Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Ji-Man Choi is proving his worth in July. In addition to his third multi-hit game of the season, he also helped Pittsburgh come from behind in a big fifth inning.
Choi went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two RBIs while batting fourth in the lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, USA.스포츠토토
On the day, Pittsburgh sent out a starting lineup of Swinski (center field), Reynolds (left field), McCutchen (designated hitter), Choi (first base), Davis (right field), Rodriguez (catcher), Triolo (third base), Williams (shortstop), and Figueroa (second base). Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher was Frister.
Pittsburgh infielder Ji-Man Choi completes his third multi-hit game of the season against Philadelphia on July 30. Photo (Pittsburgh, USA)=AFPBBNews=News1
After a scoreless first inning, Choi led off the bottom of the second with a single. Choi lined a two-pitch 87.1 mph changeup up the middle from Nola. He then advanced to second on a Triolo single. However, Choi was stranded at home on a wild pitch.
Pittsburgh got on the board in the bottom of the third with a leadoff solo home run by Figueroa. However, the Pirates answered right back in the top of the fourth, getting a two-out RBI double from Marsh with the bases loaded and an RBI single from Cave to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Pittsburgh rallied in the bottom of the fourth. Leadoff hitter Ji-Man Choi lined a two-pitch 92.6 mph fastball from Nola into right field for a double. After advancing to third on Davis’ grounder to second, Choi came home on Rodriguez’ double to right. With runners on first and third, Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 3-2 on an RBI single by Figueroa.
Pittsburgh put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth when Rodriguez tripled with the bases loaded. Williams followed with an RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 7-4.
Pittsburgh scored a run in the top of the sixth inning on a bases-loaded walk and a push ball, but the inning ended without further damage.
With runners on first and second in the top of the eighth, Pittsburgh sent closer Bednar straight to the mound. Bednar gave up a leadoff single to Rojas, but retired the next two batters, Schwarber and Castellanos, on consecutive groundouts to get out of the jam.
Pittsburgh threatened again in the top of the ninth with runners on first and third. However, Bednar induced a grounder to third base off Realmuto to preserve the dramatic 7-6 one-run victory.
With the win, Pittsburgh improved to 46-58 on the season and moved into fourth place in the National League Central, ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals, who were also playing today.
With his third multi-hit game of the season, Choi raised his season batting average to .214. It was his first double-digit batting average of the season. Since returning from a long-term injury in early July, Choi has made his presence felt, batting .250 with nine doubles, four home runs, nine RBIs, and five runs scored in July. Expect more from Choi in the second half of the season.