Long, Tough Road to Second Win Before Chan Ho

It is no longer surprise to see Chan Ho Park (Texas Rangers) lose scores right upon the opening of the first inning. For example, Park allowed runs in three out of five games this season.

His "chronic weakness" showed up yet again in yesterday`s home game against Boston Red Sox held at the Arlington Ballpark, and the disease marked up one more loser in his record.

The Red Sox led 2-0 after just 12 pitches by Park with three hits. Rangers manager Buck Showalter, in return, promptly put his bullpen on alert. In other words, he has almost lost confidence in Park.

Fortunately, Boston`s fifth batter Kevin Mueller got a runner and himself out in a double play. After the double play, Park shut out eleven batters. But in the fifth, he gave up two more three-hit runs.

After Boston`s starter Martinez stepped down the mound, the Rangers tried to catch up belatedly. In the end, the Red Sox emerged as a 5-4 winner, adding one more loser to Park, the season third loser of him. His ERA is 6.46, now.

As before, Park`s fastballs hovered just around 148 km, and threw two curveballs for each fastball. In the Red Sox`s sixth, Park collapsed on the mound right after striking out a batter. Park later said, "I just got my ankle sprained. I wouldn`t say it`s an injury."

On the other hand, Jae Seo of New York Mets unexpectedly took the mound. Mets` starter David Cone complained of his sore left hip, and wrapped up pitching in the third. Probably due to the surprise pitching, Seo gave up eight hits, one home run and four runs. Fortunately, however, the runners were earned by Cone, and Cone himself became the loser with Astros winning a 6-2 victory.

In the meanwhile, Hee Choi did not hit any for the Chicago Cubs against San Diego Padres, cutting short his hitting streak in five games. His batting average dropped to 0.279.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com