Rangers’ Choo Shin-soo back on disabled list after one game

In this Associated Press photo, Texas Rangers’ Choo Shin-soo tosses his bat after walking in the first inning against the Houston Astros on May 20, 2016, in Houston. (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers was placed back on the disabled list (DL) on Monday (local time) after playing just one game after his return from an earlier injury.

The Rangers said the South Korean outfielder has been sidelined with a strained left hamstring. He missed 40 days earlier this season with a strained right calf muscle and returned to action last Friday against the Houston Astros.

He walked twice in that game and left the game after hurting his hamstring while rounding third base in the third inning.

He missed the Rangers’ next two games before returning to the 15-day DL. Choo has only played in six games this year, batting .188 with an RBI, six walks and one steal.

MLB.com reported that there is no timetable for Choo’s return. The Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told local radio station 105.3 The Fan that Choo’s injury is similar to what befell Delino DeShields last year, and the South Korean could be out for three to four weeks.

In other injury-related news, Kang Jung-ho of the Pittsburgh Pirates made a pinch-hit appearance against the Colorado Rockies after starting the game on the bench with a left hand injury.

The third baseman injured his left wrist in a home-plate collision with Colorado catcher Tony Wolters in Saturday’s game. Kang sat out Sunday’s game and flied out to left in his only appearance Monday.

Kang is expected back in the starting lineup Tuesday at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made his season debut on May 6 after recovering from severe leg injuries sustained in a hard takeout slide at second base.

He’s batting .256 with five home runs, 11 RBIs and eight extra-base hits in 12 games.

One South Korean big leaguer in action Monday, St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Oh Seung-hwan, tossed a perfect inning in relief against the Chicago Cubs at home.

Oh took over from starter Adam Wainwright to start the top of the seventh at Busch Stadium, with the Cardinals trailing 3-1. Facing the meat of the Cubs’ order, Oh got No. 3 hitter Ben Zobrist to pop out to third. Then cleanup Anthony Rizzo grounded out to third on a 2-2 changeup.

Oh struck out Jorge Soler looking at a 2-2 fastball to complete the inning with 13 pitches.

Oh lowered his ERA from 1.19 to 1.14, and now has 32 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. He last allowed an earned run on May 1 against the Washington Nationals, a span of nine appearances.

The Cardinals rallied to defeat the Cubs 4-3. Matt Adams hit a game-tying two-run shot in the bottom seventh, and Randal Grichuk ended the game with a two-out solo homer in the bottom ninth.

In the American League (AL), Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins went 1-for-3 against the Kansas City Royals to snap his hitless skid at five games. His batting average has dipped from .257 on May 16 to .223 after the Twins lost 10-4 Monday.

The designated hitter/first baseman still leads all AL rookies with nine home runs but hasn’t gone deep since May 13.

Seattle Mariners’ backup first baseman Lee Dae-ho went 1-for-4 as they fell to the Oakland Athletics 5-0. It was Lee’s second start in three days.

He’s been splitting first base duties with Adam Lind. The South Korean is now batting .254 with six home runs in 59 at-bats, while Lind only has three home runs in 113 at-bats.