Sports Briefs

FOOTBALL

Augsburg FC’s trio of Koreans help defeat Wolfsburg 2-0 on Sunday

The Korean trio for the Bundesliga’s Augsburg FC in - namely Koo Ja-cheol, Hong Jeong-ho and Ji Dong-won - all saw some playing time in the pitch to lift Augsburg 2-0 over Wolfsburg on Sunday at Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, Germany.

While Koo played full time as central midfielder, Hong and Ji went into the stadium as substitutes. Central defender Hong went onto the pitch in the 40th minute to help the team not concede any goals. Striker Ji stepped onto the field in the 87th minute.

Alfreo Finnbogason of Augsburg scored the opener immediately after the kickoff in the first minute. The second goal for Augsburg came early in the second half when Koo snatched the ball on the Wolfsburg side of the pitch to connect it with Finnbogason. Although Finnbogason’s shot was blocked by the goalie, Augsburg attacker Halil Altintop drove the loose ball from the center of the penalty box past the net.

Augsburg FC is on a three-game winning streak after Sunday’s game and ranked 12th in the Bundesliga.

BASEBALL

The Orioles’ Kim has his first RBI, while the Angels’ Choi gets first hit

The Baltimore Orioles’ Kim Hyun-soo had his first runs batted in (RBI) in the MLB on Sunday. Kim started the game against the Kansas City Royals as ninth in batting order and as left outfielder.

In the top of the second inning, Kim went to the plate to single on a soft line drive to the center against the Royals’ Kris Medlen’s 91-mile-per-hour four-seam fastball and allowed J.J. Hardy to drive home. It was Kim’s first RBI during his seven at-bats in the big league.

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Choi Ji-man also had his first hit Sunday against Lee Dae-ho’s Seattle Mariners. In the bottom of the third inning, Choi had a hit with a 2-2 count off the 78-mile-per-hour curveball thrown by Mariners’ Felix Hernandez. He was lined out after the hit.

While Kim had his first RBI and Lee his first hit, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Kang Jung-ho had a big hit in the minors game, signaling his imminent return to the big league from his injury.

Kang is currently undergoing the final stage of rehab and playing in the minor league. He played his fourth game for the Pirates’ minor league team the Indianapolis Indians on Sunday as third in the batting lineup and third baseman. Kang went 1-for-4 while striking out once.

He previously played for the Indians in three games, before his first full game Thursday. Kang didn’t have any hits during the first three. Nabbing his first hit in the sixth inning, Kang also had no problem running bases and playing defense. He is expected to return to the majors by next month.

By Choi Hyung-jo