Choo Records First Major League Hit

Choo Shin-soo, the 22-year-old Korean rookie on the Seattle Mariners, recorded his first hit and earned run as a major league player, and Choi Hee-seop of the Los Angeles Dodgers extended his consecutive games’ hit streak to three.

In a home game against Los Angeles on May 4 at Safeco Field, Choo appeared as a pinch-hitter and hit a single to left field, bringing a runner at second base to home with one out remaining in the ninth inning, The hit was his first after his third appearance since he was promoted to the big leagues on April 21.

Right-hander Scot Shields, with a record of 3-1 and 2 saves with a 1.59 ERA after finishing the game, is one of the LA Angels’ finest bullpen pitchers. Choo allowed two consecutive strikes, but then hit an inside fastball. The bat almost missed the mark, but he managed to use his wrists to earn his first hit. The Mariners lost the game by 2-5, after Suzuki Ichiro retired with a strikeout.

Big Choi broke out a single to center field to tie the game at 2-2 with one out remaining in the 4th inning with the bases loaded. The Dodgers went on to win the game by 4-2. It was his only hit in four at-bats, and his batting average went down from 0.262 to 0.260 with 4 earned runs.

In a home game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Koo Dae-sung of the New York Mets appeared in the 8th inning with Mets behind by 1-10, and finished a scoreless inning with a hit and a walk.

Hwan Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com