Ji Hwan Bae
MLBBy Arthur Weinstein on

No one could have blamed the Pittsburgh Pirates if they’d been in a funk Tuesday night against the Houston Astros.

The Bucs had lost talented shortstop Oneil Cruz to a serious injury in Saturday’s game, then been blown out by the Astros Sunday.

When the Astros took an early 2-0 lead Tuesday, things looked dim.

Enter Korean-born Pittsburgh teammates Ji Man Choi and Ji Hwan Bae. Choi’s sixth-inning home run gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead.

And after Pittsburgh put two men on base in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied 4-all, Bae did something spectacular, belting a three-run, walk-off homer off vaunted Astros closer Ryan Pressly.

In the process, Choi and Bae became the first Korean-born teammates to hit home runs in the same game.

Bae’s homer sounds even better on the Korean language broadcast,

You expect that display of power from Choi, who has hit double-digits in home runs four times in his career despite limited playing time. Bae’s blast, however, came as a surprise. But he now has two home runs in 33 at-bats this season. He’s expected to see a lot more playing time now with Cruz sidelined for at least four months.

With regular second baseman Rodolfo Castro sliding over to shortstop to replace Cruz, Bae played second and filled Cruz’s role in the leadoff spot.

Things obviously could not have gone any better in his first start in that role.

[Pittsburgh Pirates]

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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