Park Hoy-jun sent down to minors for third time this season

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Park Hoy-jun sent down to minors for third time this season

Pittsburgh Pirates' Park Hoy-jun crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb in Pittsburgh on June 19. [AP/YONHAP]

Pittsburgh Pirates' Park Hoy-jun crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb in Pittsburgh on June 19. [AP/YONHAP]

 
Pittsburgh Pirates utility man Park Hoy-jun was sent down to the minors for the third time this season on Tuesday, less than a month after being called up.
 
Park was optioned to Triple A Indianapolis on Tuesday to make room on the roster for outfielder Ben Gamel and first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo, who both return to the Pirates squad after injuries.
 
Park has had an up-and-down season so far in his sophomore spell in the majors, making the opening day roster at the start of April but being sent down at the end of the month after five appearances. He returned to the majors at the end of May where he had just one outing before heading back to Indianapolis again.
 
He returned to the Pirates again on June 13, making 16 appearances for the major league side during his latest spell.
 
The latest outing wasn't terrible. Park hit two home runs and picked up eight hits with four RBIs while mainly playing off the bench throughout June. His batting average for the month was .229, with his season line at 11 hits, seven runs, six RBIs and two homers for a .220 batting average.
 
Park became the 25th Korean player to debut in the majors on July 16 last year, appearing as a pinch hitter for the Yankees after spending years playing in the minors. The young infielder made a total of 45 appearances last season, finishing with 25 hits, 16 runs, 14 RBIs and three home runs for a .197 batting average.
 
Park’s departure once again leaves two Korean position players left in the majors: Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays and Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres.
 
Both have put in a solid performance so far this season but Choi has sat out a couple of games recently amid injury concerns. Choi and Kim both hit home runs for their respective teams on Sunday, marking the first time this year that two Koreans have gone deep on the same day. 

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
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