Rays' Choi Ji-man stays hot, reaches base 4 times in rout

▲ In this Associated Press photo, Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays heads to first after hitting a single against the Baltimore Orioles in the top of the sixth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore on May 20, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Associated Press photo, Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays tosses the ball to the stands at the end of the bottom of the second inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore on May 20, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Associated Press photo, Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays loses his bat while striking out against the Baltimore Orioles in the top of the eighth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore on May 20, 2021. (Yonhap)

MLB-hitter

Rays' Choi Ji-man stays hot, reaches base 4 times in rout

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- After missing the first quarter of the 2021 season, Tampa Bay Rays' first baseman Choi Ji-man is playing as though he wants to make up for all that lost time.

The South Korean infielder went 1-for-3 with three walks and an RBI in a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Thursday (local time).

Choi missed the first 41 games of the season following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on March 31. He made his season debut last Sunday and went 3-for-4.

He hasn't looked back since, having hit safely in each of the three following games and knocked in six runs.

Choi is now batting .538/.647/.846.

Batting third against the Orioles on Thursday, Choi worked a walk in the first inning against starter Dean Kremer. Choi drew another walk in the second inning and then got his third free pass in the fourth inning against reliever Keegan Akin.

In the top of the sixth, with the Rays leading 4-1, Choi delivered an RBI single against Akin.

Choi struck out in his next two plate appearances, but the Rays cruised to their seventh consecutive win. In a three-game sweep of the Orioles, the Rays outscored the opponents 32-14.

Next up for the Rays is a four-game series against their American League East rivals, Toronto Blue Jays.

On regular rest, Toronto's South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin is lined up to start Monday at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida.

Choi and Ryu, who both graduated from Dongsan High School in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, have never faced each other in the majors. Choi, who bats left-handed, doesn't often face left-handed pitchers, though he's 2-for-2 against southpaws this year.

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