Lee Dae-ho of Japan’s Orix Buffaloes is off to a nice start in his inaugural season in Japan. / Korea Times file

By Jung Min-ho

Lee Dae-ho of Japan’s Orix Buffaloes saved his team from falling to a seventh consecutive loss while the Cleveland Indians’ Choo Shin-soo had another multi-hit game on the weekend.

At the top of the ninth, it appeared Saturday the Buffaloes would suffer another frustrating result. They trailed the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2-1 before Lee hit a two-run homer.

But Buffaloes fans had to wait a little longer to celebrate when Swallow’s hitter Atsushi Fujimoto leveled the scores to send the match to extra innings. At the top of the 11th, Lee was walked and Kawabata’s hit with the bases loaded gave Orix a 6-3 victory.

Although the Buffaloes are still bottom of the Pacific League with Although the Buffaloes

Choo Shin-soo of the Cleveland Indians hits an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning on May 14 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn. Choo is performing better this season as if to compensate for his dismal one last year. / AFP-Yonhap

are still bottom of the Pacific League with 14 wins 2 draws and 23 losses, the long-coveted victory will give the team hope.

Choo had two hits against the Miami Marlins as the Indians’ won 2-0 on home turf on Sunday to see the Tribe extend their lead in the Central American League. Choo took his batting average from .258 to .266, while his team moved to 23 wins and 17. Sweeping aside concerns over the 29-year-old’s left hamstring injury, he marked a seventh consecutive multi-hit.

The test for the two Korean batters is expected to continue as the Buffaloes face the Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday, while Cleveland play the Marlins again Monday before taking on the Detroit Tigers Wednesday.