King Kang hits first MLB grand slam, continues hot streak

September 9, 2015
Pittsburgh Pirates' Kang Jung-ho, center right, runs to the dugout with Gregory Polanco, left, Aramis Ramirez, center left, and Andrew McCutchen, right, after hitting a grand slam off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Keyvius Sampson during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Kang Jung-ho, center right, runs to the dugout with Gregory Polanco, left, Aramis Ramirez, center left, and Andrew McCutchen, right, after hitting a grand slam off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Keyvius Sampson during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

By Brian Han

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho hit a towering shot over the left field wall against Cincinnati Reds starter Keyvius Sampson for his first career major league grand slam on Wednesday.

It was his 15th home run of the year and second in as many games. It was the first grand slam for the Pirates in the 2015 season.

Sampson gave up two singles and a walk in the top of the sixth inning to load the bases and delivered a 2-2 fastball of which Kang took full advantage.

The grand slam broke the tie and put the Pirates up 5-1. The Pirates hung on to win 5-4.

Surprisingly, the 27-year-old wasn’t in the discussion for Rookie of the Year during a recent ESPN mock vote in which he received zero out of a total 14 possible votes.

Kang is batting .288 with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs in 2015.

One Comment

  1. reds

    December 17, 2017 at 8:51 PM

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