Choi Back with Two Hits

Hee Seop Choi of the Chicago Cubs brushed off the recent "malperformance" with his two hits, and Byung-hyun Kim of the Boston Red Sox severed his team`s four-game losing streak.

In a home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks held on Sunday in Chicago, Hee Seop Choi started at first base for Chicago and went 2 or 3 with a walk. It was his first start in 12 games. He raised his batting average from 0.231 to 0.239, silencing the persistent rumor that he would be sent back to the minor leagues.

In the bottom second, he hit a double against Arizona rookie Brandon Webb just inside the foul line to the left. He hit a single to the right, too, in the fourth with the Diamondbacks leading 1-0. He attempted to steal the second base with Gonzalez at bat, but failed to do so.

Third time at bat in the bottom sixth, he advanced to the first on a walk. In the 8th, he got popped out.

The Chicago Cubs turned around and pulled out a victory against the Arizona Diamondback due to the nice pitching of starter Matt Clement and the two-run home run of Semi Sosa.

Choi, therefore, once again demonstrated that his competition with teammate Eric Karros is not over yet.

In the meanwhile, Byung-Hyun Kim of the Boston Red Sox allowed two runs on three hits during two innings in an away against the Baltimore Orioles. Nonetheless, he succeeded in marking up one more save (seven in total this season). The Red Sox mobilized five pitchers and finally succeeded in severing the four-game losing streak. The 7-5 victory went to Boston. Kim`s season record is 5-8 with seven saves. His ERA is lowered a little from 3.36 to 3.48.

Jung Bong of the Atlanta Braves took the mound in the sixth with the LA Dodgers leasing the game 7-3. He pitched 1 and 1/3 innings and allowed one run on two hits including a home run. He struck out three.

jaeyuna@donga.com