Jung Jong-chul records his first spring training hit! Comes off the bench to reach base in two consecutive at-bats and drives in his first run.

In the February 25 spring training matchup between the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, Red Sox shortstop Jung Jong-chul came off the bench and reached base in two straight at-bats, including recording his first hit and first RBI of the spring. Despite this, the Pirates showed powerful hitting, collecting 21 hits and winning decisively 16-7 over the Red Sox.

Jung did not start this game; he took over for the center fielder in the top of the sixth inning, batting seventh and manning shortstop. After one out in the bottom of the sixth, with a 2-1 count, Jung patiently took a walk after seeing three pitches. The Red Sox drew three consecutive walks that inning to load the bases, and Jung later scored on a teammate’s infield grounder, marking the team’s fifth run and his third run scored in spring training.

In the bottom of the seventh with two outs and a runner on second, Jung swung at an inside cutter with one strike and lined his first spring training hit. This hit drove in the Red Sox’s seventh run and became his first RBI of the spring.

The Red Sox managed only seven hits in this game, with their offense concentrated between the fourth and seventh innings. Meanwhile, the Pirates’ offense was even more formidable, tallying 21 hits including 10 extra-base hits and three home runs, ultimately defeating the Red Sox 16-7.

Jung Jong-chul has appeared in three major league spring training games, accumulating 3 at-bats with 1 hit, earning 3 walks, and contributing 1 stolen base, 1 RBI, and 3 runs scored. His batting average stands at .333, on-base percentage at .667, and slugging percentage at 1.000.