minnesota Twin’s Park Byung-ho at Triple-A has missed three consecutive games due to his wrist injury.